I^X'.'V'V 


A  r-  \  /VA 


A'A  rv 


BfNTO 


i»^ 


,n/ 


->  O  J> 


k>  33  3.  3  >>  >  )  )  j>   ))  f 

^^  A3  >^  53  /)  555- 

7  }  ??  <?>3?3  >>  33 y= 

3  >  ))  ))  >jy>    rf^^< 
3J  ^3   yv>><5.  ;^  ^33 


.).•) 
>. 
>  j 

3^) 

3-'T>     ; 
>    > 


P 

1  a  I  i  I  i 

^    •'->     >      35  55    >H  -5« 

•  a»  53S  5?  iv= 

'''§MI^ 


'M)      ) 


j  j  >  )  J> 

g>>:p>>^ 


, 


j^   "^>  -)^ 


' 


>  ) 

:->t>    i 

Sl> 

>52> 


>.^> 


>T> 


> 


>^X?^  J)-»'    5 
>    1>^;iO>XX>S 
'  :>_.3  .  >   -Ai»^>>    => 

>>  "->     ^  %>'^^^:-S    - 
>T>^  ^      J>^^VA 

^^^tsco? 

S».;>3;23>>) 


1 

^^^  -s-i^  |>  _>  o  ^D  ^>^ 

^i?^  lii^V^-^^^5- 


J  ;  ,     Vv^T1'^ 


s^r^rr:*  .^: 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


THE  WORKS 


HUBERT  HOWE  BANCROFT. 


THE  WORKS 


OF 


HUBERT  HOWE  BANCROFT. 


VOLUME    III. 


THE   NATIVE   EACES. 

VOL.  III.     MYTHS   AND    LANGUAGES. 


SAN   FRANCISCO: 
THE   HISTORY  COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS. 

1886. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  Year  1882,  by 

HUBERT  H.  BANCROFT, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


All  Hights  Reserved. 


CONTENTS   OF  THIS  VOLUME. 


MYTHOLOGY. 
CHAPTER   I. 

SPEECH   AND   SPECULATION. 

PAGE 

Difference  between  Man  and  Brutes  —  Mind-language  and  Soul-Ian-  * 
guage— Origin  of  Language:  A  Gift  of  the  Creator,  a  Human  In- 
vention, or  an  Evolution  ? — Nature  and  Value  of  Myth — Origin  of 
Myth:  The  Divine  Idea,  a  Fiction  of  Sorcery,  the  Creation  of  a 
Designing  Priesthood — Origin  of  Worship,  of  Prayer,  of  Sacrifice 
— Fetichism  and  the  Origin  of  Animal-worship — Religion  and  My- 
thology    1 

CHAPTER   II. 

ORIGIN   AND   END   OF  THINGS. 

Quiche  Creation-myth — Aztec  Origin-myths — The  Papagos — Montezu- 
ma  and  the  Coyote — The  Moquis — The  Great  Spider's  Web  of  the 
Pimas — Navajo  and  Pueblo  Creations — Origin  of  Clear  Lake  and 
Lake  Tahoe — Chareya  of  the  Cahrocs— Mount  Shasta,  the  Wig- 
wam of  the  Great  Spirit — Idaho  Springs  and  Waterfalls — How 
Differences  in  Language  Occurred — Yehl,  the  Creator  of  the  Thlin- 
keets— The  Raven  and  the  Do  42 

CHAPTER   III. 

PHYSICAL   MYTHS. 

Sun,  Moon,  and  Stars — Eclipses — The  Moon  Personified  in  the  Land 
of  the  Crescent — Fire — How  the  Coyote  Stole  Fire  for  the  Cahrocs 
—How  the  Frog  Lost  his  Tail— How  the  Coyote  Stole  Fire  for 
the  Navajos — Wind  and  Thunder — The  Four  Winds  and  the  Cross 
— Water,  the  First  of  Elemental  Things— Its  Sacred  and  Cleansing 
Power — Earth  and  Sky — Earthquakes  and  Volcanoes — Mountains 
— How  the  Hawk  and  Crow  Built  the  Coast  Range— The  Mountains 

of  Yosemite 108 

(v) 


vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   IV. 

ANIMAL   MYTHOLOGY. 

PAGE 

Rdles  Assigned  to  Animals — Auguries  from  their  Movements — The  Ill- 
omened  Owl — Tutelary  Animals — Metamorphosed  Men — The  Og- 
ress-squirrel of  Vancouver  Island — Monkeys  and  Beavers — Fallen 
Men — The  Sacred  Animals — Prominence  of  the  Bird — An  Emblem 
of  the  Wind — The  Serpent,  an  Emblem  of  the  Lightning — Not 
Specially  Connected  with  Evil— The  Serpent  of  the  Pueblos— The 
Water-snake — Ophiolatry — Prominence  of  the  Dog,  or  the  Coyote — 
Generally,  though  not  Always,  a  Benevolent  Power — How  the  Coyote 
Let  Salmon  up  the  Klamath — Danse  Macabre  and  Sad  Death  of  the 
Coyote 127 

CHAPTER    V. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL    BEINGS,    AND    WORSHIP. 

Eskimo  Witchcraft — The  Tinneh  and  the  Koniagas — Kugans  of  the 
Aleuts— The  Thlinkeets,  the  Haidahs,  and  the  Nootkas — Paradise 
Lost  of  the  Okanagans — The  Salish,  the  Clallams,  the  Chinooks, 
the  Cayuses,  the  Walla  Wallas,  and  the  Nez  Perces — Shoshone 
Ghouls — Northern  California — The  Sun  at  Monterey — Ouiot  and 
Chinigchinich  —  Antagonistic  Gods  of  Lower  California — Coman- 
ches,  Apaches,  and  Navajos — Montezuma  of  the  Pueblos — Moquis 
and  Mojaves — Primeval  Race  of  Northern  California  . .  .  140 


CHAPTER   VI. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL   BEINGS,    AND  WORSHIP. 

Gods  and  Religious  Rites  of  Chihuahua,  Sonora,  Durango,  and  Sinaloa 
—The  Mexican  Religion,  Received  with  Different  Degrees  of  Credu- 
lity by  Different  Classes  of  the  People — Opinions  of  Different  Writers 
as  to  its  Nature — Monotheism  of  Nezahualcoyotl — Present  Condition 
of  the  Study  of  Mexican  Mythology — Tezcatlipoca — Prayers  to  Him 
in  Time  of  Pestilence,  of  War,  for  Those  in  Authority— Prayer  Used 
by  an  Absolving  Priest — Genuineness  of  the  Foregoing  Prayers — 
Character  and  Works  of  Sahagun. 178 

CHAPTER   VII. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL   BEINGS,    AND   WORSHIP. 

Image  of  Tezcatlipoca  —  His  Seats  at  the  Street-corners  —  Various 
Legends  about  his  Life  on  Earth— Quetzalcoatl— His  Dexterity  in 
the  Mechanical  Arts  — His  Religious  Observances  —  The  Wealth 
and  Nimbleness  of  his  Adherents— Expulsion  from  Tula  of  Quet- 
zalcoatl by  Tezcatlipoca  and  Huitzilopochtli— The  Magic  Draught 
— Huemac,  or  Vemac,  King  of  the  Toltecs,  and  the  Misfortunes 


CONTENTS.  vii 

PAGE 

Brought  upon  Him  and  his  People  by  Tezcatlipoca  in  Various  Dis- 
guises— Quetzalcoatl  in  Cholula — Differing  Accounts  of  the  Birth 
and  Life  of  Quetzalcoatl — His  Gentle  Character — He  Drew  up  the 
Mexican  Calendar — Incidents  of  his  Exile  and  of  his  "Journey  to 
Tlapalla,  as  Related  and  Commented  upon  by  Various  Writers — 
Brasseur's  Ideas  about  the  Quetzalcoatl  Myths — Quetzalcoatl  Con- 
sidered a  Sun-god  by  Tylor,  and  as  a  Dawn-hero  by  Brintoii — Helps 
— Domenech — The  Codices — Long  Discussion  of  the  Quetzalcoatl 
Myths  by  J.  G.  Muller 237 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL   BEINGS,    AND   WORSHIP. 

Various  Accounts  of  the  Birth,  Origin,  and  Derivation  of  the  Name  of 
the  Mexican  War-god,  Huitzilopochtli,  of  his  Temple,  Image,  Cere- 
monial, Festivals,  and  his  Deputy,  or  Page,  Paynal — Clavigero — 
Boturini — Acosta — Solis — Sahagun — Herrera  —  Torquemada — J.  G. 
Muller 's  Summary  of  the  Huitzilopochtli  Myths,  their  Origin,  Re- 
lation, and  Signification — Tylor — Codex  Vaticanus — Tlaloc,  God  of 
Water,  Especially  of  Rain,  and  of  Mountains — Clavigero,  Gama, 
and  Ixtlilxochitl — Prayer  in  Time  of  Drought — Camargo,  Motolinia, 
Mendieta,  and  the  Vatican  Codex  on  the  Sacrifices  to  Tlaloc — The 
Decorations  of  his  Victims  and  the  Places  of  their  Execution — Gath- 
ering Rushes  for  the  Service  of  the  Water-god — Highway  Robberies 
by  the  Priests  at  This  Time — Decorations  and  Implements  of  the 
Priests — Punishments  for  Ceremonial  Offences — The  Whirlpool  of 
Pantitlan — Images  of  the  Mountains  in  Honor  of  the  Tlaloc  Festival 
— Of  the  Coming  Rain  and  Mutilation  of  the  Images  of  the  Moun- 
tains— General  Prominence  in  the  Cult  of  Tlaloc,  of  the  Number 
Four,  the  Cross,  and  the  Snake 288 


CHAPTER   IX. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL   BEINGS,    AND   WORSHIP. 

The  Mother  or  All-nourishing  Goddess  under  Various  Names  and  in 
Various  Aspects — Her  Feast  in  the  Eleventh  Aztec  Month,  Och- 
paniztli — Festivals  of  the  Eighth  Month,  Hueytecuilhuitl,  and  of  the 
Fourth,  Hueytozoztli — The  Deification  of  Women  that  Died  in 
Child-birth — The  Goddess  of  Water  under  Various  Names  and  in 
Various  Aspects — Ceremonies  of  the  Baptism  or  Lustration  of  Chil- 
dren— The  Goddess  of  Love,  her  Various  Names  and  Aspects — Rites 
of  Confession  and  Absolution — The  God  of  Fire  and  his  Various 
Names — His  Festivals  in  the  Tenth  Month,  Xocotlveti,  and  in  the 
Eighteenth  Month,  Yzcali;  also  his  Quadriennial  Festival  in  the 
Latter  Month— The  Great  Festival  of  Ev.ery  Fifty-two  Years;  Light- 
ing the  New  Fire — The  God  of  Hades,  and  Teoyaomique,  Collector 


iriii  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

of  the  Souls  of  the  Fallen  Brave — Deification  of  Dead  Rulers  and 
Heroes — Mizcoatl,  God  of  Hunting,  and  his  Feast  in  the  Fourteenth 
Month,  Quecholli— Various  Other  Mexican  Deities — Festival  in  the 
Second  Month,  Tlacaxipehualiztli,  with  Notice  of  the  Gladiatorial 
Sacrifices — Complete  Synopsis  of  the  Festivals  of  the  Mexican  Cal- 
endar, Fixed  and  Movable — Temples  and  Priests 349 


CHAPTER   X. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL   BEINGS,    AND   WORSHIP. 

Revenues  of  the  Mexican  Temples — Vast  Number  of  the  Priests — Mexi- 
can Sacerdotal  System — Priestesses — The  Orders  of  Tlamaxcaca- 
yotl  and  Telpochtiliztli  —  Religious  Devotees  —  Baptism — Circum- 
cision— Communion  —  Fasts  and  Penance — Blood- drawing — Human 
Sacrifices — The  Gods  of  the  Tarascos— Priests  and  Temple  Ser- 
vice of  Michoacan — Worship  in  Jalisco  and  Oajaca — Votan  and  Quet- 
zalcoatl— Travels  of  Votan — The  Apostle  Wixepecocha — Cave  near 
Xustlahuaca — The  Princess  Pinopiaa — Worship  of  Costahuntox — 
Tree  Worship 430 


CHAPTER   XI. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL   BEINGS,    AND   WORSHIP. 

Maya  Pantheon  —  Zamna —  Cukulcan  —  The  Gods  of  Yucatan  —  The 
Symbol  of  the  Cross  in  America — Human  Sacrifices  in  Yucatan — 
Priests  of  Yucatan— Guatemalan  Pantheon— Tepeu  and  Hurakan— 
Avilix  and  Hacavitz— The  Heroes  of  the  Sacred  Book— Quich6  Gods 
—Worship  of  the  Choles,  Manches,  Itzas,  Lacandones,  and  Others 
—Tradition  of  Comizahual — Fasts — Priests  of  Guatemala — Gods, 
Worship,  and  Priests  of  Nicaragua — Worship  on  the  Mosquito 
Coast— Gods  and  Worship  of  the  Isthmians— Phallic  Worship  in 
America .461 


CHAPTER  XII 

* 

FUTURE   STATE. 

Aboriginal  Ideas  of  Future  —  General  Conceptions  of  Soul  —  Future 
State  of  the  Aleuts,  Chepewyans,  Natives  at  Milbank  Sound,  and 
Okanagans— Happy  Land  of  the.  Salish  and  Chinooks — Conceptions 
of  Heaven  and  Hell  of  the  Nez  Perces,  Flatheads,  and  Haidahs— 
The  Realms  of  Quawteaht  and  Chayher— Beliefs  of  the  Songhies, 
Clallams,  and  Pend  d'Oreilles— The  Future  State  of  the  Califor- 
nian  and  Nevada  Tribes,  Comanches,  Pueblos,  Navajos,  Apaches, 
Moquis,  Maricopas,  Yumas,  and  Others— The  Sun-house  of  the 
Mexicans  — Tlalocan  and  Mictlan^  Condition  of  the  Dead— Jour- 
ney of  the  Dead— Future  of  the  Tlascaltecs  and  Other  Nations. ..  .510 


CONTENTS.  ix 


LANGUAGES 


CHAPTER   I. 

GENERAL    REMARKS. 

PAGE 

Native  Languages  in  Advance  of  Social  Customs — Characteristic  Indi- 
viduality of  American  Tongues  —  Frequent  Occurrence  of  Long 
Words  —  Reduplications,  Frequentatives,  and  Duals  —  Intertribal 
Languages  —  Gesture-language  —  Slave  and  Chinook  Jargons  — 
Pacific  States  Languages — The  Tinneh,  Aztec,  and  Maya  Tongues — 
the  Larger  Families  Inland — Language  as  a  Test  of  Origin — Simi- 
larities in  Unrelated  Languages — Plan  of  This  Investigation 551 

CHAPTER   II. 

HYPERBOREAN    LANGUAGES. 

Distinction  between  Eskimo  and  American — Eskimo  Pronunciation 
and  Declension — Dialects  of  the  Koniagas  and  Aleuts — Language 
of  the  Thlinkeets — Hypothetical  Affinities — The  Tinneh  Family 
and  its  Dialects — Eastern,  Western,  Central,  and  Southern  Divis- 
ions— Chepewyan  Declension — Oratorical  Display  in  the  Speech 
of  the  Kutchins — Dialects  of  the  Atnahs  and  Ugalenzes  Compared 
— Specimen  of  the  Koltshane  Tongue — Tacully  Gutturals— Hoopah 
Vocabulary  —  Apache  Dialects  —  Lipan  Lord's  Prayer  —  Navajo 
Words — Comparative  Vocabulary  of  the  Tinneh  Family 574 

CHAPTER   III. 

COLUMBIAN    LANGUAGES. 

The  Haidah,  its  Construction  and  Conjugation — The  Nass  Language 
and  its  Dialects  —  Bellacoola  and  Chimsyan  Comparisons — The 
Nootka  Languages  of  Vancouver  Island — Nanaimo  Ten  Command- 
ments and  Lord's  Prayer — Aztec  Analogies — Fraser  and  Thomp- 
son River  Languages — The  Neetlakapamuck  Grammar  and  Lord's 
Prayer — Sound  Languages — The  Salish  Family — Flathead  Gram- 
mar and  Lord's  Prayer — The  Kootenai — The  Sahaptin  Family — 
Nez  Perce  Grammar — Yakima  Lord's  Prayer — Sahaptin  State  and 
Slave"  Languages — The  Chinook  Family — Grammar  of  the  Chinook 
Language — Aztec  Affinities — The  Chinook  Jargon 604 

CHAPTER   IV. 

CALIFORNIAN   LANGUAGES. 

Multiplicity  of  Tongues — Yakon,  Klamath,  and  Palaik  Comparisons — 
Pitt  River  and  Wintoon  Vocabularies — Weeyot,  Wishosk,  Weitspek, 


CONTENTS, 

PAGE 

and  Ehnek  Comparisons — Languages  of  Humboldt  Bay — Potter 
Valley,  Russian  and  Eel  River  Languages — Porno  Languages — 
Gallinoraero  Grammar  —  Transpacific  Comparisons  —  Chocuyem 
Lord's  Prayer — Languages  of  the  Sacramento,  San  Joaquin,  Napa, 
and  Sonoma  Valleys — The  Olhone  and  Other  Languages  of  San 
Francisco  Bay — Runsien  and  Eslene  of  Monterey — Santa  Clara 
Lord's  Prayer — Mutsun  Grammar — Languages  of  the  Missions,  Santa 
Cruz,  San  Antonio  de  Padua,  Soledad,  and  San  Miguel — Tatche 
Grammar — The  Dialects  of  Santa  Cruz  and  Other  Islands 635 


CHAPTER  V. 

SHOSHONE    LANGUAGES. 

Aztec-Sonora  Connections  with  the  Shoshone  Family — The  Utah,  Co- 
manche,  Moqui,  Kizh,  Netela,  Kechi,  Cahuillo,  and  Chemehuevi — 
*  Eastern  and  Western  Shoshone,  or  Wihinasht — The  Bannack  and 
Digger,  or  Shoshokee — The  Utah  and  its  Dialects — The  Goshute, 
Washoe,  Paiulee,  Piute,  Sampitche,  and  Mono — Popular  Belief  as 
to  the  Aztec  Element  in  the  North — Grimm's  Law — Shoshone,  Co- 
manche,  and  Moqui  Comparative  Table — Netela  Stanza — Kizh 
Grammar — The  Lord's  Prayer  in  Two  Dialects  of  the  Kizh — Cheme- 
huevi and  Cahuillo  Grammar — Comparative  Vocabulary 660 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE    PUEBLO,     COLORADO    RIVER,     AND    LOWER    CALIFORNIA    LANGUAGES. 

Traces  of  the  Aztec  not  Found  among  the  Pueblos  of  New  Mexico  and 
Arizona — The  Five  Languages  of  the  Pueblos,  the  Queres,  the 
Tegua,  the  Picoris,  Jemez,  and  Zuni — Pueblo  Comparative  Vocabu- 
lary— The  Yuma  and  its  Dialects,  the  Maricopa,  Cuchan,  Mojave, 
Diegueno,  Yampais,  and  Yavipais — The  Cochimf,  Guaicurf,  and  Pe- 
ricii,  with  their  Dialects  of  Lower  California — Guaicuri  Grammar — 
Pater-noster  in  Three  Cochimi  Dialects — The  Languages  of  Lower 
California  Wholly  Isolated 680 

CHAPTER   VII. 

THE   PIMA,  OPATA,    AND   CERI    LANGUAGES. 

Pima  Alto  and  Bajo — Papago — Pima  Grammar — Formation  of  Plurals 
— Personal  Pronoun — Conjugation — Classification  of  Verbs  —  Ad- 
verbs, Prepositions,  Conjunctions,  and  Interjections — Syntax  of 
the  Pima — Prayers  in  Different  Dialects — The  6pata  and  Eudeve 
— Eudeve  Grammar — Conjugation  of  Active  and  Passive  Verbs — 
Lord's  Prayer — Opata  Grammar — Declension — Possessive  Pronoun — 
Conjugation — Ceri  Language  with  its  Dialects,  Guaymi  and  Tepoca 
— Ceri  Vocabulary 694 


CONTENTS.  xi 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

NORTH  MEXICAN  LANGUAGES. 

PAGE 

The  Cahita  and  its  Dialects — Cahita  Grammar — Dialectic  Differences 
of  the  Mayo,  Yaqui,  and  Tehueeo — Comparative  Vocabulary — 
Cahita  Lord's  Prayer — The  Tarahumara  and  its  Dialects— The 
Tarahumara  Grammar — Tarahumara  Lord's  Prayer  in  Two  Dialects 
— The  Concho,  the  Toboso,  the  Julime,  the  Piro,  the  Suma,  the 
Chinarra,  the  Tubar,  the  Irritila  —  Tejano  —  Tejano  Grammar — 
Specimen  of  the  Tejano — The  Tepehuana — Tepehuana  Grammar 
and  Lord's  Prayer — Acaxee  and  its  Dialects,  the  Topia,  Sabaibo 
and  Xixime — The  Zacatec,  Cazcane,  Mazapile,  Huitcole,  Guaclii- 
chile,  Colotlan,  Tlaxomultec,  Tecuexe,  and  Tepecano — The  Cora 
and  its  Dialects,  the  Muutzicat,  Teacuaeitzica,  and  Ateacari — Cora 
Grammar 706 

CHAPTER   IX. 

THE    AZTEC    AND    OTOMI    LANGUAGES. 

Nahua  or  Aztec,  Chichimec,  and  Toltec  Languages  Identical — An&huac 
the  Aboriginal  Seat  of  the  Aztec  Tongue— The  Aztec  the  Oldest 
Language  in  Analiuac — Beauty  and  Richness  of  the  Aztec — Testi- 
mony of  the  Missionaries  and  Early  Writers  in  its  Favor — Specimen 
from  Paredes'  Manual — Grammar  of  the  Aztec  Language — Aztec 
Lord's  Prayer — The  Otomi  a  Monosyllabic  Language  of  Anahuac 
— Relationship  Claimed  with  the  Chinese  and  Cherokee — Otomi 
Grammar — Otomi  Lord's  Prayer  in  Different  Dialects 723 

CHAPTER  X. 

LANGUAGES    OF    CENTRAL    AND    SOUTHERN    MEXICO. 

The  Pame  and  its  Dialects — The  Meco  of  Guanajuato  and  the  Sierra 
Gorda — The  Tarasco  of  Michoacan  and  its  Grammar — The  Matlal- 
tzinca  and  its  Grammar — The  Ocuiltec — The  Miztec  and  its  Dialects 
— Miztec  Grammar — The  Amusgo,  Chocho,  Mazatec,  Cuicatec,  Cha- 
tino,  Tlapanec,  Chinantec,  and  Popoluca — The  Zapotec  and  its 
Grammar — The  Mije — Mije  Grammar  and  Lord's  Prayer — The 
Huave  of  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec — Huave  Numerals 742 

CHAPTER  XL 

THE    MAYA-QUICHE    LANGUAGES. 

The  Maya-Quiche,  the  Languages  of  the  Civilized  Nations  of  Central 
America — Enumeration  of  the  Members  of  This  Family — Hypothet- 
ical Analogies  with  Languages  of  the  Old  World — Lord's  Prayers 
in  the  Chanabal,  Chiapanec,  Choi,  Tzendal,  Zoque,  and  Zotzil — 
Pokonchi  Grammar — The  Mame  or  Zaklopahkap — Quiche  Gram- 
mar— Cakchiquel  Lord's  Prayer — Maya  Grammar — Totonac  Gram- 
mar— Totonac  Dialects — Huastec  Grammar 759 


xii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XII. 

LANGUAGES   OF  HONDURAS,    NICARAGUA,    COSTA  RICA,    AND  THE   ISTHMUS   OF 

DARIEN. 

PAGE 

The  Carib  an  Imported  Language — The  Mosquito  Language — The  Poya, 
Towka,  Seco,  Valiente,  Rama,  Cookra,  Woolwa,  and  Other  Lan- 
guages in  Honduras  —  The  Chontal  —  Mosquito  Grammar — Love 
Song  in  the  Mosquito  Language  —  Comparative  Vocabulary  of 
Honduras  Tongues — The  Coribici,  Chorotega,  Chontal,  and  Orotina 
in  Nicaragua — Grammar  of  the  Ortifia  or  Nagrandan — Comparison 
between  the  Orotina  and  Chorotega — The  Chiriquf,  Guatuso,  Tiri- 
bi,  and  Others  in  Costa  Rica — Talamanca  Vocabulary — Diversity 
of  Speech  on  the  Isthmus  of  Darien — Enumeration  of  Languages 
— Comparative  Vocabulary 782 


THE  NATIVE  RACES 

OF    THE 

PACIFIC   STATES. 


MYTHOLOGY,  LANGUAGES. 


CHAPTER   I. 

SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

DIFFERENCE  BETWEEN  MAN  AND  BRUTES — MIND-LANGUAGE  AND  SOUL-LAN- 
GUAGE— ORIGIN  OF  LANGUAGE:  A  GIFT  OF  THE  CREATOR,  A  HUMAN 
INVENTION,  OR  AN  EVOLUTION  ? — NATURE  AND  VALUE  OF  MYTH — ORIGIN 
OF  MYTH:  THE  DIVINE  IDEA,  A  FICTION  OF  SORCERY,  THE  CREATION  OF  A 
DESIGNING  PRIESTHOOD— ORIGIN  OF  WORSHIP,  OF  PRAYER,  OF  SACRIFICE 
—  FETICHISM  AND  THE  ORIGIN  OF  ANIMAL-WORSHIP  —  RELIGION  AND 
MYTHOLOGY. 

HITHERTO  we  have  beheld  Man  only  in  his  material 
organism ;  as  a  wild  though  intellectual  animal.  We 
have  watched  the  intercourse  of  uncultured  mind  with 
its  environment.  We  have  seen  how,  to  clothe  himself, 
the  savage  robs  the  beast;  how,  like  animals,  primitive 
man  constructs  his  habitation,  provides  food,  rears  a 
family,  exercises  authority,  holds  property,  wages  war, 
indulges  in  amusements,  gratifies  social  instincts;  and 
that  in  all  this,  the  savage  is  but  one  remove  from  the 
brute.  Ascending  the  scale,  we  have  examined  the 
first  stages  of  human  progress  and  analyzed  an  incip- 
ient civilization.  We  will  now  pass  the  frontier  which 
separates  mankind  from  animal-kind,  and  enter  the 
domain  of  the  immaterial  and  supernatural — phenom- 
ena which  philosophy  purely  positive  cannot  explain. 

VOL.  III.    1 


2  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

The  primary  indication  of  an  absolute  superiority  in 
man  over  other  animals  is  the  faculty  of  speech;  not 
those  mute  or  vocal  symbols,  expressive  of  passion  and 
emotion,  displayed  alike  in  brutes  and  men ;  but  the 
power  to  separate  ideas,  to  generate  in  the  mind  and 
embody  in  words  sequences  of  thought.  True,  upon 
the  threshold  of  this  inquiry,  as  in  whatever  relates  to 
primitive  man,  we  find  the  brute  creation  hotly  pursu- 
ing, and  disputing  for  a  share  in  this  progressional 
power.  In  common  with  man,  animals  possess  all  the 
organs  of  sensation.  They  see,  hear,  feel,  taste,  and 
smell.  They  have  even  the  organs  of  speech;  but 
they  have  not  speech.  The  source  of  this  wonderful 
faculty  lies  farther  back,  obscured  by  the  mists  which 
ever  settle  round  the  immaterial.  Whether  brutes 
have  souls,  according  to  the  Aristotelean  theory  of  soul, 
or  whether  brute-soul  is  immortal,  or  of  quality  and 
destiny  unlike  and  inferior  to  that  of  man-soul,  we  see 
in  them  unmistakable  evidence  of  mental  faculties. 
The  higher  order  of  animals  possess  the  lower  order  of 
intellectual  perceptions.  Thus  pride  is  manifested  by 
the  caparisoned  horse,  shame  by  the  beaten  dog,  will 
by  the  stubborn  mule.  Brutes  have  memory;  they 
manifest  love  and  hate,  joy  and  sorrow,  gratitude  and 
revenge.  They  are  courageous  or  cowardly,  subtle  or 
simple,  not  merely  up  to  the  measure  of  what  we  com- 
monly term  instinct,  but  with  evident  exercise  of  judg- 
ment; and,  to  a  certain  point,  we  might  even  claim 
for  them  foresight,  as  in  laying  in  a  store  of  food  for 
winter.  But  with  all  this  there  seems  to  be  a  lack  of 
true  or  connected  thought,  and  of  the  faculty  of  ab- 
straction, whereby  conceptions  are  analyzed  and  im- 
pressions defined. 

They  have  also  a  language,  such  as  it  is;  indeed, 
all  the  varieties  of  language  common  to  man.  What 
gesture-language  can  be  more  expressive  than  that 
employed  by  the  horse  with  its  ears  and  by  the  dog 
with  its  tail,  wherein  are  manifestations  of  every  shade 
of  joy,  sorrow,  courage,  fear,  shame,  and  anger  ?  In 
their  brutish  physiognomy,  also,  one  may  read  the 


THOUGHT  AND  EXPRESSION.  3 

language  of  the  emotions,  which,  if  not  so  delicately 
pictured  as  in  the  face  of  man,  is  none  the  less  dis- 
tinctive. Nor  are  they  without  their  vocal  language. 
Every  fowl  and  every  quadruped  possesses  the  power 
of  communicating  intelligence  by  means  of  the  voice. 
They  have  their  noise  of  gladness,  their  signal  cry  of 
danger,  their  notes  of  anger  and  of  woe.  Thus  we 
see  in  brutes,  not  only  intelligence,  but  the  power  of 
communicating  intelligence.  But  intelligence  is  not 
thought,  neither  is  expression  speech.  The  language 
of  brutes,  like  themselves,  is  soulless. 

The  next  indication  of  man's  superiority  over  brutes 
is  the  faculty  of  worship.  The  wild  beast,  to  escape  the 
storm,  flies  howling  to  its  den;  the  savage,  awe  stricken, 
turns  and  prays.  The  lowest  man  perceives  a  hand 
behind  the  lightning,  hears  a  voice  abroad  upon  the 
storm,  for  which  the  highest  brute  has  neither  eye  nor 
ear.  This  essential  of  humanity  we  see  primordially 
displayed  in  mythic  phenomena;  in  the  first  struggle  of 
spiritual  manhood  to  find  expression.  Language  is 
symbol  significant  of  thought,  mythology  is  symbol  sig- 
nificant of  soul.  The  one  is  the  first  distinctive  sound 
that  separates  the  ideal  from  the  material,  the  other 
the  first  respiration  of  the  soul  which  distinguishes  the 
immortal  from  the  animal.  Language  is  thought  in- 
carnate; mythology,  soul  incarnate.  The  one  is  the 
instrument  of  thought,  as  the  other  is  the  essence  of 
thought.  Neither  is  thought;  both  are  closely  akin 
to  thought;  separated  from  either,  in  some  form,  per- 
fect intellectual  manhood  cannot  develop.  I  do  not 
mean  to  say,  with  some,  that  thought  without  speech 
cannot  exist;  unless  by  speech  is  meant  any  form  of 
expression,  symbolical,  emotional,  or  vocal,  or  unless 
by  thought  is  meant  something  more  than  mere  self- 
consciousness  without  sequence  and  without  abstrac- 
tion. There  can  be  no  doubt  that  speech  is  the  living 
breath  of  thought,  and  that  the  exercise  of  speech 
reacts  upon  the  mental  and  emotional  faculties.  In 
brutes  is  found  neither  speech  nor  myth;  in  the  deaf 
and  dumb,  thought  and  belief  are  shadowy  and  unde- 


4  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

fined ;  in  infants,  thought  is  but  as  a  fleeting  cloud 
passing  over  the  brain.  Yet  for  all  this,  deaf-mutes 
and  children  who  have  no  adequate  form  of  expression 
cannot  be  placed  in  the  category  of  brutes.  The  in- 
vention of  the  finger-alphabet  opened  a  way  to  the 
understanding  of  the  deaf  and  dumb ;  but  long  before 
this  is  learned,  in  every  instance,  these  unfortunates 
invent  a  gesture-language  of  their  own,  in  which  they 
think  as  well  as  speak.  And  could  we  but  see  the 
strangely  contorted  imagery  which  takes  possession  of 
a  gesture-thinker's  brain,  we  should  better  appreciate 
the  value  of  words.  So,  into  the  mouth  of  children 
words  are  put,  round  which  thoughts  coalesce ;  but  evi- 
dences of  ideas  are  discovered  some  time  before  they 
can  be  fully  expressed  by  signs  or  sounds.  Kant  held 
the  opinion  that  the  mind  of  a  deaf-mute  is  incapable 
of  development,  but  the  wonderful  success  of  our 
modern  institutions  has  dissipated  forever  that  idea. 

The  soul  of  man  is  a  half-conscious  inspiration, 
from  which  perception  and  expression  are  inseparable. 
Nature  speaks  to  it  in  that  subtle  sympathy  by  which 
the  immaterial  within  holds  converse  with  the  imma- 
terial without,  in  the  soft  whisperings  of  the  breeze, 
in  the  fearful  bellowings  of  the  tempest.  Between 
the  soul  and  body  there  is  the  closest  sympathy,  an 
interaction  in  every  relation.  Therefore  these  voices 
of  nature,  speaking  to  nature's  offspring,  are  answered 
back  in  various  ways  according  to  the  various  organisms 
addressed.  The  animal,  the  intellectual,  the  spiritual, 
whatsoever  the  entity  consists  of,  responds,  and  re- 
sponding, expands  and  unfolds.  Once  give  an  animal 
the  power  to  speak,  and  mental  development  ensues; 
for  speech  cannot  continue  without  ideas,  and  ideas 
cannot  spring  up  without  intellectual  evolution.  A 
dim,  half-conscious,  brutish  thought  there  may  be;  but 
the  faculty  of  abstraction,  sequences  of  thought,  with- 
out words  either  spoken  or  unspoken,  cannot  exist. 

It  is  not  at  all  probable  that  a  system  of  gesture- 
language  was  ever  employed  by  any  primitive  people, 
prior  or  in  preference  to  vocal  language.  To  com- 


ORIGIN  OF  LANGUAGE.  5 

municate  by  signs  requires  no  little  skill,  and  implies 
a  degree  of  artifice  and  forethought  far  beyond  that 
required  in  vocal  or  emotional  language.  Long  before 
a  child  arrives  at  the  point  of  intelligence  necessary 
for  conveying  thought  by  signs,  it  is  well  advanced 
in  a  vocal  language  of  its  own. 

In  mythology,  language  assumes  personality  and 
independence.  Often  the  significance  of  the  word  be- 
comes the  essential  idea.  Zeus,  from  meaning  simply 
sky,  becomes  god  of  the  sky;  Eos,  originally  the  dawn, 
is  made  the  goddess  of  the  opening  day.  Not  the 
idea,  but  the  expression  of  the  idea  becomes  the  deity. 
And  so,  by  these  creations  of  fancy,  the  imagination 
expands;  in  the  embodiment  of  the  idea,  the  mind 
enlarges  with  its  own  creation.  Then  yet  bolder 
metaphors  are  thrown  off  like  soap-bubbles,  which  no 
sooner  take  form  in  words  than  they  are  also  deified. 
Thus  soul  and  thought  and  speech  act  and  react  on 
one  another,  all  the  evolutions  of  conception  seeking 
vent  in  sound  or  speculation;  and  thus  language,  the 
expression  of  mind,  and  mythology,  the  expression  of 
soul,  become  the  exponents  of  divine  humanity. 

But  what,  then,  is  Language?  what  is  Myth?  and 
whence  are  they?  Broadly,  the  term  language  may 
be  applied  to  whatever  social  beings  employ  to  com- 
municate passion  or  sentiment,  or  to  influence  one 
another;  whatever  is  made  a  vehicle  of  intelligence, 
ideographic  or  phonetic,  is  language.  In  this  category 
may  be  placed,  as  we  have  seen,  gestures,  both  instinct- 
ive and  artificial;  emotional  expression,  displayed  in 
form  or  feature;  vocal  sounds,  such  as  the  cries  of 
birds,  the  howling  of  beasts.  Indeed,  language  is 
everywhere,  in  everything.  While  listening  to  the 
rippling  brook,  the  roaring  sea,  the  murmuring  forest, 
as  well  as  to  the  still  small  voice  within,  we  are  but 
reading  from  the  vocabulary  of  nature. 

Thus  construed,  the  principle  assumes  a  variety  of 
shapes,  and  may  be  followed  through  successive  stages 
of  development.  In  fact,  neither  form  nor  feature 
can  be  set  in  motion,  or  even  left  in  a  state  of  repose, 


6  SPEECH  AND   SPECULATION. 

without  conveying  intelligence  to  the  observer.  The 
countenance  of  man,  whether  it  will  or  not,  perpetually 
speaks,  and  speaks  in  most  exquisite  shades  of  signifi- 
cance, and  with  expression  far  more  delicate  than  that 
employed  by  tongue  or  pen.  The  face  is  the  reflex  of 
the  soul ;  a  transparency  which  glows  with  light,  divine 
or  devilish,  thrown  upon  it  from  within.  It  is  a  portrait 
of  individual  intelligence,  a  photograph  of  the  inner 
being,  a  measure  of  innate  intelligence.  And  in  all 
pertaining  to  the  actions  and  passions  of  mankind,  what 
can  be  more  expressive  than  the  language  of  the  emo- 
tions? There  are  the  soft,  silent  wooings  of  love,  the 
frantic  fury  of  hate,  the  dancing  delirium  of  joy,  the 
hungry  cravings  of  desire,  the  settled  melancholy  of 
dead  hopes.  But  more  definitely,  language  is  articu- 
late human  speech  or  symbolic  expression  of  ideas. 

How  man  first  learned  to  speak,  and  whence  the 
power  of  speech  was  originally  derived,  are  questions 
concerning  which  tradition  is  uncommunicative.  Even 
mythology,  which  attempts  the  solution  of  supernatu- 
ral mysteries,  the  explanation  of  all  phenomena  not 
otherwise  accounted  for,  has  little  to  say  as  to  the 
genesis  of  this  most  potential  of  all  human  powers. 

Many  theories  have  been  advanced  concerning  the 
origin  of  language.  Some  of  them  are  exploded;  others 
in  various  stages  of  modification  remain,  no  two  phil- 
ologists thinking  exactly  alike.  The  main  hypotheses 
are  three ;  the  subordinate  ones  are  legion.  Obviously, 
speech  must  be  either  a  direct,  completed  gift  of  the 
Creator,  with  one  or  more  independent  beginnings ;  or  a 
human  invention ;  or  an  evolution  from  a  natural  germ. 

Schleicher  conceives  primordial  language  to  be  a 
simple  organism  of  vocal  gestures;  Goold  Brown 
believes  language  to  be  partly  natural  and  partly  arti- 
ficial ;  Adam  Smith  and  Dugald  Stewart  give  to  man 
the  creation  and  development  of  speech  by  his  own 
artificial  invention.  According  to  Herodotus,  the 
Phrygians  and  the  Egyptians  disputed  over  the  ques- 
tion of  the  antiquity  of  their  languages.  Psammeti- 
chus  thereupon  confided  two  babes  to  the  care  of  goats 


SCIENCE  OF  PHILOLOGY. 


apart  from  every  human  sound.  At  the  end  of  two 
years  they  were  heard  to  pronounce  the  word  bekos, 
the  Phrygian  for  bread.  The  Phrygians  therefore 
claimed  for  their  language  the  seniority. 

In  ancient  times  it  was  thought  that  there  was 
some  one  primeval  tongue,  a  central  language  from 
which  all  the  languages  of  the  earth  radiated.  The 
Sythic,  Ethiopic,  Chinese,  Greek,  Latin,  and  other 
languages  advanced  claims  for  this  seniority.  Plato 
believed  language  to  be  an  invention  of  the  gods,  and 
by  them  given  to  man.  Orthodox  religionists  did  not 
hesitate  to  affirm  that  Hebrew,  the  language  of  Para- 
dise, was  not  only  given  in  a  perfected  state  to  man, 
but  was  miraculously  preserved  in  a  state  of  purity 
for  the  chosen  Israel.  After  the  dispersion  from 
Babel,  such  nations  as  relapsed  into  barbarism  be- 
came barbaric  in  speech.  And  in  the  roots  of  every 
dialect  of  both  the  Old  World  and  the  New,  the 
Fathers  were  able  to  discern  Hebrew  analogies  suffi- 
cient to  confirm  them  in  their  dogma.  Indeed,  other 
belief  was  heresy. 

There  were  others  who  held  that,  when  gesture- 
language  and  the  language  of  the  emotions  were  found 
insufficient  for  the  growing  necessities  of  man,  by  com- 
mon consent,  it  was  agreed  that  certain  objects  should 
be  represented  by  certain  sounds,  and  when  a  word 
had  been  invented  for  every  object,  language  was  made. 

Another  doctrine,  called  by  Mr  Wedgwood,  its  en- 
thusiastic advocate,  '  onomatopoeia/  and  by  Professor 
Max  M  tiller  the  *  bow-wow'  theory,  explains  the  origin 
of  language  in  the  effort  of  man  to  imitate  the  cries  of 
nature.  Thus,  for  dog  the  primitive  languageless  man 
would  say  ' bow-wow;'  to  the  rivulet,  the  wind,  the 
birds  and  beasts,  names  were  applied  which  as  far  as,. 
possible  were  but  reproductions  of  the  sounds  made- 
fey  these  elements  or  animals. 

Thus  philology  up  to  a  comparatively  late  period 
was  a  speculation  rather  than  a  science.  Philosophers 
sought  to  know  whence  language  came  rather  than 
what  language  is.  But  when  the  great  discovery  con- 


8  SPEECH  AND   SPECULATION. 

cerning  the  Arian  and  Semitic  families  was  made, 
comparative  philologists  went  to  work  after  the  man- 
ner of  practical  investigators  in  other  branches  of 
study,  by  collecting,  classifying,  and  comparing  vocab- 
ularies, and  therefrom  striking  out  a  path  backward  to 
original  trunks.  Catalogues  of  languages  were  pub- 
lished, one  in  1800  by  Hervas,  a  Spanish  Jesuit, 
containing  three  hundred  dialects,  followed  by  Ade- 
lung  and  Vater's  Mithridates,  from  1806-17.  But 
not  until  Sanscrit  was  made  a  subject  of  European 
study  did  it  become  apparent  that  affinities  of  tongues 
are  subject  to  the  laws  that  govern  affinities  of  blood. 
Then  it  was  that  a  similarity  was  discovered,  not  only 
between  the  Sanscrit  and  the  Greek  and  Latin  tongues, 
but  between  these  languages  and  the  Teutonic,  Celtic, 
Iranic,  and  Indie,  all  of  which  became  united  in  the 
great  Arian  family.  At  the  same  time,  the  ancient 
language  of  the  Jews,  the  Arabic,  and  the  Aramaic — 
which  constitute  the  Semitic  family — were  found  to  be 
totally  different  from  the  Arian  in  their  radical  struc- 
ture. From  these  investigations,  philologists  were  no 
less  convinced  that  the  Indo-European  languages  were 
all  of  the  same  stock,  than  that  the  Semitic  idioms 
did  not  belong  to  it.  The  doctrine  of  the  Fathers, 
therefore,  would  not  stand;  for  it  was  found  that  all 
languages  wrere  not  derivations  from  the  Hebrew,  nor 
from  any  other  known  central  tongue. 

Then,  too,  the  subordination  of  tongues  to  the  laws 
of  evolution  became  apparent.  It  was  discovered  that 
language  was  in  a  state  of  constant  change ;  that,  with 
all  its  variations,  human  speech  could  be  grouped  into 
families,  and  degrees  of  relationship  ascertained;  and 
that,  by  the  comparison  of  vocabularies,  a  classi- 
fication at  once  morphological  and  genealogical  could 
be  made.  Varieties  of  tongues,  as  numberless  as  the 
phases  of  humanity,  could  be  traced  back  toward  their 
beginnings  and  resolved  into  earlier  forms.  It  was 
discovered  that  in  the  first  order  of  linguistic  develop- 
ment words  are  monosyllabic.  In  this  rudimentary 
stage,  to  which  the  Chinese,  Tibetan,  and  perhaps  the 


VARIATIONS  OF  LANGUAGE.  9 

Japanese  belong,  roots,  or  sounds  expressive  only  of 
the  material  or  substantial  parts  of  things,  are  used. 
In  the  second  stage,  called  the  polysynthetic,  aggre- 
gative, or  agglutinate,  a  modifying  termination,  sig- 
nificant of  the  relations  of  ideas  or  things  to  each 
other,  is  affixed  or  glued  to  the  root.  To  the  agglu- 
tinate languages  belong  the  American  and  Turanian 
families.  In  the  third,  called  the  inflectional  stage, 
which  comprises  only  the  Arian  and  Semitic  families, 
the  two  elements  are  more  perfectly  developed,  and 
it  is  only  in  this  stage  that  language  can  attain  the 
highest  degree  of  richness  and  refinement. 

While  these  stages  or  conditions  are  recognized  by 
all,  it  is  claimed  on  one  side  that  although  settled 
languages  retain  their  grammatical  character,  every 
agglutinate  language  must  once  have  been  monosyl- 
labic, or  radical,  and  every  inflectional  language  once 
agglutinate;  and  on  the  other  side,  it  is  averred  that 
the  assertion  is  incapable  of  proof,  for  no  historical 
evidence  exists  of  any  one  type  ever  having  passed 
from  one  of  these  stages  to  another.  Now,  if  speech 
is  a  perfected  gift  of  the  Creator,  how  happens  it  that 
we  find  language  in  every  stage  of  development  or  re- 
lapse, from  the  duckings  of  Thlinkeets  to  the  classic 
lines  of  Homer  and  of  Shakespeare?  In  his  physio- 
logical structure,  so  far  as  is  known,  Man  is  neither 
more  nor  less  perfect  now  than  in  the  days  of  Adam. 
How,  then,  if  language  is  an  organism,  is  it,  unlike 
other  organisms,  subject  to  extreme  and  sudden  change  ? 
In  animated  nature  there  are  two  principles :  one  fixed 
and  finished  as  an  organism,  subject  to  perpetual  birth 
and  decay,  but  incapable  of  advancing  or  retrograding ; 
the  other,  elemental  life,  the  germ  or  centre  of  a  future 
development.  The  one  grows,  the  other  unfolds.  We 
have  no  evidence  that  instincts  and  organic  functions 
were  more  or  less  perfect  in  the  beginning  than  now. 
If,  therefore,  language  is  an  instinct  or  an  organism, 
a  perfect  gift  of  the  Creator,  how  can  it  exist  other- 
wise than  in  a  concrete  and  perfect  state,  like  other 
instincts  and  organisms? 


10  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

The  absurdity  that  human  speech  is  the  invention 
of  primitive  man — that  upon  some  grassy  knoll  a  com- 
pany of  half-clad  barbarians  met,  and  without  words 
invented  words,  without  significant  sounds  produced 
sounds  significant  of  every  object,  therein  by  mutual 
consent  originating  a  language — may  be  set  aside.  Of 
all  conjectures  concerning  the  origin  of  language,  the 
hypothesis  that  words  are  an  artificial  invention  is  the 
least  tenable.  And  what  is  most  surprising  to  us,  at 
the  present  day,  is  that  such  men  as  Locke  and  Adam 
Smith  and  Dugald  Stewart  could  for  a  moment  have 
entertained  the  idea.  Obviously,  without  language 
there  could  be  no  culture,  and  without  culture,  words 
never  could  have  been  invented.  Words  are  the  sym- 
bols of  objects  and  ideas.  Certain  words  maybe  arbi- 
trarily selected,  and,  by  the  tacit  agreement  or  general 
concurrence  of  society,  may  be  made  to  signify  certain 
things.  And  in  this  sense  words  may  originate  con- 
ventionally. But  though  words  may  have  been  con- 
ventionally selected,  they  were  never  selected  by 
conventions.  We  then  have  the  discoveries  of  modern 
philologists,  not  only  to  positively  deny  the  infallibil- 
ity of  the  common-origin  theory,  but  to  bring  forward 
a  number  of  other  claimants  for  the  greatest  antiquity, 
as  well  entitled  to  a  hearing  as  the  Hebrew. 

Diversity  in  the  origin  of  speech  does  not  of  neces- 
sity imply  diversity  in  the  origin  of  race.  Thus,  with 
a  unity  of  race,  circumstances  may  be  conceived  in 
which  independent  tongues  may  have  arisen  in  differ- 
ent localities;  whereas,  with  a  diversity  of  race,  but 
one  language  hypothetically  may  have  been  given  to 
all.  A  common  origin  is  probable,  a  diversity  of  ori- 

fin  is  possible ;  neither  can  be  proved  nor  disproved, 
he  radical  differences  in  the  structure  of  the  three 
great  types,  the  monosyllabic,  the  agglutinate,  and 
the  inflectional,  and  the  inherent  heterogeneities  of 
the  several  families  of  the  same  type,  as  of  the  Chinese 
and  Siamese,  of  the  American  and  Turanian,  or  even 
of  the  Arian  and  Semitic,  would  seem  to  present  in- 
surmountable obstacles  to  the  theory  of  a  common 


UNIVERSALITY   OF   SPEECH.  11 

origin;  while  on  the  other  hand,  the  wonderful  muta- 
tions of  types  and  trunks,  the  known  transformations 
of  language,  and  the  identifications  by  some  philolo- 
gists of  the  same  stock  in  each  of  the  three  progres- 
sional  stages,  render  the  theory  of  a  unity  of  origin  in 
language  equally  probable.  Therefore  the  question 
of  unity  or  diversity  of  tongues,  as  we  speak  of  unity 
or  diversity  of  race,  can  be  of  but  little  moment  to  us. 
Language  shows  the  connection  between  nations  widely 
separated,  leads  us  back  beyond  tradition  into  the 
obscure  past,  follows  the  sinuosities  of  migrations,  in- 
dicates epochs  in  human  development,  points  toward 
the  origin  of  peoples,  serves  as  a  guide  in  following 
the  radiation  of  races  from  common  centres.  Yet  a 
similarity  in  the  sound,  or  even  in  the  construction  of 
two  words,  does  not  necessarily  imply  relationship. 
Two  totally  distinct  languages  may  have  borrowed  the 
same  word  from  a  third  language ;  which  fact  would 
never  establish  relationship  between  the  borrowers. 
When  like  forms  are  found  in  different  languages,  in 
order  to  establish  a  relationship,  historical  evidence 
must  be  applied  as  a  test,  and  the  words  followed  up 
to  their  roots. 

Stripped  of  technicalities,  the  question  before  us  is 
reduced  to  a  few  simple  propositions.  All  men  speak ; 
there  never  yet  was  found  a  nation  without  articulate 
language.  Aside  from  individual  and  abnormal  ex- 
ceptions, no  primitive  tribe  has  ever  been  discovered 
where  part  of  the  people  spoke,  and  part  were  speech- 
less. Language  is  as  much  a  part  of  man  as  any 
physical  constituent;  yet  unlike  physical  organs,  as 
the  eye,  the  ear,  the  hand,  language  is  not  born  with 
the  individual.  It  is  not  in  the  blood.  The  Cauca- 
sian infant  stolen  by  Apaches  cannot  converse  with  its 
own  mother  when  restored  to  her  a  few  years  after. 

Therefore  speech  is  not  an  independent,  perfected 
gift  of  the  Creator,  but  an  incidental  acquirement. 
Furthermore,  language  is  an  attribute  of  society.  It 
belongs  to  the  people,  and  not  to  the  individual.  The 
child  before  mentioned,  if  dropped  by  the  Apaches 


12  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

among  the  bears,  and  by  them  nurtured  and  reared,  is 
doomed  to  mutism  or  bear-language.  Man  was  made 
a  social  being ;  speech  was  made  as  a  means  of  com- 
municating intelligence  between  social  beings;  one 
individual  alone  never  could  originate  or  even  pre- 
serve a  language. 

But  how,  then,  happens  it,  if  man  did  not  make  it, 
and  God  did  not  give  it  him,  that  human  speech  is 
universal?  With  the  organism  of  man  the  Creator 
implants  the  organs  of  speech.  With  the  elemental 
and  progressional  life  of  man  the  Creator  implants  the 
germ  of  speech.  In  common  with  the  element  of 
progress  and  civilization,  innate  from  the  beginning, 
speech  has  developed  by  slow  degrees  through  thou- 
sands of  cycles  and  by  various  stages,  marching  stead- 
ily forward  with  the  forward  march  of  the  intellect. 
Comparative  philology,  in  common  with  all  other 
sciences,  accords  to  man  a  remote  antiquity.  Bunsen 
estimates  that  at  least  twenty  thousand  years  are  re- 
quired for  a  language  to  pass  from  one  rudimentary 
stage  to  another. 

The  mind  receives  impressions  and  the  soul  intui- 
tions, and  to  throw  them  off  in  some  form  is  an  abso- 
lute necessity.  Painful  impressions  tend  to  produce 
bodily  contortions  and  dolorous  sounds;  pleasant  im- 
pressions, to  illumine  the  features  and  to  make  musical 
the  voice.  And  not  only  is  this  compressed  emotion 
destined  to  find  expression,  but  to  impress  itself  upon 
others.  Emotion  is  essentially  sympathetic.  Why 
certain  objects  are  represented  by  certain  sounds  we 
can  never  know.  Some  think  that  between  every 
word  and  the  object  or  idea  which  it  represents  there 
was  in  the  first  instance  an  intimate  relationship. 
By  degrees  certain  natural  articulations  became  asso* 
elated  with  certain  ideas;  then  new  names  were  sug- 
gested by  some  fancied  analogy  to  objects  already 
named.  Everything  else  being  equal,  similar  condi- 
tions and  causations  produce  similar  impressions  and 
are  expressed  by  similar  sounds.  Hence  a  certain, 
uniformity  between  all  human  tongues;  and  a  tend- 


MYTHOLOGY.  13 

ency  in  man  to  imitate  the  sounds  in  nature,  the 
cries  of  animals,  the  melodies  of  winds  and  waters, 
accounts  for  the  origin  of  many  words. 

From  giving  expression  in  some  outward  form  to  our 
inward  emotion  there  is  no  escape.  Let  us  now  apply 
to  the  expression  of  feeling  and  emotion  the  same  law 
of  evolution  which  governs  all  social  and  intellectual 
phenomena,  and  from  a  language  of  exclamations,  we 
have  first  the  monosyllabic  noun  and  verb,  then  auxil- 
iaries—  adverbs,  adjectives,  prepositions,  and  pro- 
nouns— and  finally  inflections  of  parts  of  speech,  by 
which  the  finer  shades  of  meaning  may  be  expressed. 

The  spontaneous  outbursts  of  feeling,  or  the  meta- 
phorical expressions  of  emotion,  arising  instinctively 
and  acting  almost  simultaneously  with  the  conception 
or  impression  made  upon  the  mind,  develop  with  time 
into  settled  forms  of  speech.  Man  speaks  as  birds 
fly  or  fishes  swim.  The  Creator  supplies  the  organs 
and  implants  the  instinct.  Speech,  though  intuitive, 
is  more  than  intuition ;  for,  as  we  have  seen,  speech 
is  a  social  rather  than  an  individual  attribute.  Dar- 
win perceives  in  language  not  only  a  spontaneous  gen- 
eration, but  a  natural  selection  of  grammatical  forms; 
the  best  words,  the  clearest  and  shortest  expressions, 
continually  displacing  the  weaker.  So  words  are  made 
to  fit  occasions,  and  dropped  as  soon  as  better  ones  can 
be  found. 

Languages  are  not  inherited,  yet  language  is  an  in 
heritance.  Language  is  not  artificially  invented,  yet 
languages  are  but  conventional  agreements.  Lan- 
guages are  not  a  concrete  perfected  gift  of  the  Creator, 
yet  the  germ  of  language  is  ineradicably  implanted  in 
man,  and  was  there  implanted  by  none  but  man's 
Creator.  This,  then,  is  Language :  it  is  an  acquisition, 
but  an  acquisition  from  necessity;  it  is  a  gift,  but, 
when  given,  an  undeveloped  germ;  it  is  an  artifice,  in 
so  far  as  it  is  developed  by  the  application  of  individual 
agencies. 

Here,  for  a  while,  we  will  leave  Language  and  turn 


14  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

to  Mythology,  themythos,  'fable/  and  logos,  'speech/  of 
the  Grecians. 

Under  analysis,  mythology  is  open  to  broad  yet 
significant  interpretations.  As  made  up  of  legendary 
accounts  of  places  and  personages,  it  is  history;  as 
relating  to  the  genesis  of  the  gods,  the  nature  and  ad- 
ventures of  divinities,  it  is  religion;  placed  in  the 
category  of  science,  it  is  the  science  of  fable;  of  phi- 
losophy, the  philosophy  of  intuitive  beliefs.  A  mass 
of  fragmentary  truth  and  fiction  not  open  to  rational- 
istic criticism;  a  system  of  tradition,  genealogical  and 
political,  confounding  the  subjective  with  the  objective ; 
a  partition  wall  of  allegories,  built  of  dead  facts 
cemented  with  wild  fancies — it  looms  ever  between 
the  immeasurable  and  the  measurable  past. 

Thick  black  clouds,  portentous  of  evil,  hang  threat- 
eningly over  the  savage  during  his  entire  life.  Genii 
murmur  in  the  flowing  river,  in  the  rustling  branches 
are  felt  the  breathings  of  the  gods,  goblins  dance  in 
vapory  twilight,  and  demons  howl  in  the  darkness. 

In  the  myths  of  wild,  untutored  man  is  displayed 
that  inherent  desire  to  account  for  the  origin  of  things, 
which,  even  at  the  present  time,  commands  the  pro- 
foundest  attention  of  philosophy;  and  as  we  look  back 
upon  the  absurd  conceptions  of  our  savage  ancestry 
with  feelings  akin  to  pity  and  disgust,  so  may  the 
speculations  of  our  own  times  appear  to  those  who 
shall  come  after  us.  Those  weird  tales  which  to  us 
are  puerility  or  poetry,  according  as  we  please  to  regard 
them,  were  to  their  believers  history,  science,  and  re- 
ligion.  Yet  this  effort,  which  continues  from  the  be- 
ginning to  the  end,  is  not  valueless;  in  it  is  embodied 
the  soul  of  human  progress.  Without  mythology,  the 
only  door  at  once  to  the  ideal  and  inner  life  of  primi- 
tive peoples,  and  to  their  heroic  and  historic  past,  would 
be  forever  closed  to  us.  Nothing  so  reflects  their 
heart- secrets,  exposes  to  our  view  their  springs  of 
action,  shadows  forth  the  sources  cf  their  hopes  and 
fears,  exhibits  the  models  after  which  they  moulded 
their  lives. 


ALL  MYTHS  FOUNDED  ON  FACT.  15 

Within  crude  poetic  imagery  are  enrolled  their 
religious  beliefs,  are  laid  the  foundations  of  their  sys- 
tems of  worship,  are  portrayed  their  thoughts  concern- 
ing causations  and  the  destinies  of  mankind.  Under 
symbolic  veils  is  shrouded  their  ancient  national  spirit, 
all  that  can  be  known  of  their  early  history  and  popu- 
lar ideas.  Thus  are  explained  the  fundamental  laws 
of  nature;  thus  we  are  told  how  earth  sprang  from 
chaos,  how  men  and  beasts  and  plants  were  made,  how 
heaven  was  peopled,  and  earth,  and  what  were  the 
relative  powers  and  successive  dynasties  of  the  gods. 
Heroes  are  made  gods;  gods  are  materialized  and 
brought  down  to  men. 

Of  the  value  of  mythology  it  is  unnecessary  here  to 
speak.  Never  was  there  a  time  in  the  history  of  phi- 
losophy when  the  character,  customs,  and  beliefs  of 
aboriginal  man,  and  everything  appertaining  to  him, 
were  held  in  such  high  esteem  by  scholars  as  at  present. 
As  the  ultimate  of  human  knowledge  is  approached,  the 
inquirer  is  thrown  back  upon  the  past;  and  more  and 
more  the  fact  becomes  apparent,  that  what  is,  is  but  a 
reproduction  of  what  has  been ;  that  in  the  earlier  stages 
of  human  development  may  be  found  the  counterpart 
of  every  phase  of  modern  social  life.  Higher  and 
more  heterogeneous  as  are  our  present  systems  of 
politics  and  philosophy,  every  principle,  when  tracked 
to  its  beginning,  proves  to  have  been  evolved,  not 
originated. 

As  there  never  yet  was  found  a  people  without  a 
language,  so  every  nation  has  its  mythology,  some 
popular  and  attractive  form  for  preserving  historical 
tradition  and  presenting  ethical  maxims ;  and  as  by  the 
range  of  their  vocabularies  we  may  follow  men  through 
all  the  stages  of  their  progress  in  government,  domes- 
tic affairs  and  mechanical  arts,  so,  by  beliefs  expressed, 
we  may  determine  at  any  given  epoch  in  the  history 
of  a  race  their  ideal  and  intellectual  condition.  With- 
out the  substance  there  can  be  no  shadow,  without 
the  object  there  can  be  no  name  for  it;  therefore  when 
we  find  a  language  without  a  word  to  denote  property 


16  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION.- 

or  chastity,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  wealth  and 
women  of  the  tribe  are  held  in  common;  and  when  in 
a  system  of  mythology  certain  important  metaphysical 
or  sesthetic  ideas  and  attributes  are  wanting,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  intellect  of  its  composers  has  not  yet 
reached  beyond  a  certain  low  point  of  conception. 

Moreover,  as  in  things  evil  may  be  found  a  spirit 
of  good,  so  in  fable  we  find  an  element  of  truth.  It 
is  now  a  recognized  principle  of  philosophy,  that  no 
religious  belief,  however  crude,  nor  any  historical  tra- 
dition, however  absurd,  can  be  held  by  the  majority 
of  a  people  for  any  considerable  time  as  true,  without 
having  in  the  beginning  some  foundation  in  fact. 
More  especially  is  the  truth  of  this  principle  apparent 
when  we  consider  that  in  all  the  multitudinous  beliefs 
of  all  ages,  held  by  peoples  savage  and  civilized,  there 
exist  a  concurrence  of  ideas  and  a  coincidence  of  opinion. 
Human  conceptions  of  supernatural  affairs  spring  from 
like  intuitions.  As  human  nature  is  essentially  the 
same  throughout  the  world  and  throughout  time,  so 
the  religious  instincts  which  form  a  part  of  that  uni- 
versal humanity  generate  and  develop  in  like  manner 
under  like  conditions.  The  desire  to  penetrate  hidden 
surroundings  and  the  method  of  attempting  it  are  to 
a  certain  extent  common  to  all.  All  wonder  at  the 
mysterious;  all  attempt  the  solution  of  mysteries;  all 
primarily  possess  equal  facilities  for  arriving  at  correct 
conclusions.  The  genesis  of  belief  is  uniform,  and  the 
results  under  like  conditions  analogous. 

We  may  conclude  that  the  purposes  for  which  these 
fictitious  narratives  were  so  carefully  preserved  and 
handed  down  to  posterity  were  twofold — to  keep  alive 
certain  facts  and  to  inculcate  certain  doctrines. 

Something  there  must  have  been  in  every  legend, 
in  every  tradition,  in  every  belief,  which  has  ever  been 
entertained  by  the  majority  of  a  people,  to  recommend 
it  to  the  minds  of  men  in  the  first  instance.  Error 
absolute  cannot  exist;  false  doctrine  without  an  amal- 
gam of  verity  speedily  crumbles,  and  the  more  mon- 
strous the  falsity,  the  more  rapid  its  decomposition. 


VALUE   OF   MYTHOLOGY.  17 

Myths  were  the  oracles  of  our  savage  ancestors ;  their 
creed,  the  rule  of  their  life,  prized  by  them  as  men 
now  prize  their  faith;  and  by  whatever  savage  phi- 
losophy these  strange  conceits  were  eliminated,  their 
effect  upon  the  popular  mind  was  vital.  Anaxagoras, 
Socrates,  Protagoras,  and  Epicurus  well  knew  and 
boldly  proclaimed  that  the  gods  of  the  Grecians  were 
disreputable  characters,  not  the  kind  of  deities  to  make 
or  govern  worlds;  yet  so  deep-rooted  in  the  hearts tof 
the  people  were  the  maxims  of  the  past,  that  for  these 
expressions  one  heretic  was  cast  into  prison,  another 
expelled  from  Athens,  and  another  forced  to  drink  the 
hemlock.  And  the  less  a  fable  presents  the  appear- 
ance of  probability,  the  more  grotesque  and  extrava- 
gant it  is,  the  less  the  likelihood  of  its  having  originated 
in  pure  invention;  for  no  extravagantly  absurd  inven- 
tion without  a  particle  of  truth  could  by  any  possibility 
have  been  palmed  off  upon  a  people,  and  by  them 
accepted,  revered,  recited,  preserved  as  veritable  in- 
cident or  solution  of  mystery,  and  handed  down  to 
those  most  dear  to  them  to  be  in  like  manner  held  as 
sacred. 

Therefore  we  may  be  sure  that  there  never  was  a 
myth  without  a  meaning ;  that  mythology  is  not  a  bun- 
dle of  ridiculous  fancies  invented  for  vulgar  amuse- 
ment ;  that  there  is  not  one  of  these  stories,  no  matter 
how  silly  or  absurd,  which  was  not  founded  in  fact, 
which  did  not  once  hold  a  significance.  "  And  though 
I  have  well  weighed  and  considered  all  this,"  concluded 
Lord  Bacon,  nearly  three  hundred  years  ago,  "and 
thoroughly  seen  into  the  levity  which  the  mind  in- 
dulges for  allegories  and  illusions,  yet  I  cannot  but 
retain  a  high  value  for  the  ancient  mythology."  In- 
deed, to  ancient  myths  has  been  attributed  the  pres- 
ervation of  shattered  fragments  of  lost  sciences,  even 
as  some  have  alleged  that  we  are  indebted  to  the  writ- 
ings of  Democritus  and  Aristotle  for  modern  geograph- 
ical discoveries. 

That  these  ductile  narratives  have  suffered  in  their 

VOL.  III.    2 


18  SPEECH   AND   SPECULATION. 

transmission  to  us,  that  through  the  magnifying  and 
refracting  influences  of  time,  and  the  ignorance  and 
fanaticism  of  those  to  whom  they  were  first  recited, 
we  receive  them  mutilated  and  distorted,  there  can  be 
no  doubt.  Not  one  in  a  thousand  of  those  aboriginal 
beliefs  which  were  held  by  the  people  of  the  Pacific 
coast  at  the  time  of  its  first  occupation  by  foreigners 
has  been  preserved.  And  for  the  originality  and 
purity  of  such  as  we  have,  in  many  instances  no  one 
can  vouch.  Certain  writers  who  saw  in  the  native 
fable  probable  evidence  of  the  presence  of  an  apostle, 
or  a  miraculous  interposition  in  the  affairs  of  be- 
nighted heathendom,  could  but  render  the  narrative 
in  accordance  with  their  prepossessions.  The  desire 
of  some  to  prove  a  certain  origin  for  the  Indians,  and 
the  contempt  of  others  for  native  character,  also  led 
to  imperfect  or  colored  narrations.  But  happily, 
enough  has  been  preserved  in  authentic  picture-writ- 
ings, and  by  narrators  whose  integrity  and  intelligence 
are  above  suspicion,  to  give  us  a  fair  insight  into  the 
native  psychological  structure  and  belief;  and  if  the 
knowledge  we  have  is  but  infinitesimal  in  comparison 
with  what  has  been  lost,  we  may  thereby  learn  to 
prize  more  highly  such  as  we  have. 

Again  we  come  to  the  ever-recurring  question, 
Whence  is  it  ?  Whence  arise  belief,  worship,  supersti- 
tion ?  Whence  the  striking  likeness  in  all  super- 
natural conceptions  between  nations  and  ages  the 
most  diverse  ?  Why  is  it  that  so  many  peoples,  dur- 
ing the  successive  stages  of  their  progress,  have  their 
creation  myth,  their  origin  myth,  their  flood  myth, 
their  animal  and  plant  and  planet  myths?  This 
•coincidence  of  evolution  can  scarcely  be  the  result  of 
accident.  Mythologies,  then,  being  like  languages 
common  to  mankind,  uniform  in  substance,  yet  vary- 
ing in  detail,  what  follows  with  regard  to  the  essential 
system  of  their  supernatural  conceptions  ?  Is  it  a 
perfected  gift  of  the  Creator,  the  invention  of  a  de- 
signing priesthood,  or  a  spontaneous  generation  and 
natural  development  ?  So  broad  a  question,  involving 


ORIGIN   OF   BELIEF.  19 

as  it  does  the  weightiest  matters  connected  with  man, 
may  scarcely  expect  exactly  the  same  answer  from  any 
two  persons.  Origin  of  life,  origin  of  mind,  origin  of 
belief,  are  as  much  problems  to  the  profoundest  phi- 
losopher of  to-day  as  they  were  to  the  first  wondering, 
bewildered  savage  who  wandered  through  primeval 
forests. 

Life  is  defined  by  Herbert  Spencer  as  "  the  coor- 
dination of  actions,  or  their  continuous  adjustment;" 
by  Lewes  as  "a  series  of  definite  and  successive 
changes,  both  of  structure  and  composition,  which 
take  place  within  an  individual  without  destroying  its 
identity;"  by  Schelling  as  "  the  tendency  to  individua- 
tiori;"  by  Richeraud  as  "a  collection  of  phenomena 
which  succeed  each  other  during  a  limited  time  in  an 
organized  body  ;  "  and  by  De  Blainville  as  "  the  two- 
fold internal  movement  of  composition  and  decomposi- 
tion, at  once  general  and  continuous."  According  to 
Hume,  Mind  is  but  a  bundle  of  ideas  and  impressions 
which  are  the  sum  of  all  knowledge,  and  consequently, 
"  the  only  things  known  to  exist."  In  the  positive 
philosophy  of  Auguste  Comte,  intellectual  develop- 
ment is  divided  into  three  phases ;  namely,  the  Super- 
natural, in  which  the  mind  seeks  for  supernatural 
causes;  the  Metaphysical,  wherein  abstract  forces  are 
set  up  in  place  of  supernatural  agencies ;  and  the 
Positive,  which  inquires  into  the  laws  which  engender 
phenomena.  Martineau,  commenting  upon  intuition 
and  the  mind's  place  in  nature,  charges  the  current 
doctrine  of  evolution  with  excluding  the  element  of 
life  from  developing  organisms.  Until  the  origin  of 
mind,  and  the  relation  of  mind  to  its  environment  is 
determined,  the  origin  of  the  supernatural  must  remain 
unaccounted  for.  Yet  we  may  follow  the  principle 
of  worship  back  to  very  near  its  source,  if  we  are 
unable  entirely  to  account  for  it. 

We  have  seen  how  the  inability  of  brutes  to  form 
in  the  mind  long  sequences  of  thought  prevents  speech; 
so  in  primitive  societies,  when  successions  of  unre- 
corded events  are  forgotten  before  any  conception  of 


20  SPEECH   AND   SPECULATION. 

general  laws  can  be  formed  therefrom,  polytheism  in 
its  grossest  form  is  sure  to  prevail.  Not  until  the 
earlier  stages  of  progress  are  passed,  and  from  a  mul- 
titude of  correlative  and  oft-repeated  experiences, 
general  deductions  made,  can  there  be  any  higher  reli- 
gious conceptions  than  that  of  an  independent  cause 
for  every  consequence. 

By  some  it  is  alleged  that  the  religious  sentiment 
is  a  divine  idea  perfected  by  the  Creator  and  implanted 
in  man  as  part  of  his  nature,  before  his  divergence 
from  a  primitive  centre.  Singularly  enough,  the 
Fathers  of  the  Church  referred  the  origin  of  fable  as 
well  as  the  origin  of  fact  to  the  Hebrew  Scriptures. 
Supported  by  the  soundest  sophistry,  they  saw  in 
every  myth,  Grecian  or  barbarian,  a  biblical  character. 
Thus  the  Greek  Hercules  was  none  other  than  the 
Hebrew  Samson;  Arion  was  Jonah;  and  Deucalion, 
Noah.  Other  mythological  characters  were  supposed 
by  them  to  have  been  incarnated  fiends,  who  disap- 
peared after  working  for  a  time  their  evil  upon  men. 

There  have  been  those  who-  held  myths  to  be  the 
fictions  of  sorcery,  as  there  are  now  those  who  believe 
that  forms  of  worship  were  invented  by  a  designing 
priesthood,  or  that  mythology  is  but  a  collection  of 
tales,  physical,  ethical,  and  historical,  invented  by  the 
sages  and  ancient  wise  men  of  the  nation,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  overawing  the  wicked  and  encouraging  the 
good.  Some  declare  that  religion  is  a  factitious  or 
accidental  social  phenomenon;  others,  that  it  is  an 
aggregation  of  organized  human  experiences;  others, 
that  it  is  a  bundle  of  sentiments  which  were  origi- 
nally projected  by  the  imagination,  and  ultimately 
adopted  as  entities;  others,  that  it  is  a  feeling  or  emo- 
tion, the  genesis  of  which  is  due  to  surrounding  cir- 
cumstances. 

Many  believe  all  mythological  personages  to  have 
been  once  real  human  heroes,  the  foundations  of  whose 
histories  were  laid  in  truth,  while  the  structure  was 
reared  by  fancy.  The  Egyptians  informed  Herodotus 
that  their  deities — the  last  of  whom  was  Orus,  son  of 


RISE  OF   THE   PRIMITIVE  PRIESTHOOD.  21 

Osiris,  the  Apollo  of  the  Grecians — were  originally 
their  kings.  Others  affirm  that  myths  are  but  sym- 
bolic ideas  deified ;  that  they  are  but  the  embodiment 
of  a  maxim  in  the  form  of  an  allegory,  and  that  under 
these  allegorical  forms  were  taught  history,  religion, 
law,  and  morality. 

Intermingled  with  all  these  hypotheses  are  elements 
of  truth,  and  yet  none  of  them  appear  to  be  satisfying 
explanations.  All  imply  that  religion,  in  some  form, 
is  an  essential  constituent  of  humanity,  and  that  what- 
ever its  origin  and  functions,  it  has  exercised  from  the 
earliest  ages,  and  does  yet  exercise,  the  most  powerful 
influence  upon  man;  working  like  leaven  in  the  lump, 
keeping  the  world  in  a  ferment,  stirring  up  men  to 
action,  banding  and  disrupting  nations,  uniting  and 
dividing  communities,  and  forming  the  nucleus  of  num- 
berless societies  and  institutions, 

In  every  society,  small  and  great,  there  are  undoubt- 
edly certain  intellects  of  quicker  than  ordinary  percep- 
tion, which  seize  upon  occasions,  and  by  a  skilful  use 
of  means  obtain  a  mastery  over  inferior  minds.  It  is 
thus  that  political  and  social  as  well  as  ecclesiastical 
power  arises.  Not  that  the  leader  creates  a  want — he 
is  but  the  mouth-piece  or  agent  of  pent-up  human  in- 
stincts. One  of  these  instincts  is  dependence.  That 
we  are  created  subordinate,  not  absolute  nor  unre- 
strained, is  a  fact  from  which  none  can  escape.  Thral- 
dom, constant  and  insurmountable,  we  feel  we  have 
inherited.  Most  naturally,  therefore,  the  masses  of 
mankind  seek  from  among  their  fellows  some  embodi- 
ment of  power,  and  ranging  themselves  under  the 
banner  of  leaders,  follow  blindly  whithersoever  they 
are  led.  Perceiving  the  power  thus  placed  in  their 
hands,  these  born  leaders  of  men  are  not  slow  to  invent 
means  for  retaining  and  increasing  it.  To  the  inquiry 
of  the  child  or  unsophisticated  savage,  who,  startled 
by  a  peal  of  distant  thunder,  cries,  "What  is  that?" 
the  explanation  is  given:  "That  is  the  storm  god 
speaking."  "I  am  afraid,  protect  me!"  implores  the 
supplicant.  *'I  will,  only  obey,"  is  the  reply.  The 


22  SPEECH   AND   SPECULATION. 

answer  is  sufficient,  curiosity  is  satisfied,  and  terror 
allayed;  the  barbarian  teacher  gains  a  devotee.  In 
this  manner,  the  superstructure  of  creeds,  witchcrafts, 
priestcrafts,  may  have  arisen;  some  gods  may  thus 
have  been  made,  forms  of  worship  invented,  and  inter- 
course opened  with  beings  supernal  and  infernal.  Then 
devotion  advances  and  becomes  an  art;  professors  by 
practice  become  experts.  Meanwhile,  craft  is  econ- 
omized; the  wary  Shaman  rain-doctor  —  like  the 
worthy  clergyman  of  civilized  orthodoxy,  who  refused 
to  pray  for  rain  "while  the  wind  was  in  that  quarter " 
—watches  well  the  gathering  ripeness  of  the  cloud 
before  he  attempts  to  burst  it  with  an  arrow.  And 
in  the  end,  a  more  than  ordinary  skill  in  the  exercise 
of  this  power  deifies  or  demonizes  the  possessor. 

But  whence  arises  the  necessity  for  craft,  and  whence 
the  craft?  The  faculty  of  invention  implies  skill. 
Skill  successfully  to  play  upon  the  instincts  of  human- 
ity can  only  be  acquired  through  the  medium  of  like 
instincts,  and  although  the  skill  be  empirical,  the  play 
must  be  natural.  Craft  alone  will  not  suffice  to  sat- 
isfy the  desire;  the  hook  must  be  baited  with  some 
small  element  of  truth  before  the  most  credulous  will 
seize  it.  If  religious  beliefs  are  the  fruits  of  inven- 
tion, how  shall  we  account  for  the  strange  coincidences 
of  thought  and  worship  which  prevail  throughout  all 
myths  and  cults  ?  Why  is  it  that  all  men  of  every 
age,  in  conditions  diverse,  and  in  countries  widely 
sundered,  are  found  searching  out  the  same  essential 
facts?  All  worship;  nearly  all  have  their  creation- 
myth,  their  flood-myth,  their  theory  of  origin,  of  dis- 
tribution from  primitive  centres,  and  of  a  future  state. 
In  this  regard  as  in  many  another,  civilization  is  but 
an  evolution  of  savagism;  for  almost  every  principle 
of  modern  philosophy  there  may  be  found  in  primitive 
times  its  parallel. 

The  nature  and  order  of  supernatural  conceptions 
are  essentially  as  follows :  The  first  and  rudest  form  of 
belief  is  Fetichism,  which  invests  every  phenomenon 
with  an  independent  personality.  In  the  sunshine, 


THEORIES  CONCERNING  THE  ORIGIN  OF  WORSHIP.        23 

fire,  and  water,  in  the  wind,  and  rock,  and  stream,  in 
every  animal,  bird,  and  plant,  there  is  a  separate  deity ; 
for  every  effect  there  is  a  cause.  Even  Kepler,  whose 
intellect  could  track  the  planets  in  their  orbits,  must 
needs  assume  a  guiding  spirit  for  every  world.  It  is 
impossible  for  the  mind  to  conceive  of  self-creative  or 
self-existent  forces. 

In  time  the  personalities  of  the  fetich-worshipper  be- 
come to  some  extent  generalized.  Homogeneous  ap- 
pearances are  grouped  into  classes,  and  each  class 
referred  to  a  separate  deity,  and  hence  Polytheism. 
Pantheism  then  comes  in  and  makes  all  created  sub- 
stance one  with  the  creator;  nature  and  the  universe 
are  God.  From  the  impersonating  of  the  forces  of 
nature  to  the  creation  of  imaginary  deities,  there  is  but 
a  step.  Every  virtue  and  vice,  every  good  and  evil, 
becomes  a  personality,  under  the  direct  governance  of 
which  lie  certain  passions  and  events;  and  thus  in 
place  of  one  god  for  many  individuals,  each  individual 
may  have  a  multitude  of  his  own  personal  gods.  The 
theogony  of  Hesiod  was  but  a  system  of  materialized 
love  and  hate ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  gods  of 
Homer,  although  personating  human  passions,  were 
likewise  endowed  with  moral  perceptions.  In  them 
the  blind  forces  of  nature  are  lighted  up  into  a 
human-divine  intelligence. 

In  Monotheism,  the  distinct  personalities,  which  to 
the  savage  underlie  every  appearance,  become  wholly 
generalized,  and  the  origin  of  all  phenomena  is  referred 
to  one  First  Cause.  The  subtle  and  philosophic 
Greeks  well  knew  that  God  to  be  God  must  be  om- 
nipotent, and  omnipotency  is  indivisible.  That  the 
Aztecs  could  believe  and  practise  the  absurdities  they 
did  is  less  an  object  of  wonder  than  that  the  intellec- 
tual philosophers  of  Athens  could  have  tolerated  the 
gods  of  Homer.  Indeed,  the  religion  of  the  more  cul- 
tivated Greeks  appears  to  us  monstrous,  in  proportion 
as  they  were  superior  to  other  men  in  poetry,  art,  and 
philosophy. 

Comparative  mythologists  explain  the  origin  of  wor- 


24  SPEECH  AND   SPECULATION. 


ship  by  two  apparently  oppugnaiit  theories.  The  first 
is,  that  whatever  is  seen  in  nature  strange  and  wonder- 
ful is  deemed  by  primitive  man  an  object  worthy  of 
worship.  The  other  is,  that  upon  certain  noted  indi- 
viduals are  fastened  metaphorical  names,  symbolic  of 
some  quality  alike  in  them  and  in  the  natural  object 
after  which  they  are  called;  that  this  name,  which  at 
the  first  was  but  the  surname  of  an  individual,  after 
its  possessor  is  dead  and  forgotten,  lives,  reverts  to  the 
plant  or  animal  whence  it  came,  becomes  impersonal, 
and  is  worshipped  by  a  conservative  posterity.  In 
other  words,  one  theory  fastens  upon  natural  phe- 
nomena, human  attributes,  and  worships  nature  under 
covering  of  those  attributes,  while  the  other  worships 
in  the  natural  object  only  the  memory  of  a  dead  and 
forgotten  man.  I  have  no  doubt  that  in  both  of 
these  hypotheses  are  elements  of  truth. 

In  the  earlier  acts  of  worship  the  tendency  is  to 
assimilate  the  object  worshipped  and  the  character  of 
the  worshipper,  and  also  to  assign  habitations  to  deities, 
behind  man's  immediate  environment.  Every  people 
has  its  heaven  and  hell ;  the  former  most  generally  lo- 
cated beyond  the  blue  sky,  and  the  latter  in  the  dark 
interior  caves  of  the  earth.  Man  in  nature  reproduces 
himself;  invests  appearances  with  attributes  analogous 
to  his  own.  This  likeness  of  the  supernatural  to  the 
natural,  of  gods  to  man,  is  the  first  advance  from 
fetichism,  but  as  the  intellect  advances  anthropomor- 
phism declines.  As  one  by  one  the  nearest  mysteries 
are  solved  by  science,  the  emptiness  of  superstition  be- 
comes apparent,  and  the  wonderless  wonder  is  referred 
by  the  waking  mind  to  general  laws  of  causation ;  but 
still  clinging  to  its  first  conceptions,  it  places  them  on 
objects  more  remote.  Man  fixes  his  eyes  upon  the 
planets,  discovers  their  movements,  and  fancies  their 
controlling  spirit  also  controls  his  destiny;  and  when 
released  by  reason  from  star-worship,  as  formerly 
from  fetichism,  again  an  advance  is  made,  always 
Hearing  the  doctrine  of  universal  law. 

In  one  tersely  comprehensive  sentence,  Clarke  gives 


PRIESTCRAFT  AND   PROPITIATION.  25 

the  old  view  of  what  were  called  natural  religions: 
"They  considered  them,  in  their  source,  the  work  of 
fraud;  in  their  essence,  corrupt  superstitions;  in  their 
doctrines,  wholly  false;  in  their  moral  tendency,  abso- 
lutely injurious;  and  in  their  result,  degenerating  more 
and  more  into  greater  evil." 

And  this  view  seems  to  him  alike  uncharitable  and 
unreasonable:  "To  assume  that  they  are  wholly  evil 
is  disrespectful  to  human  nature.  It  supposes  man 
to  be  the  easy  and  universal  dupe  of  fraud.  But 
these  religions  do  not  rest  on  such  a  sandy  foundation, 
but  on  the  feeling  of  dependence,  the  sense  of  account- 
ability, the  recognition  of  spiritual  realities  very  near 
to  this  world  of  matter,  and  the  need  of  looking  up 
and  worshipping  some  unseen  power  higher  and  better 
than  ourselves.  We  shall  find  them  always  feeling 
after  God,  often  finding  him.  We  shall  see  that  in 
their  origin  they  are  not  the  work  of  priestcraft,  but 
of  human  nature ;  in  their  essence,  not  superstitions, 
but  religions;  in  their  doctrines,  true  more  frequently 
than  false ;  in  their  moral  tendency,  good  rather  than 
evil.  And  instead  of  degenerating  toward  something 
worse,  they  come  to  prepare  the  way  for  something 
better." 

The  nearest  case  to  deliberate  invention  of  dieties 
was,  perhaps,  the  promulgation  as  objects  of  worship 
in  primitive  times  of  such  abstractions  as  Hope  (Spes), 
Fear  (Pallor),  Concord  (Concordia),  Courage  (Virtus), 
etc.  How  far  these  gods  were  gods,  however,  in  even 
the  ordinary  heathen  sense  of  the  word,  is  doubtful. 
In  any  case,  they  were  but  the  extension  of  an  old  and 
existent  principle — the  personification  of  divine  aspects 
or  qualities;  they  added  no  more  to  what  went  before 
than  a  new  Saint  or  Virgin  of  Loretto  does  to  the 
Catholic  Church. 

"It  was  a  favorite  opinion,  with  the  Christian  apolo- 
gists, Eusebius  and  others,"  says  Gladstone,  "that  the 
pagan  deities  represented  deified  men.  Others  consider 
them  to  signify  the  powers  of  external  nature  personi- 
fied. For  others  they  are,  in  many  cases,  impersona- 


20  SPEECH   AND   SPECULATION. 

tions  of  human  passions  and  propensities,  reflected  back 
from  the  mind  of  man.  A  fourth  mode  of  interpreta- 
tion would  treat  them  as  copies,  distorted  and  depraved, 
of  a  primitive  system  of  religion  given  by  God  to  man. 
The  Apostle  St  Paul  speaks  of  them  as  devils;  by 
which  he  may  perhaps  intend  to  convey  that,  under 
the  names  and  in  connection  with  the  worship  of  those 
deities,  the  worst  influences  of  the  Evil  One  were  at 
work.  This  would  rather  be  a  subjective  than  an  ob- 
jective description ;  and  would  rather  convey  an  account 
of  the  practical  working  of  a  corrupted  religion  than 
an  explanation  of  its  origin  or  its  early  course.  As 
between  the  other  four,  it  seems  probable  that  they 
all,  in  various  degrees  and  manners,  entered  into  the 
composition  of  the  later  paganism,  and  also  of  the 
Homeric  or  Olympian  system.  That  system,  however, 
was  profoundly  adverse  to  mere  Nature-worship; 
while  the  care  of  departments  or  provinces  of  external 
nature  were  assigned  to  its  leading  personages.  Such 
worship  of  natural  objects  or  elemental  powers,  as  pre- 
vailed in  connection  with  it,  was  in  general  local  or 
secondary.  And  the  deification  of  heroes  in  the  age 
of  Homer  was  rare  and  merely  titular.  We  do  not 
find  that  any  cult  or  system  of  devotion  was  attached 
to  it." 

So  humanly  divine,  so  impotently  great,  are  the  gods 
of  Homer;  so  thoroughly  invested  with  the  passions 
of  men,  clothed  in  distinctive  shades  of  human  charac- 
ter; such  mingled  virtue  and  vice,  love  and  hate, 
courage  and  cowardice;  animal  passions  uniting  with 
noble  sentiments ;  base  and  vulgar  thoughts  with  lofty 
and  sublime  ideas;  and  all  so  wrought  up  by  his  inimi- 
table fancy  into  divine  and  supernatural  beings,  as  to 
work  most  powerfully  upon  the  nature  of  the  people. 

These  concrete  conceptions  of  his  deities  have  ever 
been  a  source  of  consolation  to  the  savage;  for,  by 
thus  bringing  down  the  gods  to  a  nearer  level  with 
himself,  they  could  be  more  materially  propitiated,  and 
their  protection  purchased  with  gifts  and  sacrifices. 
Thus  the  Greeks  could  obtain  advice  through  oracles, 


UNRECORDED  FACTS   SOON  BECOME  MYTHOLOGICAL.      27 

the  Hindoo  could  pass  at  once  into  eternal  joys  by 
throwing  himself  under  the  car  of  Juggernaut,  while 
the  latter-day  offender  seeks  in  the  assistance  of  the 
departed  to  buy  forgiveness  with  charities,  and  to 
compound  crime  by  building  churches. 

The  difficulty  is,  that  in  attempting  to  establish  any 
theory  concerning  the  origin  of  things,  the  soundest 
logic  is  little  else  than  wild  speculation.  Mankind  pro- 
gress unconsciously.  We  know  not  what  problems  we 
ourselves  are  working  out  for  these  who  come  after  us ; 
we  know  not  by  what  process  we  arrive  at  many  of 
our  conclusions ;  much  of  that  which  is  clear  to  our- 
selves is  never  understood  by  our  neighbor,  and  never 
will  be  even  known  by  our  posterity.  Events  the 
most  material  are  soon  forgotten,  or  else  are  made 
spiritual  and  preserved  as  myths.  Blot  out  the  pro- 
cess by  which  science  arrived  at  results,  and  in  every 
achievement  of  science,  in  the  steam-engine,  the  elec- 
tric telegraph,  we  should  soon  have  a  heaven-descended 
agency,  a  god  for  every  machine.  Where  mythology 
ceases  and  history  begins  is  in  the  annals  of  every 
nation  a  matter  of  dispute.  What  at  first  appears  to 
be  wholly  fabulous  may  contain  some  truth,  whereas 
much  of  what  is  held  to  be  true  is  mere  fable,  and 
herein  excessive  scepticism  is  as  unwise  as  excessive 
credulity. 

Historical  facts,  if  unrecorded,  are  soon  lost.  Thus 
when  Juan  de  Ofiate  penetrated  New  Mexico  in  1596, 
Fray  Marco  de  Niza,  and  the  expedition  of  Coronado 
in  1540,  appear  to  have  been  entirely  forgotten  by  the 
Cibolans.  Fathers  Crespi  and  Junipero  Serra,  in  their 
overland  explorations  of  1769,  preparatory  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  line  of  Missions  along  the  Calif ornian 
seaboard,  could  find  no  traces  in  the  minds  of  the  natives 
of  Cabrillo's  voyage  in  1542,  or  of  the  landing  of  Sir 
Francis  Drake  in  1579;  although,  so  impressed  were 
the  savages  in  the  latter  instance,  that,  according  to 
the  worthy  chaplain  of  the  expedition,  they  desired 
"with  submission  and  fear  to  worship  us  as  gods. "  Nor 
can  we  think  civilized  memories — which  ascribe  the 


28  SPEECH  AND   SPECULATION. 

plays  of  Shakespeare  to  Bacon,  and  parcel  out  the 
Iliad  of  Homer  among  numberless  unrecorded  verse- 
makers — more  tenacious.  Frederick  Augustus  Wolf 
denies  that  a  Homer  ever  existed;  or  if  he  did,  that 
he  ever  wrote  his  poem,  as  writing  was  at  that  time 
not  generally  known ;  but  he  claims  that  snatches  of 
history,  descending  orally  from  one  generation  to 
another,  in  the  end  coalesced  into  the  matchless  Iliad 
and  Odyssey.  The  event  which  so  strongly  impressed 
the  father  becomes  vague  in  the  mind  of  the  son,  and 
in  the  third  generation  is  either  lost  or  becomes  legend- 
ary. Incidents  of  recent  occurrence,  contemporary 
perhaps  with  the  narration,  are  sometimes  so  misinter- 
preted by  ignorance  or  distorted  by  prejudice,  as  to 
place  the  fact  strangely  at  variance  with  the  recital. 
Yet  no  incident  nor  action  falls  purposeless  to  the 
ground.  Unrecorded  it  may  be,  unwitnessed,  unheard 
by  beings  material ;  a  thought- wave  even,  lost  in  space 
invisible,  acting,  for  aught  we  know,  only  upon  the 
author;  yet  so  acting,  it  casts  an  influence,  stamps  on 
fleeting  time  its  record,  thereby  fulfilling  its  destiny. 
Thus  linger  vapory  conceits  long  after  the  action  which 
created  them  has  sunk  into  oblivion ;  undefined  shadows 
of  substance  departed;  none  the  less  impressive  be- 
cause mingled  with  immortal  imagery. 

Turn  now  from  outward  events  to  inner  life;  from 
events  grown  shadowy  with  time,  to  life  ever  dim  and 
mysterious  alike  to  savage  and  sage.  Everywhere  man 
beholds  much  that  is  incomprehensible ;  within,  around, 
the  past,  the  future.  Invisible  forces  are  at  work,  in- 
visible agencies  play  upon  his  destiny.  And  in  the 
creations  of  fancy,  which  of  necessity  grow  out  of  the 
influence  of  nature  upon  the  imagination,  it  is  not 
strange  that  mysteries  darken,  facts  and  fancies  blend; 
the  past  and  the  future  uniting  in  a  supernatural 
present. 

We  are  never  content  with  positive  knowledge.  From 
the  earliest  workings  of  the  mind,  creations  of  fancy 
play  as  important  a  part  in  ethical  economy  as  positive 
perceptions.  Nor  does  culture  in  any  wise  lessen  these 


RELIGIOUS   AND   SCIENTIFIC   ULTIMATES.  29 

fanciful  creations  of  the  intellect.  In  the  political  arena 
of  civilized  nations,  wars  and  revolutions  for  the  en- 
forcement of  opinion  concerning  matters  beyond  the 
reach  of  positive  knowledge  have  equalled  if  they  have 
not  exceeded  wars  for  empire  or  ascendancy.  In  the 
social  and  individual  affairs  of  life  we  are  governed 
more  by  the  ideal  than  by  the  real.  On  reaching  the 
limits  of  positive  knowledge,  reason  pauses,  but  fancy 
overleaps  the  boundary,  and  wanders  forward  in  an  end- 
less waste  of  speculation. 

The  tendency  of  intellectual  progress,  according  to 
the  philosophy  of  Herbert  Spencer,  is  from  the  con- 
crete to  the  abstract,  from  the  homogeneous  to  the 
heterogeneous,  from  the  knowable  to  the  unknowable. 
Primordially  nothing  was  known ;  as  superstitions  and 
priestcraft  grew  rank,  everything  became  known ; 
there  was  not  a  problem  in  the  natural  or  in  the 
supernatural  world  unsolvable  by  religion.  Now, 
when  some  elements  of  absolute  knowledge  are  be- 
ginning to  appear,  we  discover,  not  only  that  little  is 
positively  known,  but  that  much  of  what  has  been 
hitherto  deemed  past  controverting  is,  under  the 
present  regime  of  thought,  absolutely  unknowable. 
Formerly  ultimate  religious  knowledge  was  attained 
by  the  very  novices  of  religion,  and  ultimate  scientific 
knowledge  was  explained  through  their  fanatical  con- 
ceptions. Not  only  were  all  the  mysteries  of  the 
material  universe  easily  solved  by  the  Fathers,  but 
heaven  was  measured,  and  the  phenomena  of  hell 
minutely  described.  Now  we  are  just  beginning  to 
comprehend  that  ultimate  facts  will  probably  ever 
remain  unknowable  facts,  for  when  the  present  ulti- 
mate is  attained,  an  eternity  of  undiscovered  truth 
will  still  lie  stretched  out  before  the  searcher.  Until 
the  finite  becomes  infinite,  and  time  lapses  into  eter- 
nity, the  realm  of  thought  will  remain  unfilled.  At 
present,  and  until  the  scope  of  the  intellect  is  mate- 
rially enlarged,  such  theories  as  the  origin  of  the  uni- 
verse— held  by  atheists  to  be  self-existent,  by  panthe- 
ists to  have  been  self-created,  and  by  theists  to  have 


30  SPEECH  AND   SPECULATION. 

been  originated  by  an  external  agency  - — must  remain, 
as  they  are  now  admitted  to  be,  questions  beyond  even 
the  comprehension  of  the  intellect.  Likewise  scien- 
tific ultimates — such  as  the  qualities  of  time  and 
space,  the  divisibility  of  matter,  the  coordination  of 
motion  and  rest,  the  correlation  of  forces,  the  mysteries 
of  gravitation,  light,  and  heat — are  found  to  be  not  only 
not  solvable,  but  not  conceivable.  And  as  with  the 
external  so  with  the  inward  life;  we  cannot  conceive 
the  nature,  nor  explain  the  origin  and  duration,  of  con- 
sciousness. The  endless  speculations  of  biology  and 
psychology  only  leave  impressions  at  once  of  the 
strength  and  weakness  of  the  mind  of  man;  strong  in 
empirical  knowledge,  impotent  in  every  attempt  ra- 
tionally to  penetrate  the  unfathomable.  Nowhere  in 
mythology  do  we  find  the  world  self-created  or  self- 
existent.  Some  external  agency  is  ever  brought  in  to 
perform  the  work,  and  in  the  end  the  structure  of  the 
universe  is  resolved  into  its  original  elements. 

Primordial  man  finds  himself  surrounded  by  natural 
phenomena  the  operations  of  which  his  intelligence  is 
capable  of  grasping  but  partially.  Certain  appetites 
sharpen  at  once  certain  instincts.  Hunger  makes 
him  acquainted  with  the  fruits  of  the  earth;  cold  with 
the  skins  of  beasts.  Accident  supplies  him  with  rude 
implements,  and  imparts  to  him  a  knowledge  of  his 
power  over  animals.  But  as  instinct  merges  into 
intellect,  strange  powers  in  nature  are  felt;  invisible 
agents  wielding  invisible  weapons;  realities  which 
exist  unheard  and  move  unseen;  outward  manifesta- 
tions of  hidden  strength.  Humanity,  divine  but  wild 
and  wondering,  half  fed,  half  clad,  ranges  woods  prime- 
val, hears  the  roar  of  battling  elements,  sees  the 
ancient  forest  tree  shivered  into  fragments  by  heaven's 
artillery,  feels  the  solid  earth  rise  up  in  rumbling 
waves  beneath  his  feet.  He  receives,  as  it  were,  a 
blow  from  within  the  darkness,  arid  flinging  himself 
upon  the  ground,  he  begs  protection;  from  what  he 
knows  not,  of  whom  he  knows  not.  "Bury  me  not, 
O  tumultuous  heavens,"  he  cries,  "under  the  clouds 


ORIGIN   ANL>  PROGRESS  OF  PRIESTCRAFT.  31 

of  your  displeasure!"  "Strike  rue  not  down  in  wrath, 
O  fierce  flaming  fire!"  "Earth,  be  firm!"  Here, 
then,  is  the  origin  of  prayer.  And  to  render  more 
effectual  his  entreaties,  a  gift  is  offered.  Seizing  upon 
whatever  he  prizes  most,  his  food,  his  raiment,  he 
rushes  forth  and  hurls  his  propitiatory  offering  heaven- 
ward, earthward,  whithersoever  his  frenzied  fancy  dic- 
tates. Or,  if  this  is  not  enough,  the  still  more  dearly 
valued  gift  of  human  blood  or  human  life  is  offered. 
His  own  flesh  he  freely  lacerates ;  to  save  his  own  life, 
he  gives  that  of  his  enemy,  his  slave,  or  even  his 
child.  Hence  arises  sacrifice. 

And  here  also  conjurings  commence.  The  neces- 
sity is  felt  of  opening  up  some  intercourse  with  these 
mysterious  powers,  relations  commercial  and  social; 
calamities  and  casualties,  personal  and  public,  must  be 
traced  to  causes,  and  the  tormenting  demon  bought 
off.  But  it  is  clearly  evident  that  these  elemental 
forces  are  not  all  of  them  inimical  to  the  happiness  of 
mankind.  Sunshine,  air,  and  water,  the  benign  influ- 
ences in  nature,  are  as  powerful  to  create  as  the 
adverse  elements  are  to  destroy.  And  as  these  forces 
appear  conflicting,  part  productive  of  life  and  enjoy- 
ment, and  part  of  destruction,  decay,  and  death,  a 
separation  is  made.  Hence  principles  of  good  and 
evil  are  discovered;  and  to  all  these  unaccountable 
forces  in  nature  names  and  properties  are  given,  and 
causations  invented.  For  every  act  there  is  an  actor ; 
for  every  deed  a  doer;  for  every  power  and  passion 
there  is  made  a  god. 

Thus  we  see  that  worship  in  some  form  is  a  human 
necessity,  or  at  least,  a  constant  accompaniment  of 
humanity.  Until  perfect  wisdom  and  limitless  power 
are  the  attributes  of  humanity,  adoration  will  continue ; 
for  men  will  never  cease  to  reverence  what  they  do 
not  understand,  nor  will  they  cease  to  fear  such  ele- 
ments of  strength  as  are  beyond  their  control.  The 
form  of  this  conciliatory  homage  appears  to  arise  from 
common  human  instincts;  for,  throughout  the  world 
and  in  all  ages,  a  similarity  in  primitive  religious 


32  SPEECH  AND   SPECULATION. 

forms  has  existed.  It  is  a  giving  of  something ;  the 
barter  of  a  valuable  something  for  a  something  more 
valuable.  As  in  his  civil  polity  all  crimes  may  be 
compounded  or  avenged,  so' in  his  worship,  the  savage 
gives  his  pride,  his  property,  or  his  blood. 

At  first,  this  spirit  power  is  seen  in  everything;  in 
the  storm  and  in  the  soft  evening  air ;  in  clouds  and 
cataracts,  in  mountains,  rocks,  and  rivers;  in  trees,  in 
reptiles,  beasts,  and  fishes.  But  when  progressive 
man  obtains  a  more  perfect  mastery  over  the  brute 
creation,  brute  worship  ceases;  as  he  becomes  familiar 
with  the  causes  of  some  of  the  forces  in  nature,  and  is 
better  able  to  protect  himself  from  them,  the  fear  of 
natural  objects  is  lessened.  Leaving  the  level  of  the 
brute  creation  he  mounts  upward,  and  selecting  from 
his  own  species  some  living  or  dead  hero,  he  endows 
a  king  or  comrade  with  superhuman  attributes,  and 
worships  his  dead  fellow  as  a  divine  being.  Still  he 
tunes  his  thoughts  to  subtiler  creations,  and  carves 
with  skilful  fingers  material  images  of  supernatural 
forms.  Then  comes  idolatry.  The  great  principles 
of  causation  being  determined  and  embodied  in  per- 
ceptible forms,  adorations  ensue.  Cravings,  however, 
increase.  As  the  intellect  expands,  one  idol  after 
another  is  thrown  down.  Mind  assumes  the  mastery 
over  matter.  From  gods  of  wood  and  stone,  made  by 
men's  fingers,  and  from  suns  and  planets  carved  by 
the  fingers  of  omnipotence,  the  creature  now  turns  to 
the  Creator.  A  form  of  ideal  worship  supplants  the 
material  form;  gods  known  and  tangible  are  thrown 
aside  for  the  unknown  God.  And  well  were  it  for 
the  intellect  could  it  stop  here.  But  as  the  actions 
of  countless  material  gods  were  clear  to  the  primitive 
priest,  and  by  him  satisfactorily  explained  to  the  sav- 
age masses,  so,  in  this  more  advanced  state,  men  are 
not  wanting  who  receive  from  their  ideal  god  revela- 
tions of  his  actions  and  motives.  To  its  new,  unknown, 
ideal  god,  the  partially  awakened  human  mind  attaches 
the  positive  attributes  of  the  old,  material  deities,  or 
invents  new  ones,  and  starts  anew  to  tread  the  endless 


ORIGIN   OF  FETICHISM.  33 

mythologic  circle;  until  in  yet  a  higher  state  it  dis- 
covers that  both  god  and  attributes  are  wholly  beyond 
its  grasp,  and  that  with  all  its  progress,  it  has  advanced 
but  slightly  beyond  the  first  savage  conception — a 
power  altogether  mysterious,  inexplicable  to  science, 
controlling  phenomena  of  mind  and  matter. 

Barbarians  are  the  most  religious  of  mortals.  While 
the  busy,  overworked  brain  of  the  scholar  or  man  of 
business  is  occupied  with  more  practical  affairs,  the 
listless  mind  of  the  savage,  thrown  as  he  is  upon  the 
very  bosom  of  nature,  is  filled  with  innumerable  con- 
jectures and  interrogatories.  His  curiosity,  like  that 
of  a  child,  is  proverbial,  and  as  superstition  is  ever  the 
resource  of  ignorance,  queer  fancies  and  phantasms 
concerning  life  and  death,  and  gods  and  devils,  float 
continually  through  his  unenlightened  imagination. 

Ill  protected  from  the  elements,  his  comfort  and  his 
uncertain  food-supply  depending  upon  them,  primitive 
man  regards  nature  with  eager  interest.  Like  the 
beasts,  his  forest  companions,  he  places  himself  as  far 
as  .possible  in  harmony  with  his  environment.  He  mi- 
grates with  the  seasons;  feasts  when  food  is  plenty, 
fasts  in  famine-time;  basks  and  gambols  in  the  sunshine, 
cowers  beneath  the  fury  of  the  storm,  crawls  from  the 
cold  into  his  den,  arid  there  quasi-torpidly  remains  until 
nature  releases  him.  Is  it  therefore  strange  that  sav- 
age intellect  peoples  the  elements  with  supernatural 
powers? — that  God  is  everywhere,  in  everything;  in 
the  most  trifling  accident  and  incident,  as  well  as  in 
the  sun,  the  sea,  the  grove;  that  when  evil  comes  God 
is  angry,  when  fortune  smiles  God  is  favorable;  and 
that  he  speaks  to  his  wild,  untutored  people  in  signs 
and  dreams,  in  the  tempest  and  in  the  sunshine.  Nor 
does  he  withhold  the  still,  small  voice  which  breathes 
upon  minds  most  darkened,  and  into  breasts-,  the  most 
savage,  a  spirit  of  progress,  which,  if  a  people  be  left 
to  the  free  fulfilment  of  their  destiny,  is  sure,  sooner 
or  later,  to  ripen  into  full  development. 

We  will  now  glance  at  the  origin  of  fetichism,  which 

VOL.  ill.    3 


34  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

indeed  may  be  called  the  origin  of  ideal  religion,  from 
the  other  standpoint;  that  which  arises  from  the 
respect  men  feel  for  the  memory  of  their  departed 
ancestors. 

The  first  conception  of  a  dualty  in  man's  nature 
has  been  attributed  to  various  causes;  it  may  be  the 
result  of  a  combination  of  causes.  There  is  the  shadow 
upon  the  ground,  separate,  yet  inseparable;  the  re- 
flection of  the  form  upon  the  water;  the  echo  of  the 
voice;  the  adventures  of  fancy  portrayed  by  dreams. 
Self  is  divisible  from  and  inseparably  connected  with 
this  other  self.  Herefrom  arise  innumerable  super- 
stitions; it  was  portentous  of  misfortune  for  one's 
clothes  to  be  stepped  on;  no  food  must  be  left  uneaten ; 
nail  clippings  and  locks  of  hair  must  not' fall  into  the 
hands  of  an  enemy.  Catlin,  in  sketching  his  portraits, 
often  narrowly  escaped  with  his  life,  the  Indians  be- 
lieving that  in  their  likenesses  he  carried  away  their 
other  self.  And  when  death  comes,  and  this  other 
self  departs,  whither  has  it  gone  ?  The  lifeless  body 
remains,  but  where  is  the  life  ?  The  mind  cannot  con- 
ceive of  the  total  extinguishment  of  an  entity,  and  so 
the  imagination  rears  a  local  habitation  for  every  de- 
parted spirit.  Every  phenomenon  and  every  event  is 
analyzed  under  this  hypothesis.  For  every  event 
there  is  not  only  a  cause,  but  a  personal  cause,  an  in- 
dependent agent  behind  every  consequence.  Every 
animal,  every  fish  and  bird,  every  rock  and  stream  and 
plant,  the  ripening  fruit,  the  falling  rain,  the  uncertain 
wind,  the  sun  and  stars,  are  all  personified.  There  is 
no  disease  without  its  god  or  devil,  no  fish  entangled  in 
the  net,  no  beast  or  bird  that  falls  before  the  hunter, 
without  its  special  sender. 

Savages  are  more  afraid  of  a  dead  man  than  a  live 
one.  They  are  overwhelmed  with  terror  at  the  thought 
of  this  unseen  power  over  them.  The  spirit  of  the 
departed  is  omnipotent  and  omnipresent.  At  any  cost 
•or  hazard  it  must  be  propitiated.  So  food  is  placed  in 
the  grave ;  wives  and  slaves,  and  horses  and  dogs,  are 
.slain,  and  in  spirit  sent  to  serve  the  ghost  of  the  de- 


THE  WORSHIP  OF  DEAD  ANCESTORS.  35 

parted;  phantom  messengers  are  sent  to  the  region 
of  shadows  from  time  to  time ;  the  messengers  some- 
times even  volunteering  to  go.  So  boats  and  weapons 
and  all  the  property  of  the  deceased  are  burned  or 
deposited  with  him.  In  the  hand  of  the  dead  child  is 
placed  a  toy;  in  that  of  the  departed  warrior,  the 
symbolic  pipe  of  peace,  which  is  to  open  a  tranquil 
entrance  into  his  new  abode;  clothes,  and  ornaments, 
and  paint,  are  conveniently  placed,  and  thus  a  proper 
personal  appearance  guaranteed.  Not  that  the  things 
themselves  are  to  be  used,  but  the  souls  of  things. 
The  body  of  the  chief  rots,  as  does  the  material  sub- 
stance of  the  articles  buried  with  it;  but  the  soul  of 
every  article  follows  the  soul  of  its  owner,  to  serve 
its  own  peculiar  end  in  the  land  of  phantoms. 

The  Chinese,  grown  cunning  with  the  great  antiquity 
of  their  burial  customs,  which  require  money  and  food 
to  be  deposited  for  the  benefit  of  the  deceased,  spiritu- 
alize the  money,  by  making  an  imitation  coin  of  paste- 
board, while  the  food,  untouched  by  the  dead,  is  finally 
eaten  by  themselves. 

But  whence  arises  the  strange  propensity  of  all  primi- 
tive nations  to  worship  animals,  and  plants,  and  stones, 
things  animate  and  inanimate,  natural  and  supernatu- 
ral? Why  is  it  that  all  nations  or  tribes  select  from 
nature  some  object  which  they  hold  to  be  sacred,  and 
which  they  venerate  as  deity  \  It  is  the  opinion  of 
Herbert  Spencer  that  "the  rudimentary  form  of  all 
religion  is  the  propitiation  of  dead  ancestors,  who  are 
supposed  to  be  still  existing,  and  to  be  capable  of  work- 
ing good  or  evil  to  their  descendants."  It  is  the 
universal  custom  with  savage  tribes,  as  the  character 
of  their  members  becomes  developed,  to  drop  the  real 
name  of  individuals  and  to  fix  upon  them  the  attribute 
of  some  external  object,  by  whose  name  only  they  are 
afterward  known.  Thus  a  swift  runner  is  called  the 
'  antelope/  the  slow  of  foot  the  '  tortoise/  a  merciless 
warrior  the  'wolf/  a  dark-eyed  maid  may  be  likened 
to  the  'raven/  a  majestic  matron  to  the  ' cypress.' 
And  so  the  rivulet,  the  rock,  the  dawn,  the  sun,  and 


3G  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

even  elements  invisible,  are  seized  upon  as  metaphors 
and  fastened  upon  individuals,  according  to  a  real  or 
fancied  resemblance  between  the  qualities  of  nature 
and  the  character  of  the  men.  Inferiority  and  base- 
ness, alike  with  nobleness  and  wise  conduct,  perpetuate 
a  name.  Even  in  civilized  societies,  a  nickname  often 
takes  the  place  of  the  real  name.  Schoolboys  arc 
quick  to  distinguish  peculiarities  in  their  fellows,  and 
fasten  upon  them  significant  names.  A  dull  scholar 
is  called  'cabbage-head/  the  girl  with  red  ringlets, 
' carrots.'  In  the  family  there  is  the  greedy  'pig/  the 
darling  'duck/  the  little  'lamb.'  In  new  countries 
and  abnormal  communities)  where  strangers  from  all 
parts  are  promiscuously  thrown  together,  not  unfre- 
quently  men  live  on  terms  of  intimacy  for  years  with- 
out ever  knowing  each  other's  real  name.  Among 
miners,  such  appellations  as  'Muley  Bill/  'Sandy/ 
'Shorty/  'Sassafras  Jack/  often  serve  all  the  purposes 
of  a  name.  In  more  refined  circles,  there  is  the  hypo- 
critical 'crocodile/  the  sly  'fox/  the  gruff  'bear.'  We 
say  of  the  horse,  'he  is  as  fleet  as  the  wind/  of  a  rapid 
accountant,  'he  is  as  quick  as  lightning.'  These  names, 
which  are  used  by  us  but  for  the  moment,  or  to  fit 
occasions,  are  among  rude  nations  permanent — in 
many  instances  the  only  name  a  person  ever  receives. 
Sometimes  the  nickname  of  the  individual  becomes 
first  a  family  name  and  then  a  tribal  name ;  as  when 
the  chief  'Coyote'  becomes  renowned,  his  children 
love  to  call  themselves  'Coyotes.'  The  chieftainship 
descending  to  the  son  and  grandson  of  Coyote,  the 
name  becomes  famous,  the  Coyote  family  the  domi- 
nant family  of  the  tribe;  members  of  the  tribe,  in  their 
intercourse  with  other  tribes,  call  themselves  'coyotes/ 
to  distinguish  themselves  from  other  tribes ;  the  head, 
or  tail,  or  claws,  or  skin  of  the  coyote  ornaments  the 
dress  or  adorns  the  body;  the  name  becomes  tribal, 
and  the  animal  the  symbol  or  totem  of  the  tribe.  After 
a  few  generations  have  passed,  the  great  chieftain 
Coyote  and  his  immediate  progeny  are  forgotten; 
meanwhile,  the  beast  becomes  a  favorite  with  the  peo- 


ABSTRACT  CONCEPTIONS,  MONSTERS,  AND   METAPHORS.    37 

pie;  he  begins  to  be  regarded  as  privileged;  is  not 
hunted  down  like  other  beasts;  the  virtues  and  ex- 
ploits of  the  whole  Coyote  clan  become  identified  with 
the  brute;  the  affections  of  the  people  are  centered  in 
the  animal,  and  finally,  all  else  being  lost  and  forgotten, 
the  descendants  of  the  chieftain  Coyote  are  the  off- 
spring of  the  veritable  beast  coyote. 

Concerning  image- worship  and  the  material  repre- 
sentation of  ideal  beings,  Mr  Tylor  believes  that 
"when  man  has  got  some  way  in  developing  the  reli- 
gious element  in  him,  he  begins  to  catch  at  the  device 
of  setting  up  a  puppet,  or  a  stone,  as  the  symbol  and 
representative  of  the  notions  of  a  higher  being  which 
are  floating  in  his  mind." 

Primitive  languages  cannot  express  abstract  quali- 
ties. For  every  kind  of  animal  or  bird  or  plant  there 
may  be  a  name,  but  for  animals,  plants,  and  birds  in 
general  they  have  no  name  or  conception.  There- 
fore, the  abstract  quality  becomes  the  concrete  idea 
of  a  god,  and  the  descendants  of  a  man  whose  sym- 
bolic name  was  'dog,'  from  being  the  children  of  the 
man,  become  the  children  of  the  dog. 

Hence  also  arise  monsters,  beings  compounded  of 
beast,  bird,  and  fish,  sphinxes,  mermaids,  human- 
headed  brutes,  winged  animals;  as  when  the  descend- 
ant of  the  'hawk*  carries  off  a  wife  from  the  'salmon' 
tribe,  a  totem  representing  a  fish  with  a  hawk's  head 
for  a  time  keeps  alive  the  occurrence  and  finally  be- 
comes the  deity. 

Thus  realities  become  metaphors  and  metaphors 
realities;  the  fact  dwindles  into  shadowy  nothingness, 
and  the  fancy  springs  into  actual  being.  The  histori- 
cal incident  becomes  first  indistinct  and  then  is  forgot- 
ten ;  the  metaphorical  name  of  the  dead  ancestor  is  first 
respected  in  the  animal  or  plant,  then  worshipped  in 
the  animal  or  plant,  and  finally  the  nickname  and  the 
ancestor  both  are  forgotten  and  the  idea  becomes  the 
entity,  and  the  veritable  object  of  worship.  From 
forgetfulness  of  primogenitor  and  metaphor,  conceiv- 
ing the  animal  to  be  the  very  ancestor,  words  are  put 


38  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

into  the  animal's  mouth,  the  sayings  of  the  ancestor 
become  the  sayings  of  the  brute;  hence  mythological 
legends  of  talking  beasts,  and  birds,  and  wise  fishes. 
To  one  animal  is  attributed  a  miraculous  cure,  to  an- 
other, assistance  in  time  of  trouble;  one  animal  is  a 
deceiver,  another  a  betrayer;  and  thus  through  their 
myths  and  metaphors  we  may  look  back  into  the  soul 
of  savagism  and  into  their  soul  of  nature. 

That  this  is  the  origin  of  some  phases  of  fetichism 
there  can  be  no  doubt ;  that  it  is  the  origin  of  all  reli- 
gions, or  even  the  only  method  by  which  animal  and 
plant  worship  originates,  I  do  not  believe.  While 
there  are  undoubtedly  general  principles  underlying 
all  religious  conceptions,  it  does  not  necessarily  follow 
that  in  every  instance  the  methods  of  arriving  at  those 
fundamental  principles  must  be  identical.  As  with 
us  a  child  weeps  over  a  dead  mother's  picture,  regard- 
ing it  with  fond  devotion,  so  the  dutiful  barbarian  son, 
in  order  the  better  to  propitiate  the  favor  of  his  dead 
ancestor,  sometimes  carves  his  image  in  wood  or  stone, 
which  sentiment  with  time  lapses  into  idolatry.  Any 
object  which  strikes  the  rude  fancy  as  analogous  to 
the  character  of  an  individual  may  become  an  object 
of  worship. 

The  interpretation  of  myth  can  never  be  absolute 
and  positive;  yet  we  may  in  almost  every  instance 
discover  the  general  purport.  Thus  a  superior  god, 
we  may  be  almost  sure,  refers  to  some  potent  hero, 
some  primitive  ruler,  whom  tradition  has  made  super- 
human in  origin  and  in  power;  demigods,  subordinate 
or  inferior  beings  in  power,  must  be  regarded  as  legen- 
dary, referring  to  certain  influential  persons,  identified 
with  some  element  or  incident  in  which  the  deified 
personage  played  a  conspicuous  part. 

Although  in  mythology  religion  is  the  dominant 
element,  yet  mythology  is  not  wholly  made  up  of 
religion,  nor  are  all  primitive  religions  mythical. 
"  There  are  few  mistakes,"  says  Professor  Max  Midler, 
"so  widely  spread  and  so  firmly  established  as  that 
which  makes  us  confound  the  religion  and  the  mythol- 


FUNDAMENTAL  IDEAS^  OF  RELIGION.  39 

ogy  of  the  ancient  nations  of  the  world.  How  my. 
thology  arises,  necessarily  and  naturally,  I  tried  to 
explain  in  my  former  lectures,  and  we  saw  that,  as  an 
affection  or  disorder  of  language,  mythology  may  infect 
every  part  of  the  intellectual  life  of  man.  True  it  is 
that  no  ideas  are  more  liable  to  mythological  disease 
than  religious  ideas,  because  they  transcend  those 
regions  of  our  experience  within  which  language  has 
its  natural  origin,  and  must  therefore,  according  to 
their  very  nature,  be  satisfied  with  metaphorical  ex- 
pressions. Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither 
hath  it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man.  Yet  even  the 
religions  of  the  ancient  nations  are  by  no  means  inev- 
itably and  altogether  mythological.  On  the  contrary, 
as  a  diseased  frame  presupposes  a  healthy  frame,  so 
a  mythological  religion  presupposes,  I  believe,  a 
healthy  religion." 

The  universal  secrets  of  supernatural  beings  are 
wrapped  up  in  probable  or  possible  fable;  the  elements 
of  physical  nature  are  inpersonated  in  allegories,  and 
arrayed  in  forms  perceptible  to  the  imagination;  deities 
are  sometimes  introduced  into  the  machinery  of  the 
supernatural  in  order  to  gratify  that  love  for  the  mar- 
vellous which  every  attempt  to  explain  the  mysterious 
forces  of  nature  creates  in  the  ignorant  mind.  Yet 
it  cannot  truly  be  said  that  any  form  of  religion,  much 
less  any  religion,  was  wholly  invented.  Fanatics  some- 
times originate  doctrines,  and  the  Church  sets  forth  its 
dogmas,  but  there  must  be  a  foundation  of  truth  or 
the  edifice  cannot  stand.  Inventions  there  undoubtedly 
have  been  and  are,  but  inventions  sooner  or  later  fall 
to  the  ground,  while  the  essential  principles  under- 
lying religion  and  mythology,  though  momentarily 
overcome  or  swept  away,  are  sure  to  remain. 

Every  one  of  the  fundamental  ideas  of  religion  is  of 
indigenous  origin,  generating  spontaneously  in  the 
human  heart.  It  is  a  characteristic  of  mythology  that 
the  present  inhabitants  of  the  world  descended  from 
some  nobler  race.  From  the  nobler  impulses  of  fancy 
the  savage  derives  his  origin.  His  higher  instincts 


40  SPEECH   AND  SPECULATION. 

teach  him  that  his  dim  distant  past,  and  his  impene- 
trable future,  are  alike  of  a  lighter,  more  ethereal 
nature;  that  his  earthly  nature  is  base,  that  that 
which  binds  him  to  earth  is  the  lowest,  vilest  part 
of  himself. 

The  tendency  of  positive  knowledge  is  to  overthrow 

«/  JL  O 

superstition.  Hence  as  science  develops,  many  ten- 
ets of  established  religions,  palpably  erroneous,  are 
dropped,  and  the  more  knowledge  becomes  real,  the 
more  real  knowledge  is  denied.  Superstition  is  not 
the  effect  of  an  active  imagination,  but  shows  rather  a 
lack  of  imagination,  for  we  see  that  the  lower  the  stage 
of  intelligence,  and  the  feebler  the  imagination,  the 
greater  the  superstition.  A  keen,  vivid  imagination, 
although  capable  of  broader  and  more  complicated 
conceptions,  is  able  to  explain  the  cruder  marvels,  and 
consequently  to  dispel  the  coarser  phases  of  supersti- 
tion, while  the  dull  intellect  accepts  everything  which 
is  put  upon  it  as  true.  Ultimate  religious  conceptions 
are  symbolic  rather  than  actual.  Ultimate  ideas  of 
the  universe  are  even  beyond  the  grasp  of  the  pro- 
found est  intellect.  We  can  form  but  an  approximate 
idea  of  the  sphere  on  which  we  live.  To  form  con- 
ceptions of  the  relative  and  actual  distances  and  mag- 
nitudes of  heavenly  bodies,  of  systems  of  worlds,  and 
eternities  of  space,  the  human  mind  is  totally  inade- 
quate. If,  therefore,  the  mind  is  unable  to  grasp 
material  visible  objects,  how  much  less  are  we  -able  to 
measure  the  invisible  and  eternal ! 

When,  therefore,  the  savage  attempts  to  solve  the 
problem  of  natural  phenomena,  he  first  reduces  broad 
conceptions  to  symbolic  ideas.  He  moulds  his  deity 
according  to  the  measure  of  his  mind;  and  in  forming 
a  skeleton  upon  which  to  elaborate  his  religious 
instincts,  proximate  theories  are  accepted,  and  almost 
any  explanation  appears  to  him  plausible.  The  poten- 
tial creations  of  his  fancy  are  brought  within  the  com- 
pass of  his  comprehensions;  symbolic  gods  are  moulded 
from  mud,  or  carved  from  wood  or  stone;  and  thus 
by  segregating  an  infinitesimal  part  of  the  vast  idea 


CLASSIFICATION   OF  PACIFIC  STATES  MYTHS.  41 

of  deity,  the  worshipper  meets  the  material  require- 
ments of  his  religious  conceptions.  And  although  the 
lower  forms  of  worship  are  abandoned  as  the  intellect 
unfolds,  the  same  principle  is  continued.  We  set  up 
in  the  mind  symbols  of  the  ultimate  idea  which  is  too 
great  for  our  grasp,  and  imagining  ourselves  in  pos- 
session of  the  actual  idea,  we  fall  into  numberless 
errors  concerning  what  we  believe  or  think.  The 
atheistic  hypothesis  of  self-existence,  the  pantheistic 
hypothesis  of  self-creation,  and  the  theistic  hypothesis 
of  creation  by  an  external  agency  are  equally  unthink- 
able, and  therefore  as  postulates  equally  untenable. 
Yet  underlying  all,  however  gross  or  superstitious 
the  dogma,  is  one  fundamental  truth,  namely,  that 
there  is  a  problem  to  be  solved,  an  existent  myste- 
rious universe  to  be  accounted  for. 

Deep  down  in  every  human  breast  is  implanted  a 
religiosity  as  a  fundamental  attribute  of  man's  nature; 
a  consciousness  that  behind  visible  appearances  is  an 
invisible  power;  underlying  all  conception  is  an  in- 
stinct or  intuition,  from  which  there  is  no  escape,  that 
beyond  material  actualities  potential  agencies  are  at 
work ;  and  throughout  all  belief,  from  the  stupidest  fet- 
ichism  to  the  most  exalted  monotheism,  as  part  of  these 
instinctive  convictions,  it  is  held  that  the  beings  or 
being  who  rules  man's  destiny  may  be  propitiated. 

In  the  following  chapters  I  have  attempted,  as  far 
as  practicable,  to  classify  the  Myths  of  the  Pacific 
States  under  appropriate  heads.  In  making  such  a 
classification  there  is  no  difficulty,  except  where  in  one 
myth  occur  two  or  more  divisions  of  the  subject,  in 
which  case  it  becomes  necessary  either  to  break  the 
narrative  or  make  exceptions  to  the  general  rule  of 
classifying.  I  have  invariably  adopted  the  latter  al- 
ternative. The  divisions  which  I  make  of  Mythology 
are  as  follows:  I.  Origin  and  End  of  Things;  II. 
Physical  Myths;  III.  Animal  Myths;  IY.  Gods, 
Supernatural  Beings,  and  Worship;  Y.  The  Future 
State. 


CHAPTER   II. 

ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 
QUICHE    CREATION-MYTH — AZTEC    ORIGIN-MYTHS — THE    PAPAGOS — MONTE- 

ZUMA    AND    THE   COYOTE— THE    MOQUIS — THE    GREAT    SPIDER'S    WEB   OF 
THE  PlMAS — NAVAJO  AND   PUEBLO   CREATIONS — ORIGIN   OF   CLEAR  LAKE 

'  AND  LAKE  TAHOE — CHAREYA  OF  THE  CAHROCS — MOUNT  SHASTA,  THE 
WIGWAM  OF  THE  GREAT  SPIRIT — IDAHO  SPRINGS  AND  WATERFALLS — 
How  DIFFERENCES  IN  LANGUAGE  OCCURRED — YEHL,  THE  CREATOR  OF 
THE  THLINKEETS — THE  RAVEN  AND  THE  DOG. 

OF  all  American  peoples,  the  Quiches  of  Guatemala 
have  left  us  the  richest  mythological  legacy.  Their 
description  of  the  creation  as  given  in  the  Popol  Vuh, 
which  may  be  called  the  national  book  of  the  Quiches,1 

1  In  Vienna,  in  1857,  the  book  now  best  known  as  the  Popol  Vuh 
was  first  brought  to  the  notice  of  European  scholars,  under  the  following 
title:  Las  Historias  del  Origen  de  los  Indlos  de  esta  Provincia  de  Guatemala, 
traducidas  de  la  Lengua  Quiche  al  Castellano  para  mas  Comodidad  de  los 
Mlmstros  del  S.  Evangelio,  por  el  If.  P.  F.  Francisco  Ximenez,  cura  doctrmero 
por  el  real  patronato  del  Pueblo  de  S.  Thomas  Chuila. — Exactamente  segun 
fl  texto  espanol  del  manuscrito  original  que  se  kalla  en  la  biblioteca  de  la 
Universidad  de  Guatemala,  publicado  por  Id  prtmera  vez,  y  aumentado  con 
una  introduccion  y  anotaciones  por  el  Dr  C.  Scherzer.  What  Dr  Scherzer 
says  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Vienna  Academy  of  Sciences,  Feb.  20, 
1856,  and  repeats  in  his  introduction,  about  its  author,  amounts  to  this:  In 
the  early  part  of  the  18th  century  Francisco  Ximenez,  a  Dominican  Father  of 
great  repute  for  his  learning  and  his  love  of  truth,  filled  the  office  of  curate 
in  the  little  Indian  town  of  Chichicastenango  in  the  highlands  of  Guatemala. 
ITeither  the  time  of  his  birth  nor  that  of  his  death  can  be  exactly  ascertained, 
but  the  internal  evidence  of  one  of  his  works  shows  that  he  was  engaged 
upon  it  in  1721.  He  left  many  manuscripts,  but  it  is  supposed  that 
the  unpalatable  truths  some  of  them  contain  with  regard  to  the  ill  treatment 
cf  the  Indians  by  the  colonial  authorities  sufficed,  as  previously  in  the  case 
of  Las  Casas,  to  insure  their  partial  destruction  and  total  suppression.  What 
remains  of  them  lay  long  hid  in  an  obscure  corner  of  the  Convent  of  the 
Dominicans  in  Guatemala  and  passed  afterward,  on  the  suppression  of  all 

(42) 


THE  POPOL  VUH.  43 

is,  in  its  rude  strange  eloquence  and  poetic  originality, 
one  of  the  rarest  relics  of  aboriginal  thought.  Although 
obliged  in  reproducing  it  to  condense  somewhat,  I  have 

the  religious  orders,  into  the  library  of  the  University  of  San  Carlos  (Gua- 
temala). Here  Dr  Scherzer  discovered  them  in  June  1854,  and  care- 
fully copied,  and  afterwards  published  as  above,  the  particular  treatise 
with  which  we  are  now  concerned.  This,  according  to  Father  Ximenez  him- 
self, and  according  to  its  internal  evidence,  is  a  translation,  of  a  literal  copy  of 
an  original  book,  written  by  one  or  more  Quiches,  in  the  Quiche  language,  in 
Roman  letters,  after  the  Christians  had  occupied  Guatemala,  and  after  the 
real  original  Popol  Vuh — National  Book — had  been  lost  or  destroyed — lite- 
rally, was  no  more  to  be  seen — and  written  to  replace  that  lost  book.  '  Qube 
trasladar  todas  las  historias  d  let  letra  de  estos  indios,  y  tambien  traducirlo, 
en  la  lengua  castellana. '  '  Esto  escribiremos  ya  en  la  ley  de  Dios  en  la 
cristiandad,  los  sacaremos,  porque  ya  no  hay  libro  comun,  original  donde 
verlo,  Ximenez,  Hist.  Ind.  Guat.,  pp.  1,  4,  5.  'Voila  ce  que  nous  e'crirons  dc- 
puis  (qu'on  a  promulgue)  la  parole  de  Dieu,  et  en  dedans  du  Christianisme; 
nous  le  reproduirons,  parce  qu'on  ne  voit  plus  ce  Livre  national.'  'Vae 
x-chi-ka  tzibah  chupan  chic  u  chabal  Dios,  pa  Christianoil  chic;  x-chi-k'- 
elezah,  rumal  ma-habi  chic  ilbal  re  Popol-Vuh. '  Brassetir  de  Bourbourg,  Popol 
Vuh,  p.  5.  The  evidence  that  the  author  was  Quiche  will  be  found  in 
the  numerous  passages  scattered  through  the  narrative  in  which  ho 
speaks  of  the  Quiche  nation,  and  of  the  ancestors  of  that  nation  as  '  our 
people,'  'our  ancestors,'  and  so  on.  We  pass  now  to  what  the  Abbe  Bras- 
seur de  Bourbourg  has  to  say  about  the  book.  He  says  that  Ximenez 
'discovered  this  document  in  the  last  years  of  the  17th  century.'  Li 
1855,  at  Guatemala,  the  abbe  first  saw  Ximenez'  manuscript  containing  this 
work.  The  manuscript  contained  the  Quiche  text  and  the  Spanish  curate's 
translation  of  that  text.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  copied  both  at  that  time,  but 
he  was  dissatisfied  with  the  translation,  believing  it  to  be  full  of  faults  owing 
to  the  prejudices  and  the  ignorance  of  the  age  in  which  it  was  made,  as  well 
as  disfigured  by  abridgments  and  omissions.  So  in  1860  he  settled  himself 
among  the  Quiches,  and  by  the  help  of  natives,  joined  to  his  own  practical 
knowledge  of  their  language,  he  elaborated  a  new  and  literal  translation, 
(aussi  litterale  qu'il  a  ete  possible  de  la  faire).  We  seem  justified,  then,  on 
the  whole,  in  taking  this  document  for  what  Ximenez  and  its  own  evidence 
declare  it  to  be,  namely,  a  reproduction  of  an  older  work  or  body  of  Quiche 
traditional  history,  written  because  that  older  work  had  been  lost  and  was 
likely  to  be  forgotten,  and  written  by  a  Quiche  not  long  after  the  Spanish 
Conquest.  One  consequence  of  the  last  fact  would  seem  to  be  that  a  tinge  of 
biblical  expression  has,  consciously  or  unconsciously  to  the  Quiche  who 
wrote,  influenced  the  form  of  the  narrative.  But  these  coincidences  may  be 
wholly  accidental,  the  more  as  there  are  also  striking  resemblances  to  expres- 
sions in  the  Scandinavian  Edda  and  in  the  Hindoo  Veda.  And  even  if  they 
be  not  accidental,  '  much  remains, '  adopting  the  language  and  the  conclu- 
sion of  Professor  Max  Miiller,  'in  these  American  traditions  which  is  so 
different  from  anything  else  in  the  national  literatures  of  other  countriei, 
that  we  may  safely  treat  it  as  the  genuine  growth  of  the  intellectual  soil  of 
America.'  Chips  from  a  German  Workshop,  vol.  i.,  p.  328.  For  the  fore- 
going, as  well  as  further  information  on  the  subject,  see  Brasseur  de  Bour- 
boury,  Popol  Vuh,  'pp.  5-31,  195-231;  S'il  existe  des  Sources  de  I'Hist.  Prim.t 
pp.  83-7;  Hist,  des  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  47-61;  Ximenez,  Hist.  Ind.  Guat.t 
pp.  5-15;  Scherzer,  in  Sitzungberichte  der  Akademie  der  Wissenshaften  Wien, 
20th  Feb.,  1856;  Helps'  Spanish  Conquest,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  455-6.  Professor 
Miiller,  in  his  essay  on  the  Popol  Vuh,  has  in  one  or  two  places  misunder- 
stood the  narrative.  There  was  no  such  creation  of  man  as  that  he  gives 
as  the  second,  while  his  third  creation  is  the  second  of  the  original. 
Again,  he  makes  the  four  Quiche  ancestors  to  be  the  progenitors  of 


44  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

endeavored  to  give  not  only  the  substance,  but  also, 
as  far  as  possible,  the  peculiar  style  and  phraseology 
of  the  original.  It  is  with  this  primeval  picture,  whose 
simple  silent  sublimity  is  that  of  the  inscrutable  past, 
that  we  begin. 

And  the  heaven  was  formed,  and  all  the  signs 
thereof  set  in  their  angle  and  alignment,  and  its  boun- 
daries fixed  toward  the  four  winds  by  the  Creator  and 
Former,  and  Mother  and  Father  of  life  and  existence 
— he  by  whom  all  move  and  breathe,  the  Father  and 
Cherisher  of  the  peace  of  nations  and  of  the  civilization 
of  his  people — he  whose  wisdom  has  projected  the 
excellence  of  all  that  is  on  the  earth,  or  in  the  lakes, 
or  in  the  sea. 

Behold  the  first  word  and  the  first  discourse.  There 
was  as  yet  no  man,  nor  any  animal,  nor  bird,  nor  fish, 
nor  crawfish,  nor  any  pit,  nor  ravine,  nor  green  herb, 
nor  any  tree;  nothing  was  but  the  firmament.  The 
face  of  the  earth  had  not  yet  appeared — only  the  peace- 
ful sea  and  all  the  space  of  heaven.  There  was  nothing 
yet  joined  together,  nothing  that  clung  to  anything 
else ;  nothing  that  balanced  itself,  that  made  the  least 
rustling,  that  made  a  sound  in  the  heaven.  There 
was  nothing  that  stood  up;  nothing  but  the  quiet 
water,  but  the  sea,  calm  and  alone  in  its  boundaries : 
nothing  existed;  nothing  but  immobility  and  silence, 
in  the  darkness,  in  the  night.2 

all  tribes  both  white  and  black;  while  they  were  the  parents  of  the  Quiche 
and  kindred  races  only.  The  course  of  the  legend  brings  us  to  tribes  of  a 
strange  blood,  with  which  these  four  ancestors  and  their  people  were  often 
at  war.  The  narrative  is,  however,  itself  so  confused  and  contradictory  at 
points,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  avoid  such  things;  and  as  a  whole,  the 
views  of  Professor  Miiller  on  the  Popol  Vuh  seem  just  and  well  considered. 
Baldwin,  Ancient  America,  pp.  191-7,  gives  a  mere  dilution  of  Professor 
Miiller 's  essay,  and  that  without  acknowledgment. 

2  The  original  Quiche  runs  as  follows:  'Are  u  tzihoxic  vae  ca  ca  tzinin-oc, 
ca  ca  chamam-oc,  ca  tzinonic;  ca  ca  zilanic,  ca  ca  loliiiic,  ca  tolona  puch  u 
pa  cah.  Vae  cute  nabe  tzih,  nabe  ucnari. — Ma-habi-oc  hun  vinak,  hurt 
chicop;  tziquin,  car,  tap,  che,  abah,  hul,  civan,  quim,  qichelah:  xa-utuquel 
cah  qolic.  Mavi  calah  u  vach  uleu:  xa-utuquel  remanic  palo,  u  pah  cah 
ronohel.  Ma-habi  nakila  ca  molobic,  ca  cotzobic:  hunta  ca  zilobic;  ca  mal 
ca  ban-tah,  ca  cotz  ca  ban-tah  pa  cah.  X-ma  qo-vi  nakila  qolic  yacalic;  xa 
remauic  ha,  xa  lianic  palo,  xa-utuquel  remanic;  x-ma  qo-vi  nakilalo  qolic. 
Xa  ca  chamanic,  ca  tzininic  chi  gekum,  chi  a  gab. ' 

This  passage  is  rendered  by  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  thus:  '  Voi- 
ci  le  recit  comine  quoi  tout  etait  en  suspens,  tout  etait  calme  et  silencieux; 


THE   QUICKC   IDEA   OF   CREATION.  45 

Alone  also  the  Creator,  the  Former,  the  Domina- 
tor,  the  Feathered  Serpent — those  that  engender, 
those  that  give  being,  they  are  upon  the  water,  like  a 
growing  light.  They  are  enveloped  in  green  and 
blue;  and  therefore  their  name  is  Gucumatz.3  Lo, 
now  how  the  heavens  exist,  how  exists  also  the  Heart 
of  Heaven;  such  is  the  name  of  God;  it  is  thus  that 
he  is  called.  And  they  spake ;  they  consulted  to- 
gether and  meditated ;  they  mingled  their  words  and 
their  opinion.  Arid  the  creation  was  verily  after  this 
wise:  Earth,  they  said,  and  on  the  instant  it  was 
formed;  like  a  cloud  or  a  fog  was  its  beginning.  Then 
the  mountains  rose  over  the  water  like  great  lobsters; 
in  an  instant  the  mountains  and  the  plains  were  visi- 
ble, and  the  cypress  and  the  pine  appeared.  Then 
was  the  Gucumatz  filled  with  joy,  crying  out :  Blessed 
be  thy  coming,  O  Heart  of  Heaven,  Hurakan,  Thun- 
derbolt. Our  work  and  our  labor  has  accomplished 
its  end. 

The  earth  and  its  vegetation  having  thus  appeared, 
it  was  peopled  with  the  various  forms  of  animal  life. 
And  the  Makers  said  to  the  animals:  Speak  now  our 

tout  etait  immobile,  tout  etait  paisible,  et  vide  etait  I'immensite  cles  cieux. 
Voil&  done  la  premiere  parole  et  lo  premier  discours.  II  n'y  avait  pas  encore 
un  seul  homme,  pas  un  animal;  pas  d'oiseaux,  de  poissons,  d'ecrevisses,  de 
bois,  de  pierre,  de  fondrieres,  de  ravins,  d'herbe  ou  de  bocages:  seulameiit  lo 
ciel  existait.  La  face  de  la  tierrc  ne  se  manifestait  pas  encore:  seub  la  mer 
paisible  etait  et  tout  Tespace  des  cieux.  II  n'y  avait  encore  rieu  qui  fit 
corps,  rieii  qui  se  cramponnat  a  autre  chose;  rien  qui  se  balan^at,  qui  fit  (le 
moindre)  frolement,  qui  fit  (entendre)  un  son  dans  le  ciel.  II  n'y  avait  rien 
qui  existat  debout;  (il  n'y  avait)  que  1'eau  paisible,  que  la  mer  calmo  et  seulo 
dans  ses  bornes;  car  il  n'y  avait  rien  qui  existat.  Ce  ii'etait  que  rimmobilite 
et  le  silence  dans  Iss  ten6bres,  dans  la  nuit.'  Popol  Vuh,  p.  7. 

And  by  Francisco  Ximenez  thus:  '  Este  ea  su  ser  dicho  cuando  estaba  EUS- 
penso  en  calma,  en  silencio,  sin  moverse,  sin  cosa  sino  vacio  el  cielo.  Y  esta 
Co  la  primera  palabra  y  elocuencia;  aun  no  habia  hombres,  animalas,  pajaros, 
pescado,  cangrejo,  palo,  piedra,  hoya,  barranca,  paja  ni  monte,  sino  solo  es- 
taba el  cielo;  no  se  maiiif  estaba  la  faz  de  la  tierra;  sino  que  solo  estaba  el  mar 
represado,  y  todo  lo  del  cielo;  aun  no  habia  cosa  alguna  junta,  ni  sonaba 
nada,  ni  cosa  alguna  se  meneaba,  ni  cosa  que  hiciera  mal,  ni  cosa  que  hiciera, 
"  cotz  "  (esto  es  ruido  en  el  cielo),  ni  habia  cosa  que  estuviese  parada  en  pie; 
solo  el  agua  represada,  solo  la  mar  sosegada,  solo  ella  represada,  ni  cosa  al- 
guna  habia  que  estuviese;  solo  estaba  e:i  silencio,  y  sosiego  ea  la  obscuridad, 
y  la  noche. '  Hist.  Ind.  Gnat. ,  pp.  5-6. 

3 '  Gucumatz,  litteralement  serpent  emplume,  et  dans  un  sens  plus  etendu, 
serpent  revetu  de  couleurs  brillantes,  do  vert  ou  d'azur.  Les  plumes  du  guc 
ou  quetzal  offrent  egalement  les  deux  teintes.  (Test  exactment  la  meme 
chose  que  quetzalcokuatl  dans  la  langue  mexicaine.'  .Brasseur  de  Bourboury,. 
Hist,  des  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  p.  50. 


46  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF    THINGS. 

name,  honor  us,  us  your  mother  and  father;  invoke 
Hurakan,  the  lightning-flash,  the  Thunderbolt  that 
strikes,  the  Heart  of  Heaven,  the  Heart  of  the  Earth, 
the  Creator  and  Former,  Him  who  begets,  and  Him 
who  gives  being — speak,  call  on  us,  salute  us!  So 
was  it  said  to  the  animals.  But  the  animals  could 
not  answer;  they  could  not  speak  at  all  after  the  man- 
ner of  men;  they  could  only  cluck,  and  croak,  each 
murmuring  after  his  kind  in  a  different  manner.  This 
displeased  the  Creators,  and  they  said  to  the  animals: 
Inasmuch  as  ye  cannot  praise  us,  neither  call  upon  our 
names,  your  flesh  shall  be  humiliated;  it  shall  be  broken 
with  teeth;  ye  shall  be  killed  and  eaten. 

Again  the  gods  took  counsel  together;  they  deter- 
mined to  make  man.  So  they  made  a  man  of  clay; 
and  when  they  had  made  him,  they  saw  that  it  was 
not  good.  He  was  without  cohesion,  without  con- 
sistence, motionless,  strengthless,  inept,  watery;  he 
could  not  move  his  head,  his  face  looked  but  one  way; 
his  sight  was  restricted,  he  could  not  look  behind  him; 
he  had  been  endowed  with  language,  but  he  had  no 
intelligence,  so  he  was  consumed  in  the  water. 

Again  is  there  counsel  in  heaven :  Let  us  make  an 
intelligent  being  who  shall  adore  and  invoke  us.  It 
was  decided  that  a  man  should  be  made  of  wood  and 
a  woman  of  a  kind  of  pith.  They  were  made;  but 
the  result  was  in  no  wise  satisfactory.  They  moved 
about  perfectly  well,  it  is  true;  they  increased  and 
multiplied;  they  peopled  the  world  with  sons  and 
daughters,  little  wooden  manikins  like  themselves; 
but  still  the  heart  and  the  intelligence  were  wanting ; 
they  held  no  memory  of  their  Maker  and  Former; 
they  led  a  useless  existence;  they  lived  as  the  beasts 
live;  they  forgot  the  Heart  of  Heaven.  They  were 
but  an  essay,  an  attempt  at  men;  they  had  neither 
blood,  nor  substance,  nor  moisture,  nor  fat;  their 
cheeks  were  shrivelled,  their  feet  and  hands  dried  up ; 
their  flesh  languished. 

Then  was  the  Heart  of  Heaven  wroth;  and  he  sent 
ruin  and  destruction  upon  those  ingrates;  he  rained 


DESTRUCTION  AND  RE-CREATION  OF  MAN.  47 

upon  them  night  and  day  from  heaven  with  a  thick 
resin;  and  the  earth  was  darkened.  And  the  men  went 
mad  with  terror;  they  tried  to  mount  upon  the  roofs, 
and  the  houses  fell ;  they  tried  to  climb  the  trees,  and  the 
trees  shook  them  far  from  their  branches;  they  tried 
to  hide  in  the  caves  and  dens  of  the  earth,  but  these 
closed  their  holes  against  them.  The  bird  Xecotcov- 
ach  came  to  tear  out  their  eyes;  and  the  Camalotz 
cut  off  their  head;  and  the  Cotzbalam  devoured  their 
flesh;  and  the  Tecumbalam  broke  and  bruised  their 
bones  to  powder.  Thus  were  they  all  devoted  to 
chastisement  and  destruction,  save  only  a  few  who 
were  preserved  as  memorials  of  the  wooden  men  that 
had  been;  and  these  now  exist  in  the  woods  as  little 
apes.4 

Once  more  are  the  gods  in  counsel ;  in  the  darkness, 
in  the  night  of  a  desolated  universe  do  they  commune 
together;  of  what  shall  we  make  man  \  And  the  Cre- 
ator and  Former  made  four  perfect  men;  and  wholly 
of  yellow  and  white  maize  was  their  flesh  composed. 
These  were  the  names  of  the  four  men  that  were 
made :  the  name  of  the  first  was  Balam  -Quitze ;  of 
the  second,  Balam- Agab;  of  the  third  Mahucutah; 
and  of  the  fourth,  Iqi-Balam.5  They  had  neither 
father  nor  mother,  neither  were  they  made  by  the 
ordinary  agents  in  the  work  of  creation;  but  their 
coming  into  existence  was  a  miracle  extraordinary, 
wrought  by  the  special  intervention  of  him  who  is  pre- 
eminently the  Creator.  Verily,  at  last,  were  there 
found  men  worthy  of  their  origin  and  their  destiny; 
verily,  at  last,  did  the  gods  look  on  beings  who  could 
see  with  their  eyes,  and  handle  with  their  hands,  and 
understand  with  their  hearts.  Grand  of  countenance 
and  broad  of  limb,  the  four  sires  of  our  race  stood  up 
under  the  white  rays  of  the  morning  star — sole  light 
as  yet  of  the  primeval  world — stood  up  and  looked. 

*  A  long  rambling  story  is  here  introduced  which  has  nothing  to  do  with 
Creation,  and  which  is  omitted  for  the  present. 

5  Balam-Quitze,  the  tiger  with  the  sweet  smile;  Balam- A  gab,  the  tiger  of 
the  night;  Mahucutah,  the  distinguished  name;  Iqi-Balam,  the  tiger  of  the 
moon.  '  Telle  est  la  signification  litterale  que  Ximenez  a  donnee  de  ces  quatre 
noms.'  Brasseur  de  Bourb&ury,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  199. 


48  ORIGIN  AND  END  0?  THINGS. 

Their  great  clear  eyes  swept  rapidly  over  all;  they  saw 
the  woods  and  the  rocks,  the  lakes  and  the  sea,  the 
mountains  and  the  valleys,  and  the  heavens  that  were 
above  all;  and  they  comprehended  all  and  admired  ex- 
ceedingly. Then  they  returned  thanks  to  those  who 
had  made  the  world  and  all  that  therein  was :  We  offer 
up  our  thanks,  twice — yea,  verily,  thrice!  We  have 
received  life;  we  speak,  we  walk,  we  taste;  we  hear 
and  understand;  we  know  both  that  which  is  near 
and  that  which  is  far  off;  we  see  all  things,  great  and 
small,  in  all  the  heaven  and  earth.  Thanks,  then, 
Maker  and  Former,  Father  and  Mother  of  our  life ! 
we  have  been  created;  we  are. 

But  the  gods  were  not  wholly  pleased  with  this 
thing ;  Heaven  they  thought  had  overshot  its  mark  ; 
these  men  were  too  perfect;  knew,  understood,  and 
saw  too  much.  Therefore  there  was  counsel  again  in 
heaven:  What  shall  we  do  with  man  now?  It  is  not 
good,  this  that  we  see;  these  are  as  gods;  they  would 
make  themselves  equal  with  us;  lo,  they  know  all 
things,  great  and  small.  Let  us  now  contract  their 
sight,  so  that  they  may  see  only  a  little  of  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth  and  be  content.  Thereupon  the 
Heart  of  Heaven  breathed  a  cloud  over  the  pupil  of 
the  eyes  of  men,  and  a  veil  came  over  it  as  when  one 
breathes  on  the  face  of  a  mirror;  thus  was  the  globe 
of  the  eye  darkened;  neither  was  that  which  was  far 
off  clear  to  it  any  more,  but  only  that  which  was  near. 

Then  the  four  men  slept,  and  there  was  counsel  in 
heaven:  and  four  women  were  made — to  Balam- 
Quitze  was  allotted  Caha-Paluma  to  wife;  to  Balam- 
Agab,  Chomiha;  to  Mahucutah,  Tzununiha;  and  to 
Iqi-Balam,  Cakixaha.6  Now  the  women  were  exceed- 
ingly fair  to  look  upon;  and  when  the  men  awoke, 
their  hearts  were  glad  because  of  the  women. 

Next,  as  I  interpret  the  narrative,  there  were  other 

6  Caha-pdluma,  the  falling  water;  Chomi-ha  or  CJwmih-a,  the  beautiful 
house  or  the  beautiful  water;  in  the  same  way,  Tzununiha  may  mean  either 
the  house  or  the  water  of  the  humming-birds;  and  Cakiraha,  either  the  house 
or  the  water  of  the  aras  [which  aro  a  kind  of  parrot1.  Brasscur  de  fioiirboury, 
Popol  Vuh,  p.  205. 


THE  QUICHES  SET  OUT  FOE,  TULAN-ZUTVA.  49 

men  created,  the  ancestors  of  other  peoples,  while  the 
first  four  were  the  fathers  of  all  the  branches  of  the 
Quiche  race.  The  different  tribes  at  first,  however, 
lived  together  amicably  enough,  in  a  primitive  state; 
and  increased  and  multiplied,  leading  happy  lives  under 
their  bright  and  morning  star,  precursor  of  the  yet 
unseen  sun.  They  had  as  yet  no  worship  save  the 
breathing  of  the  instinct  of  their  soul,  as  yet  no  altars 
to  the  gods ;  only — and  is  there  not  a  whole  idyl  in 
the  simple  words? — only  they  gazed  up  into  heaven, 
not  knowing  what  they  had  come  so  far  to  do  !7  They 
were  filled  with  love,  with  obedience,  and  with  fear; 
and  lifting  their  eyes  towards  heaven,  they  made  their 
requests : 

Hail!  O  Creator,  0  Former!  thou  that  hearest 
and  understandest  us!  abandon  us  not,  forsake  us 
not!  0  God,  thou  that  art  in  heaven  and  on  the 
earth,  O  Heart  of  Heaven,  0  Heart  of  Earth!  give 
us  descendants  and  a  posterity  as  long  as  the  light  en- 
dure. Give  us  to  walk  always  in  an  open  road,  in  a 
path  without  snares;  to  lead  happy,  quiet,  and  peace- 
able lives,  free  of  all  reproach.  It  was  thus  they  spake, 
living  tranquilly,  invoking  the  return  of  the  light,  wait- 
ing the  rising  of  the  sun,  watching  the  star  of  the 
morning,  precursor  of  the  sun.  But  no  sun  came, 
and  the  four  men  and  their  descendants  grew  uneasy : 
We  have  no  person  to  watch  over  us,  they  said,  noth- 
ing to  guard  our  symbols.  So  the  four  men  and  their 
people  set  out  for  Tulan-Zuiva,8  otherwise  called  the 
Seven-caves  or  Seven-ravines,  and  there  they  received 
gods,  each  man  as  head  of  a  family,  a  god;  though 
inasmuch  as  the  fourth  man,  Iqi-Balam,  had  no  chil- 

7  'Are  ma-habi  chi  tzukun,  qui  coon;  xavi  chi  cah  chi  qui  pacaba  qui  vach; 
inavi  qu'etaam  x-e  be-vi  naht  x-qui  bano.'     'Alors  ils  ne  servaient  pas  encore 
et  ne  soutenaient  point  (les  autels  des  dieux);  settlement  ils  tournaient  leurs 
visages  vers  le  ciel,  et  ils  ne  savaient  ce  qu'ils  e"taient  venus  faire  si  loin.' 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  209.     It  is  right  to  add,  however,  that 
Ximenez  gives  a  much  more  prosaic  turn  to  the  passage  :  '  No  cabian  de  sus- 
tento,  sino  que  levantaban  las  caras  al  cielo  y  no  se  sabian  alejar.'  Hist.  Ind. 
Guat.,  p.  84. 

8  Or  as  Ximenez,  Hist.  Ind.  Guat,.,  p.  87,  writes  it—Tulanzti  (las  siete  cuevas 
y  siete  barrancas). 

VOL.  HI.    4 


50  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

dren  and  founded  no  family,  his  god  is  not  usually 
taken  into  the  account.  Balam-Quitze  received  the 
god  Tohil;  Balam-Agab  received  the  god  Avilix ;  and 
Mahucutah  received  the  god  Hacavitz;  all  very 
powerful  gods,  but  Tohil  seems  to  have  been  the  chief, 
and  in  a  general  way,  god  of  the  whole  Quiche  nation. 
Other  people  received  gods  at  the  same  time ;  arid  it 
had  been  for  all  a  long  march  to  Tuian. 

Now  the  Quiches  had  as  yet  no  fire,  and  as  Tulan 
was  a  much  colder  climate  than  the  happy  eastern 
land  they  had  left,  they  soon  began  to  feel  the  want 
of  it.  The  god  Tohil,  who  was  the  creator  of  fire,  had 
some  in  his  possession;  so  to  him,  as  was  most  nat- 
ural, the  Quiches  applied,  and  Tohil  in  some  way  sup- 
plied them  with  fire. 

But  shortly  after  there  fell  a  great  rain  that  extin- 
guished all  the  fires  of  the  land ;  and  much  hail  also 
fell  on  the  heads  of  the  people  ;  and  because  of  the  rain 
and  the  hail,  their  fires  were  utterly  scattered  and  put 
out.  Then  Tohil  created  fire  again  by  stamping  with 
his  sandal.  Several  times  thus  fire  failed  them,  but 
Tohil  always  renewed  it.  Many  other  trials  also  they 
underwent  in  Tulan,  famines  and  such  things,  and  a 
general  dampness  and  cold — for  the  earth  was  moist, 
there  being  as  yet  no  sun. 

Here  also  the  language  of  all  the  families  was  con- 
fused so  that  no  one  of  the  first  four  men  could  any 
longer  understand  the  speech  of  another.  This  also 
made  them  very  sad.  They  determined  to  leave 
Tulan ;  and  the  greater  part  of  them,  under  the  guar- 
dianship and  direction  of  Tohil,  set  out  to  see  where 
they  should  take  up  their  abode.  They  continued  on 
their  way  amid  the  most  extreme  hardships  for  want 
of  food ;  sustaining  themselves  at  one  time  upon  the 
mere  smell  of  their  staves,  and  by  imagining  that 
they  were  eating,  when  in  verity  and  in  truth  they 
ate  nothing.  Their  heart,  indeed,  it  is  again  and 
again  said,  was  almost  broken  by  affliction.  Poor 
wanderers!  they  had  a  cruel  way  to  go,  many  forests 
to  pierce,  many  stern  mountains  to  overpass,  and  a 


QUICKC  ORIGIN  OF  THE  SUN.  51 

long  passage  to  make  through  the  sea,  along  the 
shingle  and  pebbles  and  drifted  sand — the  sea  being, 
however,  parted  for  their  passage. 

At  last  they  came  to  a  mountain  that  they  named 
Hacavitz,  after  one  of  their  gods,  and  here  they 
rested — for  here  they  were  by  some  means  given  to 
understand  that  they  should  see  the  sun.  Then, 
indeed,  was  filled  with  an  exceeding  joy  the  heart  of 
Balam-Quitze,  of  Balam-Agab,  of  Mahucutah,  and  of 
Iqi-Balam.  It  seemed  to  them  that  even  the  face 
of  the  morning  star  caught  a  new  and  more  resplen- 
dent brightness.  They  shook  their  incense  pans  and 
danced  for  very  gladness:  sweet  were  their  tears  in 
dancing,  very  hot  their  incense — their  precious  incense. 
At  last  the  sun  commenced  to  advance :  the  animals, 
small  and  great,  were  full  of  delight;  they  raised 
themselves  to  the  surface  of  the  water;  they  fluttered 
in  the  ravines;  they  gathered  at  the  edge  of  the 
mountains,  turning  their  heads  together  toward  that 
part  from  which  the  sun  came.  And  the  lion  and  the 
tiger  roared.  And  the  first  bird  that  sang  was  that 
called  the  Queletzu.  All  the  animals  were  beside 
themselves  at  the  sight;  the  eagle  and  the  kite  beat 
their  wings,  and  every  bird,  both  small  and  great. 
The  men  prostrated  themselves  on  the  ground,  for 
their  hearts  were  full  to  the  brim. 

And  the  sun,  and  the  moon,  and  the  stars  were  now 
all  established.  Yet  was  not  the  sun  then  in  the  be- 
ginning the  same  as  now;  his  heat  wanted  force,  and 
he  was  but  as  a  reflection  in  a  mirror;  verily,  say  the 
histories,  not  at  all  the  same  sun  as  that  of  to-day. 
Nevertheless  he  dried  up  and  wrarmed  the  surface  of 
the  earth,  and  answered  many  good  ends. 

Another  wonder  when  the  sun  rose  I  The  three 
tribal  gods,  Tohil,  Avilix,  and  Hacavitz,  were  turned 
into  stone,  as  were  also  the  gods  connected  with  the 
lion,  the  tiger,  the  viper,  and  other  fierce  and  dan- 
gerous animals.  Perhaps  we  should  not  be  alive  at 
this  moment — continues  the  chronicle — because  of  the 
voracity  of  these  fierce  animals,  of  these  lions  and  tigers 


52  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

and  vipers;  perhaps  to-day  our  glory  would  not  be 
in  existence,  had  not  the  sun  caused  this  petrification. 

And  the  people  multiplied  on  this  Mount  Hacavitz, 
and  here  they  built  their  city.  It  is  here  also  that 
they  began  to  sing  that  song  called  Kamucu,  'we 
see/  They  sang  it,  though  it  made  their  hearts  ache, 
for  this  is  what  they  said  in  singing:  Alas!  We 
ruined  ourselves  in  Tulan,  there  lost  we  many  of  our 
kith  and  kin,  they  still  remain  there,  left  behind! 
We  indeed  have  seen  the  sun,  but  they — now  that 
his  golden  light  begins  to  appear,  where  are  they? 

And  they  worshipped  the  gods  that  had  become 
stone,  Tohil,  Avilix,  and  Hacavitz;  and  they  offered 
them  the  blood  of  beasts,  and  of  birds,  and  pierced 
their  own  ears  and  shoulders  in  honor  of  these  gods, 
and  collected  the  blood  with  a  sponge,  and  pressed  it 
out  into  a  cup  before  them. 

Toward  the  end  of  their  long  and  eventful  life  Ba- 
lam-Quitze,  Balam-Agab,  Mahucutah,  and  Iqi-Balam 
were  impelled,  apparently  by  a  supernatural  vision,  to 
lay  before  their  gods  a  more  awful  offering  than  the 
life  of  senseless  beasts.  They  began  to  wet  their 
altars  with  the  heart's  blood  of  human  victims.  From 
their  mountain  hold  they  watched  for  lonely  travellers 
belonging  to  the  surrounding  tribes,  seized,  over- 
powered, and  slew  them  for  a  sacrifice.  Man  after 
man  was  missing  in  the  neighboring  villages ;  and  the 
people  said :  Lo  !  the  tigers  have  carried  them  away — 
for  wherever  the  blood  was  of  a  man  slain  were 
always  found  the  tracks  of  many  tigers.  Now  this 
was  the  craft  of  the  priests,  and  at  last  the  tribes 
began  to  suspect  the  thing  and  to  follow  the  tracks  of 
the  tigers.  But  the  trails  had  been  made  purposely 
intricate,  by  steps  returning  on  themselves  and  by 
the  obliteration  of  steps;  and  the  mountain  region 
where  the  altars  were  was  already  covered  with  a 
thick  fog  and  a  small  rain,  and  its  paths  flowed  with 
mud. 

The  hearts  of  the  villagers  were  thus  fatigued 
within  them,  pursuing  unknown  enemies.  At  last, 


THE  END  OF  THE  QUICHE  CREATION.  53 

however,  it  became  plain  that  the  gods  Tohil,  Avilix, 
and  Hacavitz,  and  their  worship,  were  in  some  way  or 
other  the  cause  of  this  bereavement:  so  the  people  of 
the  villages  conspired  against  them.  Many  attacks, 
both  openly  and  by  ruses,  did  they  make  on  the  gods, 
and  on  the  four  men,  and  on  the  children  and  people 
connected  with  them;  but  not  once  did  they  succeed, 
so  great  was  the  wisdom,  and  power,  and  courage  of 
the  four  men  and  of  their  deities.  And  these  three 
gods  petrified,  as  we  have  told,  could  nevertheless 
resume  a  movable  shape  when  they  pleased;  which 
indeed  they  often  did,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter. 

At  last  the  war  was  finished.  By  the  miraculous 
aid  of  a  horde  of  wasps  and  hornets,  the  Quiches  ut- 
terly defeated  and  put  to  the  rout  in  a  general  battle 
all  their  enemies.  And  the  tribes  humiliated  them- 
selves before  the  face  of  Balam-Quitze,  ofBalam-Agab, 
and  of  Mahucutah:  Unfortunates  that  we  are,  they 
said,  spare  to  us  at  least  our  lives.  Let  it  be  so,  it 
was  answered,  although  you  be  worthy  of  death ;  you 
shall,  however,  be  our  tributaries  and  serve  us,  as  long 
as  the  sun  endure,  as  long  as  the  light  shall  follow  his 
course.  This  was  the  reply  of  our  fathers  and  moth- 
ers, upon  Mount  Hacavitz ;  and  thereafter  they  lived 
in  great  honor  and  peace,  and  their  souls  had  rest,  and 
all  the  tribes  served  them  there. 

Now  it  came  to  pass  that  the  time  of  the  death  of 
Balam-Quitze,  Balam-Agab,  Mahucutah,  and  Iqi-Ba- 
lam  drew  near.  No  bodily  sickness  nor  suffering  came 
upon  them ;  but  they  were  forewarned  that  their  death 
and  their  end  was  at  hand.  Then  they  called  their 
sons  and  their  descendants  round  them  to  receive 
their  last  counsels. 

And  the  heart  of  the  old  men  was  rent  within  them. 
In  the  anguish  of  their  heart  they  sang  the  Kamucu, 
the  old  sad  song  that  they  had  sung  when  the  sun 
first  rose,  when  the  sun  rose  and  they  thought  of  the 
friends  they  had  left  in  Tulan,  whose  face  they  should 
see  no  more  forever.  Then  they  took  leave  of  their 
wives,  one  by  one;  and  of  their  sons,  one  by  one;  of 


54  ORIGIN  AND  END   OF  THINGS. 

each  in  particular  they  took  leave ;  and  they  said :  We 
return  to  our  people;  already  the  King  of^the  Stags 
is  ready,  he  stretches  himself  through  the  heaven. 
Lo,  we  are  about  to  return ;  our  work  is  done ;  the 
days  of  our  life  are  complete.  Remember  us  well ;  let 
us  never  pass  from  your  memory.  You  will  see  still 
our  houses  and  our  mountains;  multiply  in  them,  and 
then  go  on  upon  your  way  and  see  again  the  places 
whence  we  are  come. 

So  the  old  men  took  leave  of  their  sons  and  of  their 
wives ;  and  Balam-Quitze  spake  again :  Behold  !  he 
said,  I  leave  you  what  shall  keep  me  in  remembrance. 
I  have  taken  leave  of  you — and  am  filled  with  sadness, 
he  added.  Then  instantly  the  four  old  men  were  not ; 
but  in  their  place  was  a  great  bundle ;  and  it  was 
never  unfolded,  neither  could  any  man  find  seam  there- 
in on  rolling  it  over  and  over.  So  it  was  called  the 
Majesty  Enveloped;  and  it  became  a  memorial  of 
these  fathers,  and  was  held  very  dear  and  precious  in 
the  sight  of  the  Quiches;  and  they  burned  incense 
before  it.9 

Thus  died  and  disappeared  on  Mount  Hacavitz 
Balam-Quitze,  Balam-Agab,  Mahucutah,  and  Iqi- 
Balam,  these  first  men  who  came  from  the  east,  from 
the  other  side  of  the  sea.  Long  time  had  they  been 
here  when  they  died;  and  they  were  very  old,  and 
surnamed  the  Venerated  and  the  Sacrificers. 

Such  is  the  Quiche  account  of  the  creation  of  the 

9  The  following  passage  in  a  letter  from  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
to  Mr  Rafn  of  Copenhagen,  bearing  date  25th  October,  1858,  may  be  use- 
ful in  this  connection:  'On  sait  que  la  coutume  tolteque  et  mexicaine  etait 
de  conserver,  comme  chez  les  chretiens,  les  reliques  des  heros  de  la  patrie: 
on  enveloppait  leurs  os  avec  des  pierres  pr<§cieuses  dans  un  paquet  d  etoffes 
auquel  on  donnait  le  nom  de  Tlaquimilolli;  ces  paquets  demeuraient  a  jamaia 
ferines  et  on  les  deposait  an  fond  des  sanctuaires  ou  on  les  couservait  comme 
dss  objects  sacres.'  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voyages,  1858,  torn,  iv.,  p.  268. 
One  of  these  *  bundles,'  was  given  up  to  the  Christians  by  a  Tlascaltec  some 
time  after  the  Conquest.  It  was  reported  to  contain  the  remains  of  Camaxtli, 
the  chief  god  of  Tlascala.  The  native  historian,  Camargo,  describes  it  as 
follows:  'Quand  on  defit  le  paquet  oi\  se  trouvaient  les  cendres  de  lidole 

Camaxtle,  on  y  trouva  aussi  un  paquet  de  cheveux  blonds, on  y  trouva 

aussi  une  emeraude,  et  de  ses  cendres  on  avait  fait  unepate,  en  les  petrjssant 
avec  le  sang  des  enfants  que  Ton  avait  sacrifies.'  Hist,  de  Tlaxcallan>  in 
Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn,  xcix.,  p.  179. 


MEXICAN  COSMOGONY.  55 

earth  and  its  inhabitants,  and  of  the  first  years  of  the 
existence  of  mankind.  Although  we  find  here  de- 
scribed in  the  plainest  and  least  equivocal  terms  a 
supreme,  all-powerful  Creator  of  all  things,  there  are 
joined  with  him  in  a  somewhat  perplexing  manner  a 
number  of  auxiliary  deities  and  makers.  It  may  be 
that  those  whose  faith  the  Popol  Vuh  represents,  con- 
ceiving and  speaking  of  their  supreme  god  under  many 
aspects  and  as  fulfilling  many  functions,  came  at  times, 
either  unconsciously  or  for  dramatic  effect,  to  bring 
this  one  great  Being  upon  their  mythic  stage,  sustain- 
ing at  once  many  of  his  different  parts  and  characters. 
Or  perhaps,  like  the  Hebrews,  they  believed  that  the 
Creator  had  made  out  of  nothing,  or  out  of  his  own  es- 
sence, in  some  mysterious  way,  angels  and  other  be- 
ings to  obey  and  to  assist  him  in  his  sovereign  designs, 
and  that  these  '  were  called  gods.'  That  these  Quiche 
notions  seem  foolishness  to  us,  is  no  argument  as  to 
their  adaptation  to  the  life  and  thoughts  of  those  who 
believed  them;  for,  in  the  words  of  Professor  Max 
M  tiller,  "the  thoughts  of  primitive  humanity  were 
not  only  different  from  our  thoughts,  but  different  also 
from  what  we  think  their  thoughts  ought  to  have 
been."10 

Yet  whatever  be  the  inconsistencies  that  obscure 
the  Popol  Vuh,  we  find  them  multiplied  in  the  Mexi- 
can cosmogony,  a  tangled  string  of  meagre  and  ap- 
parently fragmentary  traditions.  There  appear  to 
have  been  two  principal  schools  of  opinion  in  Andhuac, 
differing  as  to  who  was  the  Creator  of  the  world,  as- 
well  as  on  other  points — two  veins  of  tradition,  per- 
haps of  common  origin,  which  often  seem  to  run  into 
one,  and  are  oftener  still  considered  as  one  by  his- 
torians to  whom  these  heathen  vanities  were  matters 
of  little  importance.  The  more  advanced  school,, 
ascribing  its  inspiration  to  Toltec  sources,  seems  to 
have  flourished  notably  in  Tezcuco,  especially  while 
the  famous  Nezahualcoyotl  reigned  there,  and  to  have 
had  very  definite  monotheistic  ideas.  It  taught,,  as  is 

"See  Cox 's  Mythology  of  the,  Aryan  Nations,  vol.  i.,  p.  333.. 


56  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

asserted  in  unmistakable  terms,  that  all  things  had 
been  made  by  one  God,  omnipotent  and  invisible;  and 
to  this  school  were  probably  owing  the  many  gentle 
and  beautiful  ideas  and  rites,  mingled  with  the  hard, 
coarse,  and  prosaic  cult  of  the  mass  of  the  people.11 

The  other  school  may  be  considered  as  more  dis- 
tinctively national,  and  as  representing  more  particu- 
larly the  ordinary  Mexican  mind.  To  it  is  to  be 
ascribed  by  far  the  larger  part  of  all  we  know  about 
the  Mexican  religion.12  According  to  the  version  of 
this  school,  Tezcatlipoca,  a  god  whose  birth  and 
adventures  are  set  forth  hereafter,  was  the  creator  of 
the  material  heaven  and  earth,  though  not  of  mankind; 
and  sometimes  even  the  honor  of  this  partial  creation 
is  disputed  by  others  of  the  gods. 

One  Mexican  nation,  again,  according  to  an  ancient 
writer  of  their  own  blood,  affirmed  that  the  earth  had 
been  created  by  chance ;  and  as  for  the  heavens,  they 
had  always  existed.13 

11  Even  supposing  there  were  no  special  historical  reasons  for  making  this 
distinction,  it  seems  convenient  that  such  a  division  should  be  made  in  a 
country  where  the  distinction  of  classes  was  so  marked  as  in  Mexico.  As 
Reade  puts  the  case,  Martyrdom  of  Man,  p.  177:  'In  those  countries  where 
two  distinct  classes  of  men  exist,  the  one  intellectual  and  learned,  the  other 
illiterate  and  degraded,  there  will  be  in  reality  two  religions,  though  nomi- 
nally there  may  be  only  one. ' 

12 '  Les  pretres  et  les  nobles  de  Mexico  avaient  peri  presque  tous  lors  de  la 
prise  de  cette  ville,  et  ceux  qui  avaient  echappe  au  massacre  s'etaient  refu- 
gies  dans  des  lieux  inaccessibles.  Ce  furent  done  presque  tou jours  des  gens 
du  peuple  sans  education  et  livres  aux  plus  grossie"res  superstitions  qui  leur 
firent  les  recits  qu'ils  nous  ont  transmis;  Les  missionnaires,  d'ailleurs, 
avaient  plus  d'interet  a  connaitre  les  usages  qu'ils  voulaient  deraciner  de  la 
masse  du  peuple  qu'a  compreiidre  le  sens  plus  eleve  que  la  partie  eclairee 
de  la  nation  pouvait  y  attacher.'  Ternaux-Compans,  Essai  sur  la  Theogonie 
Mexicaine,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1840,  torn.  Ixxxv.,  p.  274. 

13  This  last  statement  rests  on  the  authority  of  Domingo  Munoz  Camargo, 
a  native  of  the  city  of  Tlascala  who  wrote  about  1585.  See  his  Hist,  de 
Tlaxcallan,  as  translated  by  Ternaux-Compans  in  the  Nouvelles  Annales 
des  Voy.,  1843,  torn,  xcix.,  p.  129.  'Les  Indiens  ne  croyaient  pas  que  la 
monde  eut  ete"  cree,  mais  pensaient  qu'il  etait  le  produit  du  hazard.  Us 
disaient  aussi  que  les  cieux  avaient  toujours  existe.'  '  Estos,  pues,  alcanza- 
ron  con  claridad  el  verdadero  orfgen  y  principio  de  todo  el  Universo,  porque 
asientan  que  el  cielo  y  la  tierra  y  cuanto  en  ellos  se  halla  es  obra  de  la 
ppderosa  mano  de  un  Dios  Supremo  y  tmico,  a  quien  daban  el  nombre  da 
Tloque  Nahuaque,  que  quiere  decir,  criador  de  todas  las  cosas.  Llamabanla 
tambien  Ipalnemohualoni,  que  quiere  decir,  criador  de  todas  las  cosas.  Llania- 
banle  tambien  Ipalnemohualoni,  que  quiere  decir,  por  quien  vivimos  y  somos, 
y  fud  la  linica  deidad  quo  adoraron.  en  aquellos  primitives  tiempos;  y 
aun.  despues  que  se  introdujo  U  ilolatrfa  y  el  fabo  culto,  le  creyeron  siem- 
pre  superior  a  todo.3  sus  dioses,  y  le  invocaban  levantando  los  ojos  al  cielo. 
En  esta  creencia  ee  mantuviaron  coustante^  hasta  la  llegada  de  los  es- 


CHIMALPOPOCA  MANUSCRIPT.  57 

Prom  the  fragments  of  the  Chimalpopoca  manu- 
script given  by  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  we 
learn  that  the  Creator — whoever  he  may  have  been — 
produced  his  work  in  successive  epochs.  In  the  sign 
Tochtli,  the  earth  was  created ;  in  the  sign  Acatl  was 
made  the  firmament,  and  in  the  sign  Tecpatl  the  ani- 
mals. Man,  it  is  added,  was  made  and  animated  out 
of  ashes  or  dust  by  God  on  the  seventh  day,  Ehecatl, 
but  finished  and  perfected  by  that  mysterious  per- 
sonage Quetzalcoatl.  However  this  account  may  be 
reconciled  with  itself  or  with  others,  it  further  ap- 
pears that  man  was  four  times  made  anct  four  times 
destroyed.14 

panoles,  como  afirma  Herrera,  no.  solo  los  mejicanos,  sino  tambien  los  de 
Michoacan.'  Veytia,  Historia  Antigua  de  Mejico,  torn,  i.,  p.  7.  'Los  Tultecas 
alcanzaron  y  supieron  la  creacion  del  mundo,  y  como  el  Tloque  Nahuaque  lo 
crid  y  las  demas  cosas  que  hay  en  el,  como  son  plantas,  montes,  animales, 
aves,  agua  y  peces;  asimismo  supieron  como  crid  Dios  al  hombre  y  una  mu- 
ger,  de  donde  los  hombres  descendieron  y  se  multiplicaron,  y  sobre  esto 
anaden  muchas  fabulas  que  por  escusar  prolijidad  no  se  ponen  aqui.'  Ixtlil- 
xockitl,  Relaciones,  in  Kingsborough,  vol.  ix.,  p.  321.  'Dios  Criador,  que  en 
lengua  Indiana  llamo  Tloque  Nahuaque,  queriendo  dar  a  entender,  que  este 
Solo,  Poderoso,  y  Clementissimo  Dios.'  Boturini,  Idea  de  una  Hist.,  p.  79. 
'  Confessauan  los  Mexicanos  a  vn  supremo  Dios,  Senor,  y  hazedor  de  todo,  y 
este  era  el  principal  que  venerauan,  mirando  al  cielo,  llamandole  criador  del 
cielo  y  tierra.'  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  xv.,  p.  85.  'El  dios 
que  se  llamaba  Titlacaaon  (Tezcatlipuca),  decian  que  era  criador  del  cielo  y  de 
la  tierra  y  era  todo  poderoso.'  Sahagun,  Hist.  Ant.  Hex.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p. 
241.  '  Tezcatlipoca,  Questo  era  il  maggior  Dio,  che  in  que'  paesi  si  adorava, 
dopo  il  Dio  invisibile,  o  Supremo  Essere,  di  cui  abbiam  ragionato ....  Era 
il  Dio  della  Providenza,  1'anima  del  Mondo,  il  Creator  del  Cielo  e  della  Ter- 
ra, ed  il  Signer  di  tutte  le  cose.'  Clavigero,  Storia  Antica  del  Messico,  torn,  ii., 
p.  7.  '  La  creacion  del  cielo  y  de  la  tierra  aplicaban  a  diversos  dioses,  y  al- 
gunos  a  Tezcatlipuca  y  a  Uzilopuchtli,  6  segun  otros,  Ocelopuchtli,  y  de  los 
principales  de  Mexico.'  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  p.  81. 

•* '  Lorsque  le  ciel  et  la  terre  s'etaient  faits,  quatre  fois  deja  l'homme  avait 
ete  forme. . .  .de  cendres  Dieu  Favait  forme  et  anime.'  The  Codex  Chimalpo- 
poca, or  Chimalpopoca  MS.,  after  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist,  des  Nat.  C/v.t 
torn.  i. ,  p.  53.  This  Codex  Chimalpopoca,  so  called  by  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de 
Bourbourg,  is  an  anonymous  manuscript  in  the  Mexican  language.  What 
we  really  know  of  this  much-talked-of  document  is  little,  and  will  be  best 
given  in  the  original  form.  The  following  is  the  first  notice  I  find  of  this 
manuscript,  with  its  appurtenances,  being  Boturini's  description  of  it  as 
possessed  at  one  time  by  him.  Catdlogo,  pp.  17-18.  '  Una  historia  de  loa 
Keynos  de  Culhuacan,  y  Mexico  en  lengua  Nahuatl,  y  papel  Europeo  de 
Antor  Anonymo,  y  tiene  anadida  una  Breve  Relacion  de  los  Dioses,  y  Ritos 
do  la  Gentilidad  en  lengua  Castellana  que  escribid  el  Bachiller  Don  Pedro 
Ponce,  Inclio  Cazique  Beneficiado,  que  fue  del  Partido  de  Tzumpahuacan. 
Esta  todo  copiado  de  letra  de  Don  Fernando  de  Alba,  y  Is  falta  la  orlmera 
fcja.'  With  regard  to  the  term  Nahuatl  used  in  this  Catalogue,  see  Id'.,  p.  85: 
'Los  Manuscritos  en  lengua  Nahuatl,  que  en  este  Catalogo  se  citan,  se  enti- 
encle  ser  en  lengua  Maxicana  ! '  This  manuscript,  or  a  copy  of  It,  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  in  the 
year  1050.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Bibliotheque  Mexico-Guatemalienne,  Intro- 


58  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

This  may  perhaps  be  looked  upon  as  proceeding 
from  what  I  have  called  for  convenience  the  Toltecan 
school,  though  this  particular  fragment  shows  traces  of 
Christian  influence.  What  follows  seems,  however,  to 
belong  to  a  distinctively  Mexican  and  ruder  vein  of 
thought.  It  is  gathered  from  Mendieta,  who  was  in- 
debted again  to  Fray  Andres  de  Olmos,  one  of  the 
earliest  missionaries  among  the  Mexicans  of  whom  he 
treats;  and  it  is  decidedly  one  of  the  most  authentic 
accounts  of  such  matters  extant. 

The  Mexicans  in  most  of  the  provinces  were  agreed 
that  there  was  a  god  in  heaven  called  Citlalatonac, 
and  a  goddess  called  Citlalicue;15  and  that  this  god- 
dess had  given  birth  to  a  flint  knife,  Tecpatl.  Now 
she  had  many  sons  living  with  her  in  heaven,  who  see- 
ing this  extraordinary  thing  were  alarmed,  and  flung 
the  flint  down  to  the  earth.  It  fell  in  a  place  called 
Chicomoztoc,  that  is  to  say,  the  Seven  Caves,  and  there 
immediately  sprang  up  from  it  one  thousand  six  hun- 
dred gods.  These  gods  being  alone  on  the  earth — 
though,  as  will  hereafter  appear,  there  had  been  men  in 
the  world  at  a  former  period — sent  up  their  messenger 
Tlotli,  the  Hawk,  to  pray  their  mother  to  empower 
them  to  create  men,  so  that  they  might  have  servants 
as  became  their  lineage.  Citlalicue  seemed  to  be  a 

duction,  p.  xxi.,  and  the  learned  Abbe"  describes  it  as  follows:  'Codex 
Chimalpopoca  (Copie  du),  contenant  les  Epoques,  dites  Histoire  des  Soleils 
et  1 'Histoire  des  Royaumes  de  Colhuacan  et  de  Mexico,  texte  Mexicain  (corrige 
d'apres  celui  de  M.  Aubin),  avec  un  essai  de  traduction  fran9aise  en  regard. 
gr.  in  4° — Manuscrit  de  93  ff.,  copie  et  traduit  par  le  signataire  de  la  biblio- 
theque.  C'est  la  copie  du  document  marque  au  n°  13,  §  viii.,  du  catalogue  de 
Boturini,  sous  le  titre  de:  Historia  de  los  Reynos  de  Colhuacan  y  Mexico,  etc. 
Ce  document,  ou  pour  la  premiere  fois  j'ai  souleve  le  voile  enigmatique  qui 
recouvrait  les  symboles  de  la  religion  et  de  1'histoire  du  Mexique  et  le  plus 
important  de  tous  ceux  qui  nous  soient  restes  des  annales  antiques  mexicaines. 
II  renferme  chronologiquement  1'histoire  geologique  du  monde,  par  series  de 
13  ans,  a  commencer  de  plus  de  dix  mille  ans  avant  1'ere  chretienne,  suivant 
les  calculs  mexicains.'  Id.,  p.  47. 

15  Otherwise  called,  according  to  Clavigero,  the  god  Ometeuctli,  and  the 
goddess  Omecihuatl.  Ternaux-Compans  says:  'Les  noms  d'Ometeuctli  et 
d'Omecihuatl  ne  se  trouvent  nulle  part  ailleurs  dans  la  mythologie  mexicaine; 
mais  on  pourrait  les  expliquer  par  1'etymologie.  Ome  signifie  deux  en  mexi- 
cain,  et  tous  les  auteurs  sont  d'accord  pour  traduire  litteralement  leur  nom 
par  deux  seigneurs  et  deux  dames.'  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1840,  torn. 
Ixxxvi.,  p.  7. 


AZTEC   CREATION-MYTHS.  59 

little  ashamed  of  these  sons  of  hers,  born  in  so  strange 
a  manner,  and  she  twitted  them  cruelly  enough  on 
what  they  could  hardly  help :  Had  you  been  what  you 
ought  to  have  been,  she  exclaimed,  you  would  still  be 
in  my  company.  Nevertheless  she  told  them  what  to 
do  in  the  matter  of  obtaining  their  desire:  Go  beg  of 
Mictlanteuctli,  Lord  of  Hades,  that  he  may  give  you 
a  bone  or  some  ashes  of  the  dead  that  are  with  him; 
which  having  received,  you  shall  sacrifice  over  it, 
sprinkling  blood  from  your  own  bodies.  And  the 
fallen  gods,  having  consulted  together,  sent  one  of 
their  number,  called  Xolotl,16  down  to  hades  as  their 
mother  had  advised.  He  succeeded  in  getting  a  bone 
of  six  feet  long  from  Mictlanteuctli ;  and  then,  wary  of 
his  grisly  host,  he  took  an  abrupt  departure,  running 
at  the  top  of  his  speed.  Wroth  at  this,  the  infernal 
chief  gave  chase ;  not  causing  to  Xolotl,  however,  any 
more  serious  inconvenience  than  a  hasty  fall  in  which 
the  bone  was  broken  in  pieces.  The  messenger  gath- 
ered up  what  he  could  in  all  haste,  and  despite  his  stum- 
ble, made  his  escape.  Reaching  the  earth,  he  put  the 
fragments  of  bone  into  a  basin,  and  all  the  gods  drew 
blood  from  their  bodies  and  sprinkled  it  into  the  vessel. 
On  the  fourth  day  there  was  a  movement  among  the 
wetted  bones,  and  a  boy  lay  there  before  all;  and  in 
four  days  more,  the  blood-letting  and  sprinkling  being 
still  kept  up,  a  girl  was  lifted  from  the  ghastly  dish. 
The  children  were  given  to  Xolotl  to  bring  up ;  and  he 
fed  them  on  the  juice  of  the  maguey.17  Increasing  in 

16 Xolotl,  'servant  or  page.'  Molina,  VocoJmlario  en  lengua  Castellana 
Mextcana.  Not  '  eye, '  as  some  scholiasts  have  it. 

17  Literally,  in  the  earliest  copy  of  the  myth  that  I  have  seen,  the  milk  of 
the  thistle,  '  la  leche  de  cardo, '  which  term  has  been  repeated  blindly,  and 
apparently  without  any  idea  of  its  meaning,  by  the  various  writers  that 
have  followed.  The  old  authorities,  however,  and  especially  Mendieta,  from 
whom  I  take  the  legend,  were  in  the  habit  of  calling  the  maguey  a  thistle; 
and  indeed,  the  tremendous  prickles  of  the  Mexican  plant  may  lay  good  claim 
to  the  Nemo  me  impune  lacessU  of  the  Scottish  emblem.  '  Maguey,  que  es  el 
cardon  de  donde  sacan  la  miel.'  Mendieta,  Hist.  Edes.,  p.  110.  *  Metl  es  un 
arbol  6  cardo  que  en  lengua  de  las  Islas  se  llama  maguey'. '  Motolinia,  Hist,  de 
los  Ind.,  in/cazbalceta,  Col.  de  Doc.,  torn,  i.,  p.  243.  '  Et  similmente-cogliono 
le  foglie  di  questo  albero,  6  cardo  che  si  tengono  la,  come  qua  le  vigne,  et 
chiamanlo  magueis.'  Relatione  fatta  per  un  gen&Chwmo  del  Signor  Cortese,  in 
JRamusio,  Viagyi,  torn,  iii.,  fol.  307. 


60  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

stature,  they  became  man  and  woman ;  and  from  them 
are  the  people  of  the  present  day  descended,  who,  even 
as  the  primordial  bone  was  broken  into  unequal  pieces, 
vary  in  size  and  shape.  The  name  of  this  first  man 
was  Iztacmixcuatl,  and  the  name  of  his  wife  I]ancueitl,18 
and  they  had  six  sons  born  to  them,  whose  descend- 
ants, with  their  god-masters,  in  process  of  time  moved 
eastward  from  their  original  home,  almost  universally 
described  as  having  been  toward  Jalisco. 

Now,  there  had  been  no.  sun  in  existence  for  many 
years;  so  the  gods,  being  assembled  in  a  place  called 
Teotihuacan,  six  leagues  from  Mexico,  and  gathered 
at  the  time  round  a  great  fire,  told  their  devotees  that 
he  of  them  who  should  first  cast  himself  into  that  fire 
should  have  the  honor  of  being  transformed  into  a 
sun.  So  one  of  them,  called  Nanahuatzin — either,  as 
most  say,  out  of  pure  bravery,  or,  as  Sahagun  relates, 
because  his  life  had  become  a  burden  to  him  through 
a  syphilitic  disease — flung  himself  into  the  fire.  Then 
the  gods  began  to  peer  through  the  gloom  in  all 
directions  for  the  expected  light,  and  to  make  bets 
as  to  what  part  of  heaven  he  should  first  appear  in. 
And  some  said  Here,  and  some  said  There ;  but  when 
the  sun  rose  they  were  all  proved  wrong,  for  not  one 
of  them  had  fixed  upon  the  east.19  And  in  that  same 

18  Motolinia,  in  Icazbalceta,  Col. ,  torn.  i. ,  pp.  6-10,  says  this  first  man  and 
woman  were  begotten  between  the  rain  and  the  dust  of  the  earth — *  engen- 
drada  de  la  lluvia  y  del  polvo  de  la  tierra ' — and  in  other  ways  adds  to  the  per- 
plexity; so  that  I  am  well  inclined  to  agree  with  Miiller,  Amerikanische  Urre- 
ligionen,  p.  518,  when  he  says  these  cosmogonical  myths  display  marks  of 
local  origin  and  of  the  subsequent  fusion  of  several  legends  into  an  incon- 
gruous whole.      'Aus  dieser  Menge  von  Verschiedenheiten  in   diesen  Kos- 
mogonien  ist  ersichtlich,  dass  viele  Lokalmythen  hier  wie  in  Peru  unabhan- 
gig  von  einander  entstanden  die  man  ausserlich  mit  einander  verband,   die 
aber  in  mancherlei  Widerspriichen  auch  noch  spater  ihre  ursprungliche  Un- 
abhangigkeit  zu  erkennen  geben. ' 

19  Here  as  elsewhere  in  this  legend  we  follow  Andres  de  Olmos'  account 
as  given  by  Mendieta.     Sahagun,   however,  differs  from  it  a  good  deal  in 
places.     At  this  point,  for  example,  he  mentions  some  notable  personages 
who  guessed  right  about  the  rising  of  the  sun:   '  Otros  se  pusieron  d  mirar 
acia  el  oriente,  y  digeron  aqui.  de  esta  parte  ha  de  salir  el  Sol.     El  dicho  de 
eatos  fue  verdadero.     Dicen  que   los  que   miraron   acia  el   Oriente,    fueron 
Quetzalcoatl,  que  tambien  se  llama  Ecatl,  y  otro  que  se  llama  Totec,  y  por 
otro  nombre  Anaoatlytecu,  y  por  otro  nombre  Tlatavictezcatlipuca,  y  otroa 
que  se  llaman  Minizcoa,'  or  as  in  Kingsborough's  edition,  Hex.  Antiq.,  vol. 


HOW  THE  SUN  WAS  PLACED  IN  THE  HEAVENS.          61 

hour,  though  they  knew  it  not,  the  decree  went  forth 
that  they  should  all  die  by  sacrifice. 

The  sun  had  risen  indeed,  and  with  a  glory  of  the 
cruel  fire  about  him  that  not  even  the  eyes  of  the  gods 
could  endure ;  but  he  moved  not.  There  he  lay  on  the 
horizon ;  and  when  the  deities  sent  Tlotli,  their  mes- 
senger, to  him,  with  orders  that  he  should  go  on  upon 
his  way,  his  ominous  answer  was,  that  he  would  never 
leave  that  place  till  he  had  destroyed  and  put  an  end 
to  them  all.  Then  a  great  fear  fell  upon  some,  while 
others  were  moved  only  to  anger ;  and  among  the  lat- 
ter was  one  Citli,  who  immediately  strung  his  bow 
and  advanced  against  the  glittering  enemy.  By 
quickly  lowering  his  head  the  Sun  avoided  the  first 
arrow  shot  at  him;  but  the  second  and  third  had  at- 
tained his  body  in  quick  succession,  when,  filled  with 
fury,  he  seized  the  last  and  launched  it  back  upon  his 
assailant.  And  the  brave  Citli  laid  shaft  to  string 
nevermore,  for  the  arrow  of  the  sun  pierced  his  fore- 
head. 

Then  all  was  dismay  in  the  assembly  of  the  gods,  and 
despair  filled  their  heart,  for  they  saw  that  they  could 
not  prevail  against  the  shining  one;  and  they  agreed 
to  die,  and  to  cut  themselves  open  through  the  breast. 
Xolotl  was  appointed  minister,  and  he  killed  his  com- 
panions one  by  one,  and  last  of  all  he  slew  himself 
also.20  So  they  died  like  gods;  and  each  left  to  the 
sad  and  wondering  men  who  were  his  servants  his 
garments  for  a  memorial.  And  these  servants  made 
up,  each  party,  a  bundle  of  the  raiment  that  had  been 

vii.,  p.  186.  'Por  otro  nombre  Anaoatl  y  Tecu,  y  por  otro  nombre  Tlatavic- 
tezcatlipuca,  y  otros  que  se  llaman  Mimizcoa,  que  son  inumerables;  y  cuatro 
mugeres,  la  una  se  llama  Tiacapan,  la  otra  Teicu,  la  tercera  Tlacoeoa,  la 
cuarta  Xocoyotl.'  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  viiL,  p.  248. 

20  Besides  differences  of  authorities  already  noticed,  I  may  add  that  Sa- 
hagun describes  the  personage  who  became  the  sun — as  well  as  him  who, 
as  we  shall  soon  see,  became  the  moon — as  belonging  before  his  transfor- 
mation to  the  number  of  the  gods,  and  not  as  one  of  the  men  who  served 
them.  Further,  in  recounting  the  death  of  the  gods,  Sahagun  says  that  to 
the  Air,  Ecatl,  Quetzalcoatl,  was  allotted  the  task  of  killing  the  rest;  nor  does 
it  appear  that  Quetzalcoatl  killed  himself.  As  to  Xolotl,  he  plays  quite  a 
cowardly  part  in  this  version;  trying  to  elude  his  death,  he  transformed  him- 
self into  various  things,  and  was  only  at  last  taken  and  killed  under  the  form 
of  a  fish  called  Axolotl. 


62  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

left  to  them,  binding  it  about  a  stick  into  which  they 
had  bedded  a  small  green  stone  to  serve  as  a  heart. 
These  bundles  were  called  tlaquimilloli,  and  each  bore 
the  name  of  that  god  whose  memorial  it  was;  and 
these  things  were  more  reverenced  than  the  ordinary 
gods  of  stone  and  wood  of  the  country.  Fray  Andres 
de  Olmos  found  one  of  these  relics  in  Tlalmanalco, 
wrapped  up  in  many  cloths,  and  half  rotten  with  be- 
ing kept  hid  so  long.21 

Immediately  on  the  death  of  the  gods  the  sun  began 
his  motion  in  the  heavens;  and  a  man  called  Tecuz- 
istecatl,  or  Tezcociztecatl,  who,  when  Nanahuatzin 
leaped  into  the  fire,  had  retired  into  a  cave,  now 
emerged  from  his  concealment  as  the  moon.  Others 
say  that  instead  of  going  into  a  cave,  this  Tecuziste- 
catl,  had  leaped  into  the  fire  after  Nanahuatzin,  but 
that,  the  heat  of  the  fire  being  somewhat  abated,  he 
had  come  out  less  brilliant  than  the  sun.  Still  another 
variation  is,  that  the  sun  and  moon  came  out  equally 
bright,  but  this  not  seeming  good  to  the  gods,  one 
of  them  took  a  rabbit  by  the  heels  and  slung  it  into 
the  face  of  the  moon,  dimming  its  lustre  with  a  blotch 
whose  mark  may  be  seen  to  this  day. 

After  the  gods  had  died  in  the  way  herein  related, 
leaving  their  garments  behind  as  relics,  those  servants 
went  about  everywhere,  bearing  these  relics  like  bun- 
dles upon  their  shoulders,  very  sad  and  pensive,  and 
wondering  if  ever  again  they  would  see  their  departed 
gods.  Now,  the  name  of  one  of  these  deceased  deities 
was  Tezcatlipoca,  and  his  servant,  having  arrived  at 
the  sea-coast,  was  favored  with  an  apparition  of  his 
master  in  three  different  shapes.  And  Tezcatlipoca 
spake  to  his  servant  saying:  Come  hither,  thou  that 
lovest  me  so  well,  that  I  may  tell  thee  what  thou  hast 
to  do.  Go  now  to  the  House  of  the  Sun  and  fetch 
thence  singers  and  instruments  so  that  thou  inayest 
make  me  a  festival;  but  first  call  upon  the  whale,  and 

21  This  kind  of  idol  answers  evidently  to  the  mysterious  '  Envelope'  of 
the  Quiche  myth.  See  also  note  9. 


THE  TEZCUCAN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  CREATION.  63 

upon  the  siren,  and  upon  the  tortoise,  and  they  shall 
make  thee  a  bridge  to  the  sun. 

Then  was  all  this  done;  and  the  messenger  went 
across  the  sea  upon  his  living  bridge,  toward  the 
House  of  the  Sun,  singing  what  he  had  to  say.  And 
the  Sun  heard  the  song,  and  he  straitly  charged  his 
people  and  servants,  saying :  See  now  that  ye  make 
no  response  to  this  chant,  for  whoever  replies  to  it 
must  be  taken  away  by  the  singer.  But  the  song  was 
so  exceeding  sweet  that  some  of  them  could  not  but 
answer,  and  they  were  lured  away,  bearing  with  them 
the  drum,  teponazlli,  and  the  kettle-drum,  vevetl.  Such 
was  the  origin  of  the  festivals  and  the  dances  to  the 
gods;  and  the  songs  sung  during  these  dances  they 
held  as  prayers,  singing  them  always  with  great  accu- 
racy of  intonation  and  time. 

In  their  oral  traditions  the  Tezcucans  agreed  with 
the  usual  Mexican  account  of  creation — the  falling  of 
the  flint  from  heaven  to  earth,  and  so  on — but  what 
they  afterward  showed  in  a  picture,  and  explained  to 
Fray  Andres  de  Olmos  as  the  manner  of  the  creation 
of  mankind,  was  this:  The  event  took  place  in  the 
land  of  Aculma,  on  the  Tezcucan  boundary,  at  a  dis- 
tance of  two  leagues  from  Tezcuco  and  of  five  from 
Mexico.  It  is  said  that  the  sun,  being  at  the  hour  of 
nine,  cast  a  dart  into  the  earth  at  the  place  we  have 
mentioned  and  made  a  hole;  from  this  hole  a  man 
came  out,  the  first  man,  and  somewhat  imperfect 
withal,  as  there  was  no  more  of  him  than  from  the 
arm-pits  up,  much  like  the  conventional  European 
cherub,  only  without  wings.  After  that  the  woman 
came  up  out  of  the  hole.  The  rest  of  the  story  was 
not  considered  proper  for  printing  by  Mendieta;  but 
at  any  rate,  from  these  two  are  mankind  descended. 
The  name  of  the  first  man  was  Aculmaitl — that  is  to 
say,  aculli,  shoulder,  and  maitl,  hand  or  arm — and 
from  him  the  town  of  Aculma  is  said  to  take  its  name.22 

22  Besides  the  Chimalpopoca  manuscript,  the  earliest  summaries  of  the 
Mexican  creation-myths  are  to  be  found  in  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecks.,  pp.  77-81; 
Sahayun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p.  233,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vii.,  pp.  246-250; 


64  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

And  this  etymology  seems  to  make  it  probable  that 
the  details  of  this  myth  are  derived,  to  some  extent, 
from  the  name  of  the  place  in  which  it  was  located; 
or  that  the  name  of  the  first  man  belonging  to  an  early 
phase  of  the  language  has  been  misunderstood,  and 
that  to  the  false  etymology  the  details  of  the  myth 
are  owing. 

As  already  stated,  there  had  been  men  on  the  earth 
previous  to  that  final  and  perfect  creation  of  man  from 
the  bone  supplied  by  Mictlanteuctli,  and  wetted  by 
the  gods  with  their  own  blood  at  the  place  of  the 
Seven  Caves.  These  men  had  been  swept  away  by 
a  succession  of  great  destructions.  With  regard  to 
the  number  of  these  destructions  it  is  hard  to  speak 
positively,  as  on  no  single  point  in  the  wide  range  of 
early  American  religion  does  there  exist  so  much  dif- 
ference of  opinion.  All  the  way  from  twice  to  five 
times,  following  different  accounts,  has  the  world  been 
desolated  by  tremendous  convulsions  of  nature.  I  fol- 
low most  closely  the  version  of  the  Tezcucan  historian 
Ixtlilxochitl,  as  being  one  of  the  earliest  accounts,  as 
prima  facie,  from  its  origin,  one  of  the  most  authentic, 
and  as  being  supported  by  a  majority  of  respectable 
historians  up  to  the  time  of  Humboldt. 

Of  the  creation  which  ushered  in  the  first  age  we 
know  nothing;  we  are  only  told  by  Boturini  that 
giants  then  began  to  appear  on  the  earth.  This  First 
Age,  or  'sun,'  was  called  the  Sun  of  the  Water,  and 
it  was  ended  by  a  tremendous  flood,  in  which  every 
living  thing  perished,  or  was  transformed,  except,  fol- 
lowing some  accounts,  one  man  and  one  woman  of  the 
giant  race,  of  whose  escape  more  hereafter.  The  Sec- 
ond Age,  called  the  Sun  of  the  Earth,  was  closed  with 
earthquakes,  yawnings  of  the  earth,  and  the  overthrow 
of  the  highest  mountains.  Giants,  or  Quinames,  a 
powerful  and  haughty  race,  still  appear  to  be  the  only 
inhabitants  of  the  world.  The  Third  Age  \^as  the 
Sun  of  the  Air.  It  was  ended  by  tempests  and  hur- 

Boturini,  Idea  de  una  Hist.,  pp.  37-43;  Torqwmada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  pp. 
31-5,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  76-8;  Clavigero,  Stwia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  8-10. 


THE  AGES  CH  SUNS  OF  THE  MEXICANS.  65 

ricanes,  so  destructive  that  few  indeed  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  earth  were  left;  and  those  that  were 
saved  lost,  according  to  the  Tlascaltec  account,  their 
reason  and  speech,  becoming  monkeys. 

The  present  is  the  Fourth  Age.  To  it  appear  to  be- 
long the  falling  of  the  goddess- born  flint  from  heaven, 
the  birth  of  the  sixteen  hundred  heroes  from  that  flint, 
the  birth  of  mankind  from  the  bone  brought  from  hades, 
the  transformation  of  Nanahuatzin  into  the  sun,  the 
transformation  of  Tezcatecatl  into  the  moon,  and  the 
death  of  the  sixteen  hundred  heroes  or  gods.  It  is 
called  the  Sun  of  Fire,  and  is  to  be  ended  by  a  univer- 
sal conflagration.23 

23 Ixtlilxochitl,  Hist.  Chichimeca,  in  Kingsborougtis  Hex.  Antiq.,  vol.  ix.,  pp. 
205-6.  The  same  author,  in  his  Relaciones,  Ib.,  pp.  321-2,  either  through 
his  own  carelessness  or  that  of  a  transcriber,  transposes  the  second  and 
third  Ages.  To  see  that  it  is  an  oversight  of  some  sort,  we  have  but  to  pass 
to  the  summary  he  gives  at  the  end  of  these  same  Relaciones,  Ib.,  p.  459, 
where  the  account  is  again  found  in  strict  agreement  with  the  version  given 
in  the  text.  Camargo,  Hist,  de  Tlax.,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843, 
torn,  xcix.,  p.  132,  giving  as  we  may  suppose  the  Tlascaltec  version  of  the 
general  Mexican  myth,  agrees  with  Ixtlilxochitl  as  to  the  whole  number  of 
Ages,  following,  however,  the  order  of  the  error  above  noticed  in  the  Rela- 
dones.  The  Tlascaltec  historian,  moreover,  affirms  that  only  two  of  these 
Ages  are  past,  arid  that  the  third  and  fourth  destructions  are  yet  to  come. 
M.  Ternaux-Oompans,  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1840,  torn.  Ixxxvi.,  p.  5, 
adopts  this  Tlascaltec  account  as  the  general  Mexican  tradition;  he  is  fol- 
lowed by  Dr  Prichard,  Researches,  vol.  v.,  pp.  360-1.  Dr  Prichard  cites 
Bradford  as  supporting  the  same  opinion,  but  erroneously,  as  Bradford,  Am. 
Antiq.,  p.  328,  follows  Humboldt.  Boturini,  Idea  deuna  Hist.,  p.  3,  and  Clavi- 
gero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  57,  agree  exactly  with  the  text.  The 
Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  also  accepts  the  version  of  three  past  destruc- 
tions. S'il  existe  des  Sources  de  VHist.  Prim.,  pp.  26-7.  Professor  J.  G.  Mul- 
ler,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  pp.  510-12,  admits  that  the  version  of  three 
past  destructions  and  one  to  come,  as  given  in  the  text,  and  in  the  order  there 
given,  '  seems  to  be  the  most  ancient  Mexican  version; '  though  he  decides  to 
follow  Humboldt,  and  adopts  what  he  calls  the  '  latest  and  fullest  form  of  the 
myth. '  The  Spiegazione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano  ( Vaticano)  contradicts 
itself,  giving  first  two  past  destructions,  and  farther  on  four,  Kingsborough's 
Hex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  163-7;  as  does  also  the  Explic.  del  Codex  Telleriano- 
Remensis,  Ib.,  pp.  134-6.  Kingsborough  himself  seems  to  favor  the  idea  of 
three  past  destructions  and  four  ages  in  all;  see  Hex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi,  p.  171, 
note.  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  fol.  297-8;  Leon  y  Gama,  Dos  Piedras,  parte  i., 
pp.  94-5;  Humboldt,  Vnes,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  118-29;  Prescott,  Conq.  of  Mex., 
vol.  i.,  p.  61;  Gallatin,  in  Am.  Etknol  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  p.  325 de- 
scribe four  past  destructions  and  one  yet  to  come,  or  five  Ages,  and  the 
Chimalpopoca  MS.,  see  note  13,  seems  also  to  favor  this  opinion.  Lastly, 
Mendieta,  Ifist.  Ecles.,  p.  81,  declares  that  the  Mexicans  believe  in  five  Suns, 
or  Ages,  in  times  past;  but  these  suns  were  of  inferior  quality,  so  that  the 
soil  produced  its  fruits  only  in  a  crude  and  imperfect  state.  The  consequence 
was  that  in  every  case  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  died  through  the  eating 
of  divers  things.  This  present  and  sixth  Sun  was  good,  however,  and  under 
its  influence  all  things  were  produced  properly.  Torquemada — who  has, 
VOL.  III.  5 


66  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

Connected  with  the  great  flood  of  water,  there  is  a 
Mexican  tradition  presenting  some  analogies  to  the 
story  of  Noah  and  his  ark.  In  most  of  the  painted 
manuscripts  supposed  to  relate  to  this  event,  a  kind  of 
boat  is  represented  floating  over  the  waste  of  water, 
and  containing  a  man  and  a  woman.  Even  the  Tlas- 
caltecs,  the  Zapotecs,  the  Miztecs,  and  the  people  of 
Michoacan  are  said  to  have  had  such  pictures.  The 
man  is  variously  called  Coxcox,  Teocipactli,  Tezpi,  and 
Nata;  the  woman  Xochiquetzal  and  Nena.24 

The  following  has  been  usually  accepted  as  the  ordi- 
nary Mexican  version  of  this  myth:  In  Atonatiuh, 
the  Age  of  Water,  a  great  flood  covered  all  the  face  of 
the  earth,  and  the  inhabitants  thereof  were  turned  into 
fishes.  Only  one  man  and  one  woman  escaped,  saving 
themselves  in  the  hollow  trunk  of  an  ahahuetej  or  bald 
cypress;  the  name  of  the  man  being  Coxcox,  and  that  of 
his  wife  Xochiquetzal.  On  the  waters  abating  a  little, 
they  grounded  their  ark  on  the  Peak  of  Colhuacan, 
the  Ararat  of  Mexico.  Here  they  increased  and  mul- 
tiplied, and  children  began  to  gather  about  them, 
children  who  were  all  born  dumb.  And  a  dove  came 
and  gave  them  tongues,  innumerable  languages.  Only 
fifteen  of  the  descendants  of  Coxcox,  who  afterward 
became  heads  of  families,  spake  the  same  language  or 
could  at  all  understand  each  other;  and  from  these 
fifteen  are  descended  the  Toltecs,  the  Aztecs,  and  the 
Acolhiias.  This  dove  is  not  the  only  bird  mentioned 
in  these  deluvial  traditions,  and  must  by  no  means  be 
confounded  with  the  birds  of  another  palpably  chris- 
tianized story.  For  in  Michoacan  a  tradition  was 

indeed,  been  all  along  appropriating,  by  whole  chapters,  the  so  long  inedited 
work  of  Mendieta,  and  that,  if  we  believe  Icazbalceta,  Hist.  Ecks.,  Noticias 
del  Autor.,  pp.  xxx.  to  xlv.,  under  circumstances  of  peculiar  turpitude — of 
course  gives  also  five  past  Ages,  repeating  Mendieta  word  for  word  with  the 
exception  of  a  single  'la.'  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  79. 

24  Professor  J.  G.  Muller,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  p.  568,1  remarks  of 
these  two  personages:  'Rein  nordisch  ist  der  chichimekische  Coxcox,  der 
schon  bei  der  Fluthsage  genannt  wurde,  der  Tezpi  der  Mechoakaner.  Das 
ist  auch  urspriinglich  em  Wassergott  und  Fischgotfc,  darum  tragt  er  auch  den 
Namen  Clpactli,  Fisch,  Toocipactli,  g'Jttlichcr  Fisch,  Huehuetonacateoci- 
pactli,  alter  Fischgott  von  unsercm  Fbisch.  Darum  ist  auch  seine  Gattin 
eine  Pflanzengottin  mit  Name.i  Xochiqnetzal  d.  h.  gefliigelte  Blume.' 


THE  TOWER  OF  BABEL.  67 

preserved,  following  which,  the  name  of  the  Mexican 
Noah  was  Tezpi.  With  better  fortune  than  that 
ascribed  to  Coxcox,  he  was  able  to  save,  in  a  spacious 
vessel,  not  only  himself  and  his  wife,  but  also  his  chil- 
dren, several  animals,  and  a  quantity  of  grain  for  the 
common  use.  When  the  waters  began  to  subside,  he 
sent  out  a  vulture  that  it  might  go  to  and  fro  on  the 
earth  and  bring  him  word  again  when  the  dry  land 
began  to  appear.  But  the  vulture  fed  upon  the  car- 
casses that  were  strewed  in  every  part,  and  never 
returned.  Then  Tezpi  sent  out  other  birds,  and  among 
these  was  a  humming-bird.  And  when  the  sun  began 
to  cover  the  earth  with  a  new  verdure,  the  humming- 
bird returned  to  its  old  refuge  bearing  green  leaves. 
And  Tezpi  saw  that  his  vessel  was  aground  near  the 
mountain  of  Colhuacan,  and  he  landed  there. 

The  Mexicans  round  Cholula  had  a  special  legend, 
connecting  the  escape  of  a  remnant  from  the  great 
deluge  with  the  often-mentioned  story  of  the  origin 
of  the  people  of  Andhuac  from  Chicomoztoc,  or  the 
Seven  Caves.  At  the  time  of  the  cataclysm,  the 
country,  according  to  Pedro  de  los  Rios,  was  inhab- 
ited by  giants.  Some  of  these  perished  utterly ;  others 
were  changed  into  fishes;  while  seven  brothers  of 
them  found  safety  by  closing  themselves  into  certain 
caves  in  a  mountain  called  Tlaloc.  When  the  waters 
were  assuaged,  one  of  the  giants,  Xelhua,  surnamed 
the  Architect,  went  to  Cholula  and  began  to  build  an 
artificial  mountain,  as  a  monument  and  a  memorial  of 
the  Tlaloc  that  had  sheltered  him  and  his  when  the 
angry  waters  swept  through  all  the  land.  The  bricks 
were  made  in  Tlamanalco,  at  the  foot  of  the  Sierra  de 
Cocotl,  and  passed  to  Cholula  from  hand  to  hand  along 
a  file  of  men — whence  these  came  is  not  said — stretch- 
ing between  the  two  places.  Then  were  the  jealousy 
and  the  anger  of  the  gods  aroused,  as  the  huge  pyra- 
mid rose  slowly  up,  threatening  to  reach  the  clouds 
and  the  great  heaven  itself;  and  the  gods  launched 
their  fire  upon  the  builders  and  slew  many,  so  that 


68  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

the  work  was  stopped.25  But  the  half-finished  struc- 
ture, afterward  dedicated  by  the  Cholultecs  to  Quet- 
zalcoatl,  still  remains  to  show  how  well  Xelhua,  the 
giant,  deserved  his  surname  of  the  Architect. 

^Boturini,  Idea  de  una  Hist.,  pp.  113-14;  Id.,  Catdlogo,  pp.  39-40;  Clavi- 
gero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  i.,  pp.  129-30,  torn,  ii.,  p.  6;  Spiegazione 
delle  Tavole  del  Codlce  Mexicano  ( Vaticano),  tav.  vii. ,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex. 
Ant.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  164-5;  Gemelli  Carreri,  in  Churchill's  Col.  Voy.,  vol.  iv.,  p. 
481;  Humboldt,  Vues,  torn,  i.,  pp.  114-15,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  175-8;  Tylor's  Ana- 
huac,  pp.  276-7;  Gondra,  in  Prescott,  Conquista  de  Mexico,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  1-10. 
A  careful  comparison  of  the  passages  given  above  will  show  that  this  whole 
story  of  the  escape  of  Cox  cox  and  his  wife  in  a  boat  from  a  great  deluge, 
and  of  the  distribution  by  a  bird  of  different  languages  to  their  descendants, 
rests  on  the  interpretation  of  certain  Aztec  paintings,  containing  supposed 
pictures  of  a  flood,  of  Coxcox  and  his  wife,  of  a  canoe  or  rude  vessel  of  some 
kind,  of  the  mountain  Culhuacan,  which  was  the  Mexican  Ararat,  and  of  a 
bird  distributing  languages  to  a  number  of  men.  Not  one  of  the  earliest 
writers  on  Mexican  mythology,  none  of  those  personally  familiar  with  the 
natives  and  with  their  oral  traditions  as  existing  at  the  time  of  or  immedi- 
ately after  the  Conquest,  seems  to  have  known  this  legend;  Olmos,  Sahagun, 
Motolinia,  Mendieta,  Ixtlilxochitl,  and  Camargo  are  all  of  them  silent  with 
regard  to  it.  These  facts  must  give  rise  to  grave  suspicions  with  regard  to 
the  accuracy  of  the  commonly  accepted  version,  notwithstanding  its  appar- 
ently implicit  reception  up  to  this  time  by  the  most  critical  historians. 
These  suspicions  will  not  be  lessened  by  the  result  of  the  researches  of  Don 
Jose  Fernando  Ramirez,  Conservator  of  the  Mexican  National  Museum,  a 
gentleman  not  less  remarkable  for  his  familiarity  with  the  language  and 
antiquities  of  Mexico  than  for  the  moderation  and  calmness  of  his  critical 
judgments,  as  far  as  these  are  known.  In  a  communication  dated  April 
1858,  to  Garcia  y  Cubas,  Atlas  Geografico,  Estadistico  e  Hist6rico  de  la  Repub- 
lica  Mejicana,  entrega  29,  speaking  of  the  celebrated  Mexican  picture  there 
for  the  first  time,  as  he  claims,  accurately  given  to  the  public — Sigiienza's 
copy  of  it,  as  given  by  Gemelli  Carreri,  that  given  by  Clavigero  in  his  Storia 
del  Messico,  that  given  by  Humboldt  in  his  Atlas  Pittoresque,  and  that  given 
by  Kingsborough  being  all  incorrect — Senor  Ramirez  says:  'The  authority 
of  writers  so  competent  as  Sigtienza  and  Clavigero  imposed  silence  on  the 
incredulous,  and  after  the  illustrious  Baron  von  Humboldt  added  his  irre- 
sistible authority,  adopting  that  interpretation,  nobody  doubted  that  "the 
traditions  of  the  Hebrews  were  found  among  the  people  of  America;  "  that, 
as  the  wise  Baron  thought,  "  their  Coxcox,  Teocipactli,  or  Tezpi  is  the  Noah, 
Xisutrus,  or  Menou  of  the  Asiatic  families; "  and  that  "the  Cerro  of  Culhua- 
can is  the  Ararat  of  the  Mexicans. "  Grand  and  magnificent  thought,  but 
unfortunately  only  a  delusion.  The  blue  square  No.  1,  with  its  bands  or 
obscure  lines  of  the  same  color,  cannot  represent  the  terrestrial  globe  covered 
with  the  waters  of  the  flood,  because  we  should  have  to  suppose  a  repetition 
of  the  same  deluge  in  the  figure  No.  40,  where  it  is  reproduced  with  some  of 
its  principal  accidents.  Neither,  for  the  same  reason,  do  the  human  heads 
and  the  heads  of  birds  which  appear  to  float  there  denote  the  submerging  of 
men  and  animals,  for  it  would  be  necessary  to  give  the  same  explanation  to 
those  seen  in  group  No.  39.  It  might  be  argued  that  the  group  to  the  left 
(of  No.  1),  made  up  of  a  human  head  placed  under  the  head  of  a  bird,  repre- 
sented phonetically  the  name  Coxcox,  and  denoted  the  Aztec  Noah;  but  the 
group  on  the  right,  formed  of  a  woman's  head  with  other  symbolic  figures 
above  it,  evidently  does  not  express  the  name  Xochiquetzal,  which  is  said  to 
have  been  that  of  his  wife ....  Let  us  now  pass  on  to  the  dove  giving  tongues 
to  the  primitive  men  who  were  born  mute.  The  commas  which  seem  to 
come  from  the  beak  of  the  bird  there  represented,  form  one  of  the  most  com- 
plex and  varied  symbols,  in  respect  to  their  phonetic  force,  which  are  found 
in  our  hieroglyphic  writing.  In  connection  with  animated  beings  they  des- 


THE  MEXICAN  DELUGE.  69 

Yet  another  record  remains  to  us  of  a  traditional 
Mexican  deluge,  in  the  following  extract  from  the 
Chimalpopoca  Manuscript.  Its  words  seem  to  have 
a  familiar  sound;  but  it  would  hardly  be  scientific  to 
draw  from  such  a  fragment  any  very  sweeping  con- 
clusion as  to  its  relationship,  whether  that  be  Quiche 
or  Christian: 

When  the  Sun,  or  Age,  Nahui-Atl  came,  there  had 
passed  already  four  hundred  years;  then  came  two 
hundred  years,  then  seventy  and  six,  and  then  man- 
kind were  lost  and  drowned  and  turned  into  fishes. 
The  waters  and  the  sky  drew  near  each  other;  in  a 
single  day  all  was  lost;  the  day  Four  Flower  con- 
sumed all  that  there  was  of  our  flesh.  And  this  year 
was  the  year  Ce-Calli;  on  the  first  day,  Nahui-Atl, 
all  was  lost.  The  very  mountains  were  swallowed  up 

ignate  generically  the  emission  of  the  voice In  the  group  before  us  they 

denote  purely  and  simply  that  the  bird  was  singing  or  speaking— to  whom  ? 
— to  the  group  of  persons  before  it,  who  by  the  direction  of  their  faces  and 
bodies  show  clearly  and  distinctly  the  attention  with  which  they  listened. 
Consequently  the  designer  of  the  before-mentioned  drawing  for  Clavigero, 
preoccupied  with  the  idea  of  signifying  by  it  the  pretended  confusion  of 
tongues,  changed  with  his  pencil  the  historic  truth,  giving  to  these  figures 
opposite  directions.  Examining  attentively  the  inexactitudes  and  errors  of 
the  graver  and  the  pencil  in  all  historical  engravings  relating  to  Mexico,  it  is 
seen  that  they  are  no  less  numerous  and  serious  than  those  of  the  pen.  The 
interpretations  given  to  the  ancient  Mexican  paintings  by  ardent  imagina- 
tions led  away  by  love  of  novelty  or  by  the  spirit  of  system,  justify,  to  a  cer- 
tain point,  the  distrust  and  disfavor  with  which  the  last  and  most  distin- 
guished historian  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico  (W.  H.  Prescott)  has  treated  this 
interesting  and  precious  class  of  historical  documents.  Sefior  Ramirez  goes 
on  thus  at  some  length  to  his  conclusions,  which  reduce  the  original  paint- 
ing to  a  simple  record  of  a  wandering  of  the  Mexicans  among  the  lakes  of  the 
Mexican  valley — that  journey  beginning  at  a  place  'not  more  than  nine 
miles  from  the  gutters  of  Mexico ' — a  record  having  absolutely  no  connection 
either  with  the  mythical  deluge,  already  described  as  one  of  the  four  destruc- 
tions of  the  world,  or  with  any  other.  The  bird  speaking  in  the  picture  he 
connects  with  a  well-known  Mexican  fable  given  by  Torquemada,  in  which  a 
bird  is  described  as  speaking  from  a  tree  to  the  leaders  of  the  Mexicans  at  a 
certain  stage  of  their  migration,  and  repeating  the  word  Tihui,  that  is  to  say, 
'  Let  us  go. '  A  little  bird  called  the  Tihuitoclian,  with  a  cry  that  the  vulgar 
still  interpret  in  a  somewhat  similar  sense,  is  well  known  in  Mexico,  and  is  per- 
haps at  the  bottom  of  the  tradition.  It  may  be  added  that  Torquemada  gives 
a  painted  manuscript,  possibly  that  under  discussion,  as  his  authority  for  the 
story.  The  boat,  the  mountain,  and  the  other  adjuncts  of  the  picture  are 
explained  in  a  like  simple  way,  as  the  hieroglyphics,  for  the  most  part,  of 
various  proper  names.  Our  space  here  will  not  permit  further  details — 
though  another  volume  will  contain  this  picture  and  a  further  discussion  of 
the  subject — but  I  may  remark  in  concluding  that  the  moderation  with 
which  Senor  Ramirez  discusses  the  question,  as  well  as  his  great  experience 
and  learning  in  matters  of  Mexican  antiquity,  seem  to  claim  for  his  views 
the  serious  consideration  of  future  students. 


70  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

in  the  flood,  and  the  waters  remained,  lying  tranquil, 
during  fifty  and  two  spring-times.  But  before  the 
flood  began,  Titlacahuan  had  warned  the  man  Nata 
and  his  wife  Nena,  saying:  Make  now  no  more  pulque, 
but  hollow  out  to  yourselves  a  great  cypress,  into 
which  you  shall  enter,  when,  in  the  month  Tozoztli. 
the  waters  shall  near  the  sky.  Then  they  entered 
into  it,  and  when  Titlacahuan  had  shut  them  in,  he 
said  to  the  man:  Thou  shalt  eat  but  a  single  ear  of 
maize,  and  thy  wife  but  one  also.  And  when  they 
had  finished  eating  each  an  ear  of  maize,  they  pre- 
pared to  set  forth,  for  the  waters  remained  tranquil 
and  their  log  moved  no  longer;  and  opening  it  they 
began  to  see  the  fishes.  Then  they  lit  a  fire,  rubbing 
pieces  of  wood  together,  and  they  roasted  fish.  And 
behold  the  deities  Citlalliriicue  and  Citlallatonac,  look- 
ing down  from  above,  cried  out :  O  divine  Lord !  what 

O  ' 

is  this  fire  that  they  make  there?  wherefore  do  they 
so  fill  the  heaven  with  smoke?  And  immediately 
Titlacahuan  Tetzcatlipoca  came  down,  and  set  himself 
to  grumble,  saying:  What  does  this  fire  here?  Then 
he  seized  the  fishes  and  fashioned  them  behind  and 
before,  and  changed  them  into  dogs.26 

We  turn  now  to  the  traditions  of  some  nations  sit- 
uated on  the  outskirts  of  the  Mexican  empire,  tradi- 
tions differing  from  those  of  Mexico,  if  not  in  their 
elements,  at  least  in  the  combination  of  those  elements. 
Following  our  usual  custom,  I  give  the  following 
legend  belonging  to  the  Miztecs  just  as  they  them- 
selves were  accustomed  to  depict  and  to  interpret  it 
in  their  primitive  scrolls : 27 

In  the  year  and  in  the  day  of  obscurity  and  dark- 
ness, yea,  even  before  the  days  or  the  years  w^ere, 
when  the  world  was  in  a  great  darkness  and  chaos, 

26Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist,  des  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  425-7. 

27  Fr  Gregorio  Garcia,  Oriyen  de  los  hid.,  pp.  327-9,  took  this  narrative 
from  a  book  he  found  in  a  convent  in  Cuilapa,  a  little  Indian  town  about  a 
league  and  a  half  south  of  Oajaca.  The  book  had  been  compiled  by  the 
vicar  of  that  convent,  and — '  escrito  con  sus  Figuras,  como  los  Indies  de  aquel 
Reino  Mixteco  las  tenian  en  sus  Libros,  6  Pergaminos  arrollados,  con  la  de- 
claracion  de  lo  que  significaban  las  Figuras,  en  que  contaban  su  Origen,  la 
Creacion  del  Mundo,  i  Diluvio  General.' 


THE  FLYING  HEROES  OF  MIZTECA.  71 

when  the  earth  was  covered  with  water,  and  there  was 
nothing  but  mud  and  sJime  on  all  the  face  of  the 
earth — behold  a  god  became  visible,  and  his  name 
was  the  Deer,  and  his  surname  was  the  Lion-Snake. 
There  appeared  also  a  very  beautiful  goddess  called 
the  Deer,  and  surnamed  the  Tiger-Snake.28  These  two 
gods  were  the  origin  and  beginning  of  all  the  gods. 

Now,  when  these  two  gods  became  visible  in  the 
world,  they  made,  in  their  knowledge  and  omnipotence, 
a  great  rock,  upon  which  they  built  a  very  sumptuous 
palace,  a  masterpiece  of  skill,  in  which  they  made 
their  abode  upon  earth.  On  the  highest  part  of  this 
building  there  was  an  axe  of  copper,  the  edge  being 
uppermost,  and  on  this  axe  the  heavens  rested. 

This  rock  and  the  palace  of  the  gods  were  on  a 
mountain  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  town  of  Apoala 
in  the  province  of  Mizteca  Alta.  The  rock  was  called 
The  Place  of  Heaven ;  there  the  gods  first  abode  on 
earth,  living  many  years  in  great  rest  and  content,  as 
in  a  happy  and  delicious  land,  though  the  world  still 
lay  in  obscurity  and  darkness. 

The  father  and  mother  of  all  the  gods  being  here  in 
their  place,  two  sons  were  born  to  them,  very  hand- 
some and  very  learned  in  all  wisdom  and  arts.  The 
first  was  called  the  Wind  of  Nine  Snakes,  after  the 
name  of  the  day  on  which  he  was  born ;  and  the  second 
was  called,  in  like  manner,  the  Wind  of  Nine  Caves. 
Very  daintily  indeed  were  these  youths  brought  up. 
When  the  elder  wished  to  amuse  himself,  he  took  the 
form  of  an  eagle,  flying  thus  far  and  wide ;  the  younger 
turned  himself  into  a  small  beast  of  a  serpent  shape, 
having  wings  that  he  used  with  suclii  agility  and 
sleight  that  he  became  invisible,  and  flew  through 
rocks  and  walls  even  as  through  the  air.  As  they 
went,  the  din  and  clamor  of  these  brethren  was  heard . 
by  those  over  whom  they  passed.  They  took  these 
figures  to  manifest  the  power  that  was  in  them,  both 

28  '  Que  aparecieron  visiblemente  un  Dios,  que  tuvo  por  N  ombre  «m  Ctervo^ 
i  por  sobrenombre  Cutebra  de  Leon,  i  una  Diosa  mui  lindai  i  hermosa,  que  su  ; 
N  ombre  fue  un  Ciervo,  i  por  sobrenombre  Culebra  de  Tigre,    Garaa,  Id-,  pp. 
327-9. 


72  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS 

in   transforming   themselves  and  in  resuming  again 
their  original  shape.     And  they  abode  in  great  peace 
in  the  mansion  of  their  parents,  so  they  agreed  to  make 
a  sacrifice  and  an  offering  to  these  gods,  to  their  father 
and  to  their  mother.     Then  they  took  each  a  censer  of 
clay,  and  put  fire  therein,  and  poured  in  ground  beleno 
for  incense;  and  this  offering  was  the  first  that  had 
ever  been  made  in   the  world.     Next   the  brothers 
made  to  themselves  a  garden,  in  which  they  put  many 
trees,  and  fruit-trees,  and  flowers,  and  roses,  and  odor- 
ous herbs  of  different  kinds.     Joined  to  this  garden 
they  laid  out  a  very  beautiful  meadow,  which  they 
fitted  up  with  all  things  necessary  for  offering  sacri- 
fice to  the  gods.     In  this  manner  the  two  brethren 
left  their  parents'  house,  and  fixed  themselves  in  this 
garden  to  dress  it  and  to  keep  it,  watering  the  trees 
and  the  plants  and  the   odorous  herbs,   multiplying 
them,   and  burning  incense  of  powder   of  beleno  in 
censers  of  clay  to  the  gods,  their  father  and  mother. 
They  made  also  vows  to  these  gods,  and  promises, 
praying  that  it  might  seem  good  to  them  to  shape  the 
firmament  and  lighten  the  darkness  of  the  world,  and 
to  establish  the  foundation  of  the  earth,  or  rather  to 
gather  the  waters  together  so  that  the  earth  might 
appear — as  they  had  no  place  to  rest  in  save  only  one 
little  garden.     And  to  make  their  prayers  more  ob- 
ligatory upon  the  gods,  they  pierced  their  ears  and 
tongues  with  flakes  of  flint,  sprinkling  the  blood  that 
dropped  from  the  wounds  over  the  trees  and  plants  of 
the  garden  with   a  willow   branch,  as  a  sacred  and 
blessed  thing.     After  this  sort  they  employed  them- 
selves, postponing  pleasure  till  the  time  of  the  grant- 
ing of  their  desire,  remaining  always  in  subjection  to  the 
gods,  their  father  and  mother,  and  attributing  to  them 
more  power  and  divinity  than  they  really  possessed. 
Fray  Garcia  here  makes  a  break  in  the  relation— 
tliat  he  may  not  weary  his  readers  with    so   many 
absurdities — but  it  would  appear  that  the  firmament 
was  arranged  and  the  earth  made  fit  for  mankind,  who 
about  that  time  must  alco  have  made  their  appear- 


.    THE  DUEL  WITH  THE  SUN.  73 

ance.  For  there  came  a  great  deluge  afterward, 
wherein  perished  many  of  the  sons  and  daughters  that 
had  been  born  to  the  gods;  and  it  is  said  that  when 
the  deluge  was  passed  the  human  race  was  restored 
as  at  the  first,  and  the  Miztec  kingdom  populated,  and 
the  heavens  and  the  earth  established. 

This  we  may  suppose  to  have  been  the  traditional 
origin  of  the  common  people;  but  the  governing- 
family  of  Mizteca  proclaimed  themselves  the  descend- 
ants of  two  youths  born  from  two  majestic  trees  that 
stood  at  the  entrance  of  the  gorge  of  Apoala,  and  that 
maintained  themselves  there  despite  a  violent  wind 
continually  rising  from  a  cavern  in  the  vicinity. 

Whether  the  trees  of  themselves  produced  these 
youths,  or  whether  some  primeval  J&sir,  as  in  the 
Scandinavian  story,  gave  them  shape  and  blood  and 
breath  and  sense,  we  know  not.  We  are  only  told 
that  soon  or  late  the  youths  separated,  each  going  his 
own  way  to  conquer  lands  for  himself.  The  braver 
of  the  two,  coming  to  the  vicinity  of  Tilantongo,  armed 
with  buckler  and  bow,  was  much  vexed  and  oppressed 
by  the  ardent  rays  of  the  sun,  which  he  took  to  be  the 
lord  of  that  district  striving  to  prevent  his  entrance 
therein.  Then  the  young  warrior  strung  his  bow,  and 
advanced  his  buckler  before  him,  and  drew  shafts  from 
his  quiver.  He  shot  there  against  the  great  light 
even  till  the  going  down  of  the  same;  then  he  took 
possession  of  all  that  land,  seeing  he  had  grievously 
wounded  the  sun,  and  forced  him  to  hide  behind  the 
mountains.  Upon  this  story  is  founded  the  lordship 
of  all  the  caciques  of  Mizteca,  and  upon  their  descent 
from  this  mighty  archer,  their  ancestor.  Even  to  this 
day  the  chiefs  of  the  Miztecs  blazon  as  their  arms  a 
plumed  chief  with  bow,  arrows,  and  shield,  and  the 
sun  in  front  of  him  setting  behind  gray  clouds.29 

Of  the  origin  of  the  Zapotecs,  a  people  bordering  on 
these  Miztecs,  Burgoa  says,  with  touching  simplicity, 
that  he  could  find  no  account  worthy  of  belief.  Their 
historical  paintings  he  ascribes  to  the  invention  of  the 

29  Burgoa,  Geoy.  Deecrip.,  torn,  i.,  fol.  128,  176. 


74  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

devil,  affirming  hotly  that  these  people  were  blinder 
in  such  vanities  than  the  Egyptians  and  the  Chaldeans. 
Some,  he  said,  to  boast  of  their  valor  made  themselves 
out  the  sons  of  lions  and  divers  wild  beasts;  others, 
grand  lords  of  ancient  lineage,  were  produced  by  the 
greatest  and  most  shady  trees;  while  still  others,  of 
an  unyielding  and  obstinate  nature,  were  descended 
from  rocks.  Their  language,  continues  the  worthy 
Provincial,  striking  suddenly  and  by  an  undirected 
shot  the  very  centre  of  mythological  interpretation — 
their  language  was  full  of  metaphors;  those  who  wished 
to  persuade  spake  always  in  parables,  and  in  like  man- 
ner painted  their  historians.80 

In  Guatemala,  according  to  the  relations  given 
to  Father  Geronimo  Roman  by  the  natives,  it  was 
believed  there  was  a  time  when  nothing  existed 
but  a  certain  divine  Father  called  Xchmel,  and  a 
divine  Mother  called  Xtmana.  To  these  were  born 
three  sons,31  the  eldest  of  whom,  filled  with  pride  and 
presumption,  set  about  a  creation  contrary  to  the  will 
of  his  parents.  But  he  could  create  nothing  save  old 
vessels  fit  for  mean  uses,  such  as  earthen  pots,  jugs, 
and  things  still  more  despicable;  and  he  wTas  hurled 
into  hades.  Then  the  two  younger  brethren,  called 
respectively  Hunchevan  and  Hunavan,  prayed  their 
parents  for  permission  to  attempt  the  work  in  which 
their  brother  had  failed  so  signally.  And  they  were 
granted  leave,  being  told  at  the  same  time  that  inas- 
much as  they  had  humbled  themselves,  they  would 
succeed  in  their  undertaking.  Then  they  made  the 
heavens,  and  the  earth  with  the  plants  thereon,  and 
fire  and  air,  and  out  of  the  earth  itself  they  made  a 
man  and  a  woman — presumably  the  parents  of  the 
human  race. 

According  to  Torquemada,  there  was  a  deluge  some 
time  after  this,  and  after  the  deluge  the  people  con- 

™Burgoa,  Georj.  Descrip.,  fol.  196-7. 

31  One  of  the  Las  Casas  MSS.  gives,  according  to  Helps,  '  trece  hijos  '  in- 
stead of  '  tres  hijos;'  the  latter,  however,  being  the  correct  reading,  as  the 
list  of  names  in  the  same  manuscript  shows,  and  as  Father  Roman  gives  it. 
See  note  33. 


THE  COYOTE  OF  THE  PAPAGOS.  75 

tinued  to  invoke  as  god  the  great  Father  and  the  great 
Mother  already  mentioned.  But  at  last  a  principal 
woman32  among  them,  having  received  a  revelation 
from  heaven,  taught  them  the  true  name  of  God,  and 
how  that  name  should  be  adored ;  all  this,  however, 
they  afterward  forgot.33 

In  Nicaragua,  a  country  where  the  principal  language 
was  a  Mexican  dialect,  it  was  believed  that  ages  ago 
the  world  was  destroyed  by  a  flood  in  which  the  most 
part  of  mankind  perished.  Afterward  the  teotes,  or 
gods,  restocked  the  earth  as  at  the  beginning.  Whence 
came  the  teotes  no  one  knows;  but  the  names  of  two 
of  them  who  took  a  principal  part  in  the  creation  were 
Tamagostat  and  Cipattonal.34 

Leaving  now  the  Central  American  region  we  pass 
north  into  the  Papago  country,  lying  south  of  the  Gila, 
with  the  river  Santa  Cruz  on  the  east  and  the  Gulf  of 
California  on  the  west.  Here  we  meet  for  the  first 
time  the  coyote,  or  prairie  wolf;  we  find  him  much 
more  than  an  animal,  something  more  even  than  a  man, 
only  a  little  lower  than  the  gods.  In  the  following 
Papago  myth35  he  figures  as  a  prophet,  and  as  a  min- 
ister and  assistant  to  a  certain  great  hero-god  Monte- 
zuma,  whom  we  are  destined  to  meet  often,  and  in 
many  characters,  as  a  central  figure  in  the  myths  of 
the  Gila  valley : 

32  This  tradition,  says  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist,  des  Nat. 
Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  74-5,  has  indubitably  reference  to  a  queen  whose  memory 
has  become  attached  to  very  many  places  in  G-uatemala,  and  Central  America 
generally.     She  was  called  A  tit,  Grandmother;  and  from  her  the  volcano 
of  Atitlan  received  the  name  Atital-huyu,  by  which  it  is  still  known  to  the 
aborigines.     This  Atit  lived  during  four  centuries,  and  from  her  are  descended 
all  the  royal  and  princely  families  of  Guatemala. 

33  Roman,  Republica  de  los  Indios  Ocddentales,  part  1,  lib.  2,  cap.  15,  after 
Garcia,   Origen  de  los  Ind.,  pp.  229-30;  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apologetica,  MS., 
cap.  235,  after  Helps'  Span.  Conq.,  vol.  ii,  p.  140;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind., 
torn,  ii.,  pp.  53-4;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist,  des  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp. 
74-5. 

34  The  first  of  these  two  names  is  erroneously  spelled  '  Famagoztad '  by  M. 
Ternaux-Compans,  Mr  Squier,  and  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg;  the 
two  latter  perhaps  lead  astaay  by  the  error  of  M.  Ternaux-Compans,  an  error 
which  first  appeared  in  that  gentleman's  translation  of  Oviedo.  Oviedo,  Hist. 
Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  p.  40;  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  vi.,  cap.  4. 

35 This  tradition  was  'gathered  principally   from  the  relations   of  Con 
Quien,  the  intelligent  chief  of  the  central  Papagos.'  Davidson,  in  Ind.  AfF. 
t.,  1865,  pp.  131-3. 


76  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

The  Great  Spirit  made  the  earth  and  all  living 
things  before  he  made  man.  And  he  descended  from 
heaven,  and  digging  in  the  earth,  found  clay  such  as 
the  potters  use,  which,  having  again  ascended  into  the 
sky,  he  dropped  into  the  hole  that  he  had  dug.  Im- 
mediately there  came  out  Montezuma,  and,  with  the 
assistance  of  Montezuma,  the  rest  of  the  Indian  tribes 
in  order.  Last  of  all  came  the  Apaches,  wild  from 
their  natal  hour,  running  away  as  fast  as  they  were 
created.  Those  first  days  of  the  world  were  happy 
and  peaceful  days.  The  sun  was  nearer  the  earth 
than  he  is  now;  his  grateful  rays  made  all  the  seasons 
equal,  and  rendered  garments  unnecessary.  Men  and 
beasts  talked  together,  a  common  language  made  all 
brethren.  But  an  awful  destruction  ended  this  happy 
age.  A  great  flood  destroyed  all  flesh  wherein  was 
the  breath  of  life;  Montezuma  and  his  friend,  the 
Coyote,  alone  escaping.  For  before  the  flood  began, 
the  Coyote  prophesied  its  coming,  and  Montezuma 
took  the  warning  and  hollowed  out  a  boat  to  himself, 
keeping  it  ready  on  the  topmost  summit  of  Santa  Rosa. 
The  Coyote  also  prepared  an  ark;  gnawing  down  a 
great  cane  by  the  river  bank,  entering  it,  and  stopping 
up  the  end  with  a  certain  gum.  So  when  the  waters 
rose  these  two  saved  themselves,  and  met  again  at 
last  on  dry  land  after  the  flood  had  passed  away. 
Naturally  enough  Montezuma  was  now  anxious  to 
know  how  much  dry  land  had  been  left,  and  he  sent 
the  Coyote  off  on  four  successive  journeys,  to  find 
exactly  where  the  sea  lay  toward  each  of  the  four 
winds.  From  the  west  and  from  the  south,  the 
answer  swiftly  came :  The  sea  is  at  hand.  A  longer 
search  was  that  made  toward  the  east,  but  at  last 
there  too  was  the  sea  found.  On  the  north  only  was 
no  water  found,  though  the  faithful  messenger  almost 
wearied  himself  out  with  searching.  In  the  mean 
time  the  Great  Spirit,  aided  by  Montezuma,  had  again 
repeopled  the  world,  and  animals  and  men  began  to 
increase  and  multiply.  To  Montezuma  had  been 
allotted  the  care  and  government  of  the  new  race ;  but  • 


LEGEND  OF  MONTEZUMA.  77 

puffed  up  with  pride  and  self-importance,  he  neglected 
the  most  important  duties  of  his  onerous  position,  and 
suffered  the  most  disgraceful  wickedness  to  pass  unno- 
ticed among  the  people.  In  vain  the  Great  Spirit 
came  down  to  earth  and  remonstrated  with  his  vice- 
gerent, who  only  scorned  his  laws  and  advice,  and 
ended  at  last  by  breaking  out  into  open  rebellion. 
Then,  indeed,  the  Great  Spirit  was  filled  with  anger, 
and  he  returned  to  heaven,  pushing  back  the  sun  on 
his  way,  to  that  remote  part  of  the  sky  he  now  occu- 
pies. But  Montezuma  hardened  his  heart,  and  col- 
lecting all  the  tribes  to  aid  him,  set  about  building  a 
house  that  should  reach  up  to  heaven  itself.  Already 
it  had  attained  a  great  height,  and  contained  many 
apartments  lined  with  gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones, 
the  whole  threatening  soon  to  make  good  the  boast  of 
its  architect,  when  the  Great  Spirit  launched  his  thun- 
der, and  laid  its  glory  in  ruins.  Still  Montezuma 
hardened  himself;  proud  and  inflexible  he  answered 
the  thunderer  out  of  the  haughty  defiance  of  his  heart ; 
he  ordered  the  temple-houses  to  be  desecrated,  and 
the  holy  images  to  be  dragged  in  the  dust,  he  made 
them  a  scoff  and  byword  for  the  very  children  in  the 
village  streets.  Then  the  Great  Spirit  prepared  his 
supreme  punishment.  He  sent  an  insect  flying  away 
toward  the  east,  toward  an  unknown  land,  to  bring 
the  Spaniards.  When  these  came,  they  made  war 
upon  Montezuma  and  destroyed  him,  and  utterly  dis- 
sipated the  idea  of  his  divinity.36 

36  The  legendary  Montezuma,  whom  we  shall  meet  so  often  in  the  mythol- 
ogy of  the  Gila  valley,  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  two  Mexican  mon- 
archs  of  the  same  title.  The  name  itself  would  seem,  in  the  absence  of  proof 
to  the  contrary,  to  have  been  carried  into  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  by  the 
Spaniards  or  their  Mexican  attendants,  and  to  have  become  gradually  asso- 
ciated in  the  minds  of  some  of  the  New  Mexican  and  neighboring  tribes,  with 
a  vague,  mythical,  and  departed  grandeur.  The  name  Montezuma  became 
thus,  to  use  Mr.  Tylor's  words,  that  of  the  great  '  Somebody '  of  the  tribe. 
This  being  once  the  case,  all  the  lesser  heroe3  would  be  gradually  absorbed 
in  the  greater,  and  their  names  forgotten.  Their  deeds  would  become  his 
deeds,  their  fame  his  fame.  There  is  evidence  enough  that  this  is  a  general 
tendency  of  tradition,  even  in  historical  times.  The  pages  of  Mr  Cox's 
scholarly  and  comprehensive  work,  The  Mythology  of  the  Aryan  Nations,  teem 
with  examples  of  it.  In  Persia,  deeds  of  every  kind  and  date  are  referred  to 
Antar.  In  Russia,  buildings  of  every  age  are  declared  to  be  the  work 
of  Peter  the  Great.  All  over  Europe,  in  Germany,  France,  Spain,  Switzer- 


78  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

The  Pimas,87  a  neighboring  and  closely  allied  people 
to  the  Papagos,  say  that  the  earth  was  made  by  a 
certain  Chiowotmahke,  that  is  to  say,  Earth-prophet. 
It  appeared  in  the  beginning  like  a  spider's  web, 
stretching  far  and  fragile  across  the  nothingness  that 
was.  Then  the  Earth -prophet  flew  over  all  lands  in 
the  form  of  a  butterfly,  till  he  came  to  the  place  he 
judged  fit  for  his  purpose,  and  there  he  made  man. 
And  the  thing  was  after  this  wise :  The  Creator  took 
clay  in  his  hands,  and  mixing  it  with  the  sweat  of  his 
own  body,  kneaded  the  whole  into  a  lump.  Then  he 
blew  upon  the  lump  till  it  was  filled  with  life  and 
began  to  move ;  and  it  became  man  and  woman.  This 
Creator  had  a  son  called  Szeukha,  who,  when  the 
world  was  beginning  to  be  tolerably  peopled,  lived  in 
the  Gila  valley,  where  lived  also  at  the  same  time  a 
great  prophet,  whose  name  has  been  forgotten.  Upon 
a  certain  night  when  the  prophet  slept,  he  was 
wakened  by  a  noise  at  the  door  of  his  house,  and 
when  he  looked,  a  great  Eagle  stood  before  him.  And 
the  Eagle  spake:  Arise,  thou  that  healest  the  sick, 
thou  that  shouldest  know  what  is  to  come,  for  behold 
a  deluge  is  at  hand.  But  the  prophet  laughed  the 
bird  to  scorn  and  gathered  his  robes  about  him  and 
slept.  Afterward  the  Eagle  came  again  and  warned 
him  of  the  waters  near  at  hand;  but  he  gave  no  ear 
to  the  bird  at  all.  Perhaps  he  would  not  listen  be- 
cause this  Eagle  had  an  exceedingly  bad  reputation 
among  men,  being  reported  to  take  at  times  the  form 
of  an  old  woman  that  lured  away  girls  and  children  to 
a  certain  cliff  so  that  they  were  never  seen  again ;  of 
this,  however,  more  anon.  A  third  time,  the  Eagle 

land,  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  the  exploits  of  the  oldest  mythological 
heroes,  figuring  in  the  Sagas,  Eddas,  and  Nibelungen  Lied,  have  been  ascribed 
in  the  folk-lore  and  ballads  of  the  people  to  Barbarossa,  Charlemagne,  Boab- 
dil,  Charles  V.,  William  Tell,  Arthur,  Robin  Hood,  Wallace,  and  St  Patrick. 
The  connection  of  the  name  of  Montezuma  with  ancient  buildings  and  legend- 
ary adventures  in  the  mythology  of  the  Gila  valley  seems  to  be  simply  another 
example  of  the  same  kind. 

37 1  am  indebted  for  these  particulars  of  the  belief  of  the  Pimas  to  the 
kindness  of  Mr  J.  H.  Stout  of  the  Pima  agency,  who  procured  me  a  personal 
interview  with  five  chiefs  of  that  nation,  and  their  very  intelligent  and  oblig- 
ing interpreter,  Mr  Walker,  at  San  Francisco,  in  October  1873. 


DELUGE  OF  THE  PIMAS.  79 

came  to  warn  the  prophet,  and  to  say  that  all  the  val- 
ley of  the  Gila  should  be  laid  waste  with  water;  but 
the  prophet  gave  no  heed.  Then,  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye,  and  even  as  the  flapping  of  the  Eagle's  wings 
died  away  into  the  night,  there  came  a  peal  of  thunder 
and  an  awful  crash;  and  a  green  mound  of  water 
reared  itself  over  the  plain.  It  seemed  to  stand  up- 
right for  a  second,  then,  cut  incessantly  by  the  light- 
ning, goaded  on  like  a  great  beast,  it  flung  itself  upon 
the  prophet's  hut.  When  the  morning  broke,  there 
was  nothing  to  be  seen  alive  but  one  man — if  indeed 
he  were  a  man ;  Szeukha,  the  son  of  the  Creator,  had 
saved  himself  by  floating  on  a  ball  of  gum  or  resin. 
On  the  waters  falling  a  little,  he  landed  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Salt  River,  upon  a  mountain  where 
there  is  a  cave  that  can  still  be  seen,  together  with 
the  tools  and  utensils  Szeukha  used  while  he  lived 
there.  Szeukha  was  very  angry  with  the  Great 
Eagle,  who  he  probably  thought  had  had  more  to  do 
with  bringing  on  the  flood  than  appears  in  the  narra- 
tive. At  any  rate,  the  general  reputation  of  the  bird 
was  sufficiently  bad,  and  Szeukha  prepared  a  kind  of 
rope  ladder  from  a  very  tough  species  of  tree,  much 
like  woodbine,  with  the  aid  of  which  he  climbed  up  to 
the  cliff  where  the  Eagle  lived,  and  slew  him.38  Look- 
ing about  here,  he  found  the  mutilated  and  decaying 
bodies  of  a  great  multitude  of  those  that  the  Eagle 
had  stolen  and  taken  for  a  prey;  and  he  raised  them 
all  to  life  again  and  sent  them  away  to  repeople  the 
earth.  In  the  house  or  den  of  the  Eagle,  he  found  a 
woman  that  the  monster  had  taken  to  wife,  and  a 
child.  These  he  sent  also  upon  their  way,  and  from 
these  are  descended  that  great  people  called  Hohocam, 
*  ancients  or  grandfathers,'  who  were  led  in  all  their 
wanderings  by  an  eagle,  and  who  eventually  passed 
into  Mexico.39  One  of  these  Hohocam,  named  Sivano, 

38  For  the  killing  of  this  Great  Eagle  Szeukha  had  to  do  a  kind  of  penance, 
which  was  never  to  scratch  himself  with  his  nails,  but  always  with  a  small 
stick.  This,  custom  is  still  observed  by  all  Pimas;  and  a  bit  of  wood,  renewed 
every  fourth  day,  is  carried  for  this  purpose  stuck  in  their  long  hair. 

89  With  the  reader,  as  with  myself,  this  clause  will  probably  call  up  some- 


80  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

built  the  Casa  Grande  on  the  Gila,  and  indeed  the 
ruins  of  this  structure  are  called  after  his  name  to  this 
day.  On  the  death  of  Sivano,  his  son  led  a  branch  of 
the  Hohocam  to  Salt  River,  where  he  built  certain 
edifices  and  dug  a  large  canal,  or  acequia.  At  last  it 
came  about  that  a  woman  ruled  over  the  Hohocam. 
Her  throne  was  cut  out  of  a  blue  stone,  and  a  myste- 
rious bird  was  her  constant  attendant.  These  Hohocam 
were  at  war  with  a  people  that  lived  to  the  east  of 
them,  on  the  Rio  Verde,  and  one  day  the  bird  warned 
her  that  the  enemy  was  at  hand.  The  warning  was 
disregarded  or  it  came  too  late,  for  the  eastern  people 
came  down  in  three  bands,  destroyed  the  cities  of  the 
Hohocam,  and  killed  or  drove  away  all  the  inhabitants. 

Most  of  the  Pueblo  tribes  call  themselves  the  de- 
scendants of  Montezuma;40  the  Moquis,  however,  have 
a  quite  different  story  of  their  origin.  They  believe 
in  a  great  Father  living  where  the  sun  rises ;  and  in  a 
great  Mother,  whose  home  is  where  the  sun  goes 
down.  The  Father  is  the  father  of  evil,  war,  pesti- 
lence, and  famine;  but  from  the  Mother  are  all  joys, 
peace,  plenty,  and  health.  In  the  beginning  of  time 
the  Mother  produced  from  her  western  home  nine 
races  of  men  in  the  following  primary  forms :  First, 
the  Deer  race;  second,  the  Sand  race;  third,  the 
Water  race;  fourth,  the  Bear  race;  fifth,  the  Hare 
race;  sixth,  the  Prairie-wolf  race;  seventh,  the  Rat- 
tlesnake race;  eighth,  the  Tobacco-plant  race;  and 
ninth,  the  Reed-grass  race.  All  these  the  Mother 
placed  respectively  on  the  spots  where  their  villages 
now  stand,  and  transformed  them  into  the  men  who 
built  the  present  Pueblos.  These  race-distinctions 
are  still  sharply  kept  up;  for  they  are  believed  to  be 
realities,  not  only  of  the  past  and  present,  but  also  of 

thing  more  than  a  mere  suspicion  of  Spanish  influence  tinging  the  incidents 
of  the  legend.  The  Pimas  themselves,  however,  asserted  that  this  tradition 
existed  among  them  long  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  and  was  not 
modified  thereby.  One  fact  that  seems  to  speak  for  the  comparative  purity 
of  their  traditions  is  that  the  name  of  Montezuma  is  nowhere  to  be  found  in 
them,  although  Cremony,  Apaches,  p.  102,  states  the  contrary. 
^Gregg's  Commerce  of  tte  Prairies,  vol.  i.,  p.  268. 


CAVE-ORIGIN  OF  THE  NAVAJOS.  81 

the  future;  every  man  when  he  dies  shall  be  resolved 
into  his  primeval  form;  shall  wave  in  the  grass,  or 
drift  in  the  sand,  or  prowl  on  the  prairie  as  in  the 
beginning.41 

The  Navajos,  living  north  of  the  Pueblos,  say  that 
at  one  time  all  the  nations,  Navajos,  Pueblos,  Coyo- 
teros,  and  white  people,  lived  together,  underground 
in  the  heart  of  a  mountain  near  the  river  San  Juan. 
Their  only  food  was  meat,  which  they  had  in  abun- 
dance, for  all  kinds  of  game  were  closed  up  with  them 
in  their  cave;  but  their  light  was  dim  and  only  en- 
dured for  a  few  hours  each  day.  There  were  happily 
two  dumb  men  among  the  Navajos,  flute-players  who 
enlivened  the  darkness  with  music.  One  of  these, 
striking  by  chance  on  the  roof  of  the  limbo  with  his 
flute,  brought  out  a  hollow  sound,  upon  which  the 
elders  of  the  tribes  determined  to  bore  in  the  direction 
whence  the  sound  came.  The  flute  was  then  set  up 
against  the  roof,  and  the  Raccoon  sent  up  the  tube  to 
dig  a  way  out;  but  he  could  not.  Then  the  Moth- 
worm  mounted  into  the  breach,  and  bored  and  bored 
till  he  found  himself  suddenly  on  the  outside  of  the 
mountain  and  surrounded  by  water.  Under  these 
novel  circumstances,  he  heaped  up  a  little  mound  and 
set  himself  down  on  it  to  observe  and  ponder  the  situa- 
tion. A  critical  situation  enough!  for,  from  the  four 
corners  of  the  universe,  four  great  white  Swans  bore 
down  upon  him,  every  one  with  two  arrows,  one 
under  either  wing.  The  Swan  from  the  north  reached 
him  first,  and  having  pierced  him  with  two  arrows, 
drew  them  out  and  examined  their  points,  exclaiming 
as  the  result ;  He  is  of  my  race.  So  also  in  succes- 
sion did  all  the  others.  Then  they  went  away;  and 
toward  the  directions  in  which  they  departed,  to  the 
north,  south,  east,  and  west,  were  found  four  great 
arroyos,  by  which  all  the  water  flowed  off,  leaving  only 
mud.  The  worm  now  returned  to  the  cave,  and  the 
Raccoon  went  up  into  the  mud,  sinking  in  it  mid-leg 

41  Ten  Broeck,  in  Schookraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  85-6. 
VOL.  III.    6 


82  ORIGIN  AND   END   OF  THINGS. 

deep,  as  the  marks  on  his  fur  show  to  this  day.  And 
the  wind  began  to  rise,  sweeping  up  the  four  great 
arroyos,  and  the  mud  was  dried  away.  Then  the  men 
and  the  animals  began  to  come  up  from  their  cave, 
and  their  coming  up  required  several  days.  First 
came  the  Navajos,  and  no  sooner  had  they  reached 
the  surface  than  they  commenced  gaining  at  patole, 
their  favorite  game.  Then  came  the  Pueblos  and 
other  Indians  who  crop  their  hair  and  build  houses. 
Lastly  came  the  white  people,  who  started  off  at  once 
for  the  rising  sun  and  were  lost  sight  of  for  many 
winters. 

While    these    nations   lived   underground   they  all 

O  */ 

spake  one  tongue;  but  with  the  light  of  day  and  the 
level  of  earth  came  many  languages.  The  earth  was 
at  this  time  very  small,  and  the  light  was  quite  as 
scanty  as  it  had  been  down  below;  for  there  was  as 
yet  no  heaven,  nor  sun,  nor  moon,  nor  stars.  So 
another  council  of  the  ancients  was  held,  and  a  com- 
mittee of  their  number  appointed  to  manufacture  these 
luminaries.  A  large  house  or  workshop  was  erected; 
and  when  the  sun  and  moon  were  ready  they  were 
intrusted  to  the  direction  and  guidance  of  the  two 
dumb  fluters  already  mentioned.  The  one  who  got 
charge  of  the  sun  came  very  near,  through  his  clum- 
siness in  his  new  office,  to  making  a  Phaethon  of  him- 
self and  setting  fire  to  the  earth.  The  old  men, 
however,  either  more  lenient  than  Zeus  or  lacking  his 
thunder,  contented  themselves  with  forcing  the  offender 
back  by  puffing  the  smoke  of  their  pipes  into  his  face. 
Since  then  the  increasing  size  of  the  earth  has  four 
times  rendered  it  necessary  that  he  should  be  put 
back,  and  his  course  farther  removed  from  the  world 
and  from  the  subterranean  cave  to  which  he  nightly 
retires  with  the  great  light.  At  night  also  the  other 
dumb  man  issues  from  this  cave,  bearing  the  moon 
under  his  arm,  and  lighting  up  such  part  of  the  world 
as  he  can.  Next  the  old  men  set  to  work  to  make 
the  heavens,  intending  to  broider  in  the  stars  in  beau- 
tiful patterns,  of  boars,  birds,  and  such  things.  But 


ORIGIN-MYTHS   OF  SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA.  83 

just  as  they  had  made  a  beginning,  a  prairie-wolf 
rushed  in,  and  crying  out:  Why  all  this  trouble  and 
embroidery?  scattered  the  pile  of  stars  over  all  the 
floor  of  heaven,  just  as  they  still  lie. 

When  now  the  world  and  its  firmament  had  been 
finished,  the  old  men  prepared  two  earthen  tinages,  or 
water-jars,  and  having  decorated  one  with  bright 
colors,  filled  it  with  trifles;  while  the  other  was  left 
plain  on  the  outside,  but  filled  within  with  flocks  and 
herds  and  riches  of  all  kinds.  These  jars  being  cov- 
ered and  presented  to  the  Navajos  and  TPueblos,  the 
former  chose  the  gaudy  but  paltry  jar;  while  the 
Pueblos,  received  the  plain  and  rich  vessel ;  each  nation 
showing  in  its  choice  traits  which  characterize  it  to 
this  day.  Next  there  arose  among  the  Navajos  a  great 
gambler,  who  went  on  winning  the  goods  and  the  per- 
sons of  his  opponents  till  he  had  won  the  whole  tribe. 
Upon  this,  one  of  the  old  men  became  indignant,  set  the 
gambler  on  his  bow-string  and  shot  him  off  into  space, 
—an  unfortunate  proceeding,  for  the  fellow  returned 
in  a  short  time  with  fire-arms  and  the  Spaniards. 
Let  me  conclude  by  telling  how  the  Navajos  came  by 
the  seed  they  now  cultivate :  All  the  wise  men  being 
one  day  assembled,  a  turkey-hen  came  flying  from  the 
direction  of  the  morning  star,  and  shook  from  her 
feathers  an  ear  of  blue  corn  into  the  midst  of  the  com- 
pany; and  in  subsequent  visits  brought  all  the  other 
seeds  they  possess.42 

Of  some  tribes  we  do  not  know  that  they  possess 
any  other  ideas  of  their  origin  than  the  name  of  their 
first  ancestor,  or  the  name  of  a  creator,  or  a  tradition 
of  his  existence. 

The  Sinaloas,  from  Culiacan  north  to  the  Yaqui 
River,  have  dances  in  honor  of  a  certain  Viriseva,  the 
mother  of  the  first  man.  This  first  man,  who  was  her 

42  Ten  Broeck,  in  Schookraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  89-90;  and  Eaton,  Ib., 
pp.  218-19.  The  latter  account  differs  a  little  from  that  given  in  the  text,  and 
makes  the  following  addition:  After  the  Navajos  came  up  from  the  cave,  there 
came  a  time  when,  by  the  ferocity  of  giants  and  rapacious  animals,  their 
numbers  were  reduced  to  three — an  old  man,  an  old  woman,  and  a  young 
woman.  The  stock  was  replenished  by  the  latter  bearing  a  child  to  the  sun. 


84  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

son,  and  called  Vairubi,  they  hold  in  like  esteem.48 
The  Cochimis,  of  Lower  California,  amid  an  apparent 
multiplicity  of  gods,  say  there  is  in  reality  only  one, 
who  created  heaven,  earth,  plants,  animals,  and  man.44 
The  Pericues,  also  of  Lower  California,  call  the  creator 
Niparaya,  and  say  that  the  heavens  are  his  dwelling- 
place.  A  sect  of  the  same  tribe  add  that  the  stars 
are  made  of  metal,  and  are  the  work  of  a  certain  Pu- 
rutabui ;  while  the  moon  has  been  made  by  one  Cucu- 


numic.45 


The  nations  of  Los  Angeles  County,  California, 
believe  that  their  one  god,  Quaoar,  came  down  from 
heaven;  and,  after  reducing  chaos  to  order,  put  the 
world  on  the  back  of  seven  giants.  He  then  created 
the  lower  animals,  and  lastly  a  man  and  a  woman. 
These  were  made  separately  out  of  earth,  and  called, 
the  man  Tobohar,  and  the  woman  Pabavit.*6 

Hugo  Reid,  to  whom  we  are  mainly  indebted  for 
the  mythology  of  southern  California,  and  who  is  an 
excellent  authority,  inasmuch  as  his  wife  was  an  In- 
dian woman  of  that  country,  besides  the  preceding 
gives  us  another  and  different  tradition  on  the  same 
subject:  Two  great  Beings  made  the  world,  filled  it 
with  grass  and  trees,  and  gave  form,  life,  and  motion 
to  the  various  animals  that  people  land  and  sea. 
When  this  work  was  done,  the  elder  Creator  went  up 
to  heaven  and  left  his  brother  alone  on  the  earth.  The 
solitary  god  left  below  made  to  himself  men-children, 
that  he  should  not  be  utterly  companionless.  Fortu- 
nately, also,  about  this  time  the  moon  came  to  that 
neighborhood ;  she  was  very  fair  in  her  delicate  beauty, 
very  kind-hearted,  and  she  filled  the  place  of  a  mother 
to  the  men-children  that  the  god  had  created.  She 
watched  over  them,  and  guarded  them  from  all  evil 
things  of  the  night,  standing  at  the  door  of  their  lodge. 
The  children  grew  up  very  happily,  laying  great  store 

"Ribas,  Hist.,  pp.  18,  40. 
"Clavigero,  Storia  della  Gal,  torn,  i.,  p.  139. 
^Clavigero,  Storia  delta  Gal,  torn,  i.,  pp.  135-7. 
*6 Hugo  Reid,  in  Los  Angeks  Star. 


CENTRAL-CALIFOKNTAN  CREATION-MYTHS.  85 

by  the  love  with  which  their  guardians  regarded  them; 
but  there  came  a  day  when  their  heart  saddened,  in 
which  they  began  to  notice  that  neither  their  god- 
creator  nor  their  moon  foster-mother  gave  them  any 
longer  undivided  affection  and  care,  but  that  instead 
the  two  great  ones  seemed  to  waste  much  precious 
love  upon  each  other.  The  tall  god  began  to  steal  out 
of  their  lodge  at  dusk,  and  spend  the  night  watches  in 
the  company  of  the  white-haired  moon,  who,  on  the 
other  hand,  did  not  seem  on  these  occasions  to  pay 
such  absorbing  attention  to  her  sentinel  duty  as  at 
other  times.  The  children  grew  sad  at  this,  and  bitter 
at  the  heart  with  a  boyish  jealousy.  But  worse  was 
yet  to  come:  one  night  they  were  awakened  by  a 
querulous  wailing  in  their  lodge,  and  the  earliest  dawn 
showed  them  a  strange  thing,  which  they  afterward 
came  to  know  was  a  new-born  infant,  lying  in  the 
doorway.  The  god  and  the  moon  had  eloped  together ; 
their  Great  One  had  returned  to  his  place  beyond  the 
ether,  and  that  he  might  not  be  separated  from  his 
paramour,  he  had  appointed  her  at  the  same  time  a 
lodge  in  the  great  firmament,  where  she  may  yet  be 
seen,  with  her  gauzy  robe  and  shining  silver  hair, 
treading  celestial  paths.  The  child  left  on  the  earth 
was  a  girl.  She  grew  up  very  soft,  very  bright,  very 
beautiful,  like  her  mother;  but,  like  her  mother  also, 
O,  so  fickle  and  frail !  She  was  the  first  of  woman- 
kind; from  her  are  all  other  women  descended,  and 
from  the  moon;  and  as  the  moon  changes,  so  they  all 
change,  say  the  philosophers  of  Los  Angeles.47 

A  much  more  prosaic  and  materialistic  origin  is 
that  accorded  to  the  moon  in  the  traditions  of  the 
Gallinomeros  of  central  California.4^  In  the  begin- 
ning, they  say  there  was  no  light,  but  a  thick  darkness 
covered  all  the  earth.  Man  stumbled  blindly  against 
man  and  against  the  animals,  the  birds  clashed  together 
in  the  air,  and  confusion  reigned  everywhere.  The 
Hawk  happening  by  chance  to  fly  into  the  face  of  the 

"  Hugo  Reid,  Ib. 

48 Russian  Kiver  Valley,  Sonoma  County. 


86  ORIGIN  AND  END   OF  THINGS. 

Coyote,  there  followed  mutual  apologies  and  afterward 
a  long  discussion  on  the  emergency  of  the  situation. 
Determined  to  make  some  effort  toward  abating  the 
public  evil,  the  two  set  about  a  remedy.  The  Coyote 
gathered  a  great  heap  of  tules,  rolled  them  into  a  ball, 
and  gave  it  to  the  Hawk,  together  with  some  pieces 
of  flint.  Gathering  all  together  as  well  as  he  could, 
the  Hawk  flew  straight  up  into  the  sky,  where  he 
struck  fire  with  the  flints,  lit  his  ball  of  reeds,  and  left 
it  there,  whirling  along  all  in  a  fierce  red  glow  as  it 
continues  to  the  present;  for  it  is  the  sun.  In  the 
same  way  the  moon  was  made,  but  as  the  tules  of 
which  it  was  constructed  were  rather  damp,  its  light 
has  been  always  somewhat  uncertain  and  feeble.49 

In  northern  California,  we  find  the  Mattoles,50  who 
connect  a  tradition  of  a  destructive  flood  with  Taylor 
Peak,  a  mountain  in  their  locality,  on  which  they 
say  their  forefathers  took  refuge.  As  to  the  creation, 
they  teach  that  a  certain  Big  Man  began  by  making 
the  naked  earth,  silent  and  bleak,  with  nothing  of 
plant  or  animal  thereon,  save  one  Indi'an,  who  roamed 
about  in  a  wofully  hungry  and  desolate  state.  Sud- 
denly there  rose  a  terrible  whirlwind,  the  air  grew 
dark  and  thick  with  dust  and  drifting  sand,  and  the 
Indian  fell  upon  his  face  in  sore  dread.  Then  there 
came  a  great  calm,  and  the  man  rose  and  looked,  and 
lo,  all  the  earth  was  perfect  and  peopled ;  the  grass  and 
the  trees  were  green  on  every  plain  and  hill;  the 
beasts  of  the  fields,  the  fowls  of  the  air,  the  creeping 
things,  the  things  that  swim,  moved  everywhere  in 
his  sight.  There  is  a  limit  set  to  the  number  of  the 
animals,  which  is  this :  only  a  certain  number  of  ani- 
mal spirits  are  in  existence;  when  one  beast  dies,  his 
spirit  immediately  takes  up  its  abode  in  another  body, 
so  that  the  whole  number  of  animals  is  always  the 
same,  and  the  original  spirits  move  in  an  endless  circle 
of  earthy  immortality.51 

a  Power*'  Porno,  MS. 
*  Humboldt  County. 
51  Powers  Porno,  MS. 


THE  COYOTE  OF  THE   CALIFORNIANS.  87 

We  pass  now  to  a  train  of  myths  in  which  the 
Coyote  again  appears,  figuring  in  many  important  and 
somewhat  mystical  roles — figuring  in  fact  as  the  great 
Somebody  of  many  tribes.  To  him,  though  involun- 
tarily as  it  appears,  are  owing  the  fish  to  be  found  in 
Clear  Lake.  The  story  runs  that  one  summer  long- 
ago  there  was  a  terrible  drought  in  that  region,  fol- 
lowed by  a  plague  of  grasshoppers.  The  Coyote  ate 
a  great  quantity  of  these  grasshoppers,  and  drank  up 
the  whole  lake  to  quench  his  thirst.  After  this  he 
lay  down  to  sleep  off  the  effects  of  his  extraordinary 
repast,  and  while  he  slept  a  man  came  up  from  the 
south  country  and  thrust  him  through  with  a  spear. 
Then  all  the  water  he  had  drunk  flowed  back  through 
his  wound  into  the  lake,  and  with  the  water  the  grass- 
hoppers he  had  eaten ;  and  these  insects  became  fishes, 
the  same  that  still  swim  in  Clear  Lake.52 

The  Californians  in  most  cases  describe  themselves 
as  originating  from  the  Coyote,  and  more  remotely, 
from  the  very  soil  they  tread.  In  the  language  of 
Mr  Powers — w^hose  extended  personal  investigations 
give  him  the  right  to  speak  with  authority — "All  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants  of  California,  without  excep- 
tion, believe  that  their  first  ancestors  were  created 
directly  from  the  earth  of  their  respective  present 
dwelling-places,  and,  in  very  many  cases,  that  these 
ancestors  were  coyotes."58 

The  Potoyantes  give  an  ingenious  account  of  the 
transformation  of  the  first  coyotes  into  men :  There 
was  an  age  in  which  no  men  existed,  nothing  but 
coyotes.  When  one  of  these  animals  died,  his  body 
used  to  breed  a  multitude  of  little  animals,  much  as 
the  carcass  of  the  huge  Yrnir,  rotting  in  Ginnunga- 
ap,  bred  the  maggots  that  turned  to  dwarfs.  The 
ittle  animals  of  our  story  were  in  reality  spirits,  which, 
after  crawling  about  for  a  time  on  the  dead  coyote, 
and  taking  all  kinds  of  shapes,  ended  by  spreading 
wings  and  floating  off  to  the  moon.  This  evidently 

52  Powers  Porno,  MS. 

53  Powers  Porno,  MS. 


I 


56  ORIGIN   AND   END   OF  THINGS. 

would  not  do;  the  earth  was  in  danger  of  becoming 
depopulated;  so  the  old  coyotes  took  counsel  together 
if  perchance  they  might  devise  a  remedy.  The  re- 
sult was  a  general  order,  that,  for  the  time  to  come, 
all  bodies  should  be  incinerated  immediately  after 
death.  Thus  originated  the  custom  of  burning  the 
dead,  a  custom  still  kept  up  among  these  people.  We 
next  learn — what  indeed  might  have  been  expected  of 
animals  of  such  wisdom  and  parts — that  these  primeval 
coyotes  began  by  degrees  to  assume  the  shape  of  men. 
At  first,  it  is  true,  with  many  imperfections;  but,  a 
toe,  an  ear,  a  hand,  bit  by  bit,  they  were  gradually 
builded  up  into  the  perfect  form  of  man  looking  up- 
ward. For  one  thing  they  still  grieve,  however,  of 
all  their  lost  estate — their  tails  are  gone.  An  ac- 
quired habit  of  sitting  upright  has  utterly  erased 
and  destroyed  that  beautiful  member.  Lost  is  indeed 
lost,  and  gone  is  gone  for  ever;  yet  still  when  in  dance 
and  festival,  the  Potoyante  throws  off  the  weary  bur- 
den of  hard  and  utilitarian  care,  he  attaches  to  him- 
self, as  nearly  as  may  be  in  the  ancient  place,  an  arti- 
ficial tail,  and  forgets  for  a  happy  hour  the  degeneracy 
of  the  present  in  simulating  the  glory  of  the  past.54 

The  Californians  tell  again  of  a  great  flood,  or  at 
least  of  a  time  when  the  whole  country,  with  the 
exception  of  Mount  Diablo  and  Reed  Peak,  was  cov- 
ered with  water.  There  was  a  Coyote  on  the  peak, 
the  only  living  thing  the  wide  world  over,  and  there 
was  a  single  feather  tossing  about  on  the  rippled 
water.  The  Coyote  was  looking  at  the  feather,  and 
even  as  he  looked,  flesh  and  bones,  and  other  feathers, 
came  and  joined  themselves  to  the  first,  and  became 
an  Eagle.  There  was  a  stir  on  the  water,  a  rush  of 
broad  pinions,  and  before  the  widening  circles  reached 
the  island-hill,  the  bird  stood  beside  the  astonished 
Coyote.  The  two  came  soon  to  be  acquainted  arid  to 
be  good  friends,  and  they  made  occasional  excursions 
together  to  the  other  hill,  the  Eagle  flying  leisurely 
overhead  while  the  Coyote  swam.  After  a  time  they 

^Johnston,  in  Scftoolcraffs  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  224-5. 


HOW  THE  GOLDEN  GATE    WAS   OPENED.  89 

began  to  feel  lonely,  so  they  created  men;  and  as  the 
men  multiplied  the  waters  abated,  till  the  dry  land 
came  to  be  much  as  it  is  at  present. 

Now,  also,  the  Sacramento  River  and  the  San 
Joaquin  began  to  find  their  way  into  the  Pacific., 
through  the  mountains  which,  up  to  this  time,  had 
stretched  across  the  mouth  of  San  Francisco  Bay. 
No  Poseidon  clove  the  hills  with  his  trident,  as  when 
the  pleasant  vale  of  Tempe  was  formed,  but  a  strong 
earthquake  tore  the  rock  apart  and  opened  the  Golden 
Gate  between  the  waters  within  and  those  without. 
Before  this  there  had  existed  only  two  outlets  for  the 
drainage  of  the  whole  country;  one  was  the  Russian 
River,  and  the  other  the  San  Juan.55 

The  natives  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Tahoe  ascribe 
its  origin  to  a  great  natural  convulsion.  There  was  a 
time,  they  say,  when  their  tribe  possessed  the  whole 
earth,  and  were  strong,  numerous,  and  rich;  but  a  day 
came  in  which  a  people  rose  up  stronger  than  they, 
and  defeated  and  enslaved  them.  Afterward  the 
Great  Spirit  sent  an  immense  wave  across  the  conti- 
nent from  the  sea,  and  this  wave  ingulfed  both  the 
oppressors  and  the  oppressed,  all  but  a  very  small 
remnant.  Then  the  taskmasters  made  the  remaining 
people  raise  up  a  great  temple,  so  that  they,  of  the 
ruling  caste,  should  have  a  refuge  in  case  of  another 
flood,  and  on  the  top  of  this  temple  the  masters  wor- 
shipped a  column  of  perpetual  fire. 

Half  a  moon  had  not  elapsed,  however,  before  the 
earth  was  again  troubled,  this  time  with  strong  con- 
vulsions and  thunderings,  upon  which  the  masters 
took  refuge  in  their  great  tower,  closing  the  people 
out.  The  poor  slaves  fled  to  the  Humboldt  River, 
and  getting  into  canoes  paddled  for  life  from  the  aw- 
ful sight  behind  them.  For  the  land  was  tossing  like 
a  troubled  sea,  and  casting  up  fire,  smoke,  and  ashes. 
The  flames  went  up  to  the  very  heaven  and  melted 
many  stars,  so  that  they  rained  down  in  molten  metal 
upon  the  earth,  forming  the  ore  that  the  white  men 

55 H.  B.  D.,  in  Hexperian  Mag.,  vol.  iii.,  1859,  p.  326. 


90  ORIGIN  AND   EN1>  OF  THINGS. 

seek.  The  Sierra  was  mounded  up  from  the  bosom  of 
the  earth;  while  the  place  where  the  great  fort  stood 
sank,  leaving  only  the  dome  on  the  top  exposed  above 
the  waters  of  Lake  Tahoe.  The  inmates  of  the  tem- 
ple-tower clung  to  this  dome  to  save  themselves  from 
drowning;  but  the  Great  Spirit  walked  upon  the 
waters  in  his  wrath,  and  took  the  oppressors  one  by 
one  like  pebbles,,  and  threw  them  far  into  the  recesses 
of  a  great  cavern,  on  the  east  side  of  the  lake,  called 
to  this  day  the  Spirit  Lodge,  where  the  waters  shut 
them  in.  There  must  they  remain  till  a  last  great 
volcanic  burning,  which  is  to  overturn  the  whole  earth, 
shall  again  set  them  free.  In  the  depths  of  their  cav- 
ern-prison they  may  still  be  heard,  wailing  and  moan- 
ing, when  the  snows  melt  and  the  waters  swell  in  the 
lake.56 

We  again  meet'  the  Coyote  among  the  Cahrocs  of 
Klamath  River  in  northern  California.  These  Cah- 
rocs believe  in  a  certain  Chareya,  Old  Man  Above, 
who  made 'the  world,  sitting  the  while  upon  a  certain 
stool  now  in  the  possession  of  the  high-priest,  or  chief 
medicine-man.  After  the  creation  of  the  earth,  Cha- 
reya first  made  fishes,  then  the  lower  animals,  and 
lastly  man,  upon  whom  was  conferred  the  power  of 
assigning  to  each  animal  its  respective  duties  and  po- 
sition. The  man  determined  to  give  each  a  bow,  the 
length  of  which  should  denote  the  rank  of  the  receiver. 
So  he  called  all  the  animals  together,  and  told  them 
that  next  day,  early  in  the  morning,  the  distribution 
of  bows  would  take  place.  Now  the  Coyote  greatly 
desired  the  longest  bow ;  and  in  order  to  be  in  first  at 
the  division,  he  determined  to  remain  awake  all  night. 
His  anxiety  sustained  him  for  some  time;  but  just 
before  morning  he  gave  way,  and  fell  into  a  sound 
sleep.  The  consequence  was,  he  was  last  at  the  ren- 
dezvous, and  got  the  shortest  bow  of  all.  The  man 
took  pity  on  his  distress,  however,  and  brought  the 
matter  to  the  notice  of  Chareya,  who,  on  considering 
the  circumstances,  decreed  that  the  Coyote  should  be- 

56  Wadsworth,  in  Hutching*  Cat.  Mag.,  vol.  ii.,  1858,  pp.  350-8. 


MOUNT  SHASTA  THE   WIGWAM  OF  THE  GREAT  SPIRIT.     91 

come  the  most  cunning  of  animals,  as  he  remains  to 
this  time.  The  Coyote  was  very  grateful  to  the  man 
for  his  intercession,  and  he  became  his  friend  and  the 
friend  of  his  children,  and  did  many  things  to  aid  man- 
kind, as  we  shall  see  hereafter.57 

The  natives  in  the  neighborhood  of  Mount  Shasta, 
in  northern  California,  say  that  the  Great  Spirit  made 
this  mountain  first  of  all.  Boring  a  hole  in  the  sky, 
using  a  large  stone  as  an  auger,  he  pushed  down  snow 
and  ice  until  they  had  reached  the  desired  height; 
then  he  stepped  from  cloud  to  cloud  down  to  the  great 
icy  pile,  and  from  it  to  the  earth,  where  he  planted 
the  first  trees  by  merely  putting  his  finger  into  the 
soil  here  and  there.  The  sun  began  to  melt  the  snow ; 
the  snow  produced  water;  the  water  ran  down  the 
sides  of  the  mountains,  refreshed  the  trees,  and  made 
rivers.  The  Creator  gathered  the  leaves  that  fell 
from  the  trees,  blew  upon  them,  and  they  became 
birds.  He  took  a  stick  and  broke  it  into  pieces;  of 
the  small  end  he  made  fishes;  and  of  the  middle  of 
the  stick  he  made  animals — the  grizzly  bear  excepted, 
which  he  formed  from  the  big  end  of  his  stick,  appoint- 
ing him  to  be  master  over  all  the  others.  Indeed,  this 
animal  was  then  so  large,  strong,  and  cunning,  that 
the  Creator  somewhat  feared  him,  and  hollowed  out 
Mount  Shasta  as  a  wigwam  for  himself,  where  he 
might  reside  while  on  earth,  in  the  most  perfect  secu- 
rity and  comfort.  So  the  smoke  was  soon  to  be  seen 
curling  up  from  the  mountain,  where  the  Great  Spirit 
and  his  family  lived,  and  still  live,  though  their  hearth- 
fire  is  alight  no  longer,  now  that  the  white  man  is  in 
the  land.  This  was  thousands  of  snows  ago,  and  there 
came  after  this  a  late  and  severe  spring-time,  in  which 
a  memorable  storm  blew  up  from  the  sea,  shaking  the 
huge  lodge  to  its  base.  The  Great  Spirit  commanded 
his  daughter,  little  more  than  an  infant,  to  go  up  and 
bid  the  wind  to  be  still,  cautioning  her  at  the  same 
time,  in  his  fatherly  way,  not  to  put  her  head  out  into 
the  blast,  but  only  to  thrust  out  her  little  red  arm  and 

57  Power*'  Porno,  MS. 


92  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

make  a  sign  before  she  delivered  her  message.  The 
eager  child  hastened  up  to  the  hole  in  the  roof,  did  as 
she  was  told,  and  then  turned  to  descend;  but  the 
Eve  was  too  strong  in  her  to  leave  without  a  look  at 
the  forbidden  world  outside,  and  the  rivers  and  the 
trees,  at  the  far  ocean  and  the  great  waves  that  the 
storm  had  made  as  hoary  as  the  forests  when  the  snow 
is  on  the  firs.  She  stopped,  she  put  out  her  head  to 
look ;  instantly  the  storm  took  her  by  the  long  hair, 
and  blew  her  down  to  the  earth,  down  the  mountain 
side,  over  the  smooth  ice  and  soft  snow,  down  to  the 
land  of  the  grizzly  bears. 

Now,  the  grizzly  bears  were  somewhat  different  then 
from  what  they  are  at  present.  In  appearance  they 
were  much  the  same,  it  is  true;  but  they  walked  then 
on  their  hind  legs  like  men,  and  talked,  and  carried 
clubs,  using  the  fore-limbs  as  men  use  their  arms. 

There  was  a  family  of  these  grizzlies  living  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountain,  at  the  place  where  the  child  was 
blown  to.  The  father  was  returning  from  the  hunt 
with  his  club  on  his  shoulder  and  a  young  elk  in  his 
hand,  when  he  saw  the  little  shivering  waif  lying  on 
the  snow  with  her  hair  all  tangled  about  her.  The  old 
Grizzly,  pitying  and  wondering  at  the  strange  forlorn 
creature,  lifted  it  up,  and  carried  it  into  his  wife  to  see 
what  should  be  done.  She  too  was  pitiful,  and  she  fed 
it  from  her  own  breast,  bringing  it  up  quietly  as  one  of 
her  family.  So  the  girl  grew  up,  and  the  eldest  son 
of  the  old  Grizzly  married  her,  and  their  offspring  was 
neither  grizzly  nor  Great  Spirit,  but  man.  Very  proud 
indeed  were  the  whole  grizzly  nation  of  the  new  race, 
and  uniting  their  strength  from  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, they  built  the  young  mother  and  her  family  a 
mountain  wigwam  near  that  of  the  Great  Spirit;  and 
this  structure  of  theirs  is  now  known  as  Little  Mount 
Shasta.  Many  years  passed  away,  and  at  last  the  old 
grandmother  Grizzly  became  very  feeble  and  felt  that 
she  must  soon  die.  She  knew  that  the  girl  she  had 
adopted  was  the  daughter  of  the  Great  Spirit,  and 
her  conscience  troubled  her  that  she  had  never  let 


THE  GRIZZLY   FAMILY   OF   MOUNT   SHASTA.  93 

him  know  anything  of  the  fate  of  his  child.  So  she 
called  all  the  grizzlies  together  to  the  new  lodge,  and 
sent  her  eldest  grandson  up  on  a  cloud  to  the  summit 
of  Mount  Shasta,  to  tell  the  father  that  his  daughter 
yet  lived.  When  the  Great  Spirit  heard  that,  he  was 
so  glad  that  he  immediately  ran  down  the  mountain, 
on  the  south  side,  toward  where  he  had  been  told  his 
daughter  was ;  and  such  was  the  swiftness  of  his  pace 
that  the  snow  was  melted  here  and  there  along  his 
course,  as  it  remains  to  this  day.  The  grizzlies  had 
prepared  him  an  honorable  reception,  and  as  he  ap- 
proached his  daughter's  home,  he  found  them  standing 
in  thousands  in  two  files,  on  either  side  of  the  door, 
with  their  clubs  under  their  arms.  He  had  never  pic- 
tured his  daughter  as  aught  but  the  little  child  he  had 
loved  so  long  ago ;  but  when  he  found  that  she  was  a 
mother,  and  that  he  had  been  betrayed  into  the  crea- 
tion of  a  new  race,  his  anger  overcame  him ;  he  scowled 
so  terribly  on  the  poor  old  grandmother  Grizzly  that 
she  died  upon  the  spot.  At  this  all  the  bears  set  up 
a  fearful  howl,  but  the  exasperated  father,  taking  his 
lost  darling  on  his  shoulder,  turned  to  the  armed  host, 
and  in  his  fury  cursed  them.  Peace!  he  said.  Be 
silent  forever!  Let  no  articulate  word  ever  again 
pass  your  lips,  neither  stand  any  more  upright;  but 
use  your  hands  as  feet,  and  look  downward  until  I 
come  again !  Then  he  drove  them  all  out ;  he  drove 
out  also  the  new  race  of  men,  shut  to  the  door  of 
Little  Mount  Shasta,  and  passed  away  to  his  mountain, 
carrying  his  daughter;  and  her  or  him  no  eye  has 
since  seen.  The  grizzlies  never  spoke  again,  nor  stood 
up;  save  indeed  when  fighting  for  their  life,  when  the 
Great  Spirit  still  permits  them  to  stand  as  in  the  old 
time,  and  to  use  their  fists  like  men.  No  Indian  trac- 
ing his  descent  from  the  spirit  mother  and  the  grizzly, 
as  here  described,  will  kill  a  grizzly  bear;  and  if  by  an 
evil  chance  a  grizzly  kill  a  man  in  any  place,  that  spot 
becomes  memorable,  and  every  one  that  passes  casts  a 
stone  there  till  a  great  pile  is  thrown  up.58 

bsJoaquin  Miller's  Life  amonyst  the  Modocs,  pp.  235-236,  242-6. 


94  ORIGIN   AND   END  OF  THINGS. 

Let  us  now  pass  on,  and  going  east  and  north,  enter 
the  Shoshone  country.  In  Idaho  there  are  certain 
famous  soda  springs  whose  origin  the  Snakes  refer  to 
the  close  of  their  happiest  age.  Long  ago,  the  legend 
runs,  when  the  cotton -woods  on  the  Big  River  were 

O 

no  larger  than  arrows,  all  red  men  were  at  peace,  the 
hatchet  was  everywhere  buried,  and  hunter  met 
hunter  in  the  game-lands  of  the  one  or  the  other,  with 
all  hospitality  and  good-will.  During  this  state  of 
things,  two  chiefs,  one  of  the  Shoshone,  the  other  of 
the  Comanche  nation,  met  one  day  at  a  certain  spring. 
The  Shoshone  had  been  successful  in  the  chase,  and 
the  Comanche  very  unlucky,  which  put  the  latter  in 
rather  an  ill  humor.  So  he  got  up  a  dispute  with  the 
other  as  to  the  importance  of  their  respective  and 
related  tribes,  and  ended  by  making  an  unprovoked 
and  treacherous  attack  on  the  Shoshone,  striking  him 
into  the  water  from  behind,  when  he  had  stooped  to 
drink.  The  murdered  man  fell  forward  into  the 
water,  and  immediately  a  strange  commotion  was 
observable  there ;  great  bubbles  and  spirts  of  gas  shot 
up  from  the  bottom  of  the  pool,  and  amid  a  cloud  of 
vapor  there  arose  also  an  old  white-haired  Indian, 
armed  with  a  ponderous  club  of  elk-horn.  Well  the 
assassin  knew  who  stood  before  him;  the  totem  on 
the  breast  was  that  of  Wankanaga,  the  father  both  of 
the  Shoshone  and  of  the  Comanche  nations,  an  ancient 
famous  for  his  brave  deeds,  and  celebrated  in  the 
hieroglyphic  pictures  of  both  peoples.  Accursed  of 
two  nations !  cried  the  old  man,  this  day  hast  thou  put 
death  between  the  two  greatest  peoples  under  the  sun ; 
see,  the  blood  of  this  Shoshone  cries  out  to  the  Great 
Spirit  for  vengeance.  And  he  dashed  out  the  brains 
of  the  Comanche  with  his  club,  and  the  murderer  fell 
there  beside  his  victim  into  the  spring.  After  that 
the  spring  became  foul  and  bitter,  nor  even  to  this 
day  can  any  one  drink  of  its  nauseous  water.  Then 
Wankanaga,  seeing  that  it  had  been  defiled,  took  his 
club  and  smote  a  neighboring  rock,  and  the  rock 
burst  forth  into  clear  bubbling  water,  so  fresh,  and 


THE  GIANTS  OF  THE  PALOUSE  RIVER.  yr, 

so  grateful  to  the  palate  that  no  other  water  can  even 
be  compared  to  it.59 

Passing  into  Washington,  we  find  an  account  of  the 
origin  of  the  falls  of  Palouse  River  and  of  certain 
native  tribes.  There  lived  here  at  one  time  a  family 
of  giants,  four  brothers  and  a  sister.  The  sister 
wanted  some  beaver-fat  and  she  begged  her  brothers 
to  get  it  for  her — no  easy  task,  as  there  was  only  one 
beaver  in  the  country,  and  he  an  animal  of  extraor- 
dinary size  and  activity.  However,  like  four  gallant 
fellows,  the  giants  set  out  to  find  the  monster,  soon 
catching  sight  of  him  near  the  mouth  of  the  Palouse, 
then  a  peaceful  gliding  river  with  an  even  though 
winding  channel.  They  at  once  gave  chase,  heading 
him  up  the  river.  A  little  distance  up-stream  they 
succeeded  in  striking  him  for  the  first  time  w^ith  their 
spears,  but  he  shook  himself  clear,  making  in  his 
struggle  the  first  rapids  of  the  Palouse,  and  dashed 
on  up-stream.  Again  the  brothers  overtook  him, 
pinning  him  to  the  river-bed  with  their  weapons,  and 
again  the  vigorous  beast  writhed  away,  making  thus 
the  second  falls  of  the  Palouse.  Another  chase,  and 
in  a  third  arid  fatal  attack,  the  four  spear-shafts  are 
struck  again  through  the  broad  wounded  back.  There 
is  a  last  stubborn  struggle  at  the  spot  since  marked 
by  the  great  falls  called  Aputaput,  a  tearing  of  earth 
and  a  lashing  of  water  in  the  fierce  death-flurry,  and 
the  huge  Beaver  is  dead.  The  brothers,  having 
secured  the  skin  and  fat,  cut  up  the  body  and  threw 
the  pieces  in  various  directions.  From  these  pieces 
have  originated  the  various  tribes  of  the  country,  as 
the  Cayuses,  the  Nez  Perces,  the  Walla  Wallas,  and 
so  on.  The  Cayuses  sprang  from  the  beaver's  heart, 
and  for  this  reason  they  are  more  energetic,  daring, 
and  successful  than  their  neighbors.60 

In  Oregon  the  Chinooks  and  neighboring  people 
tell  of  a  pre-human  demon  race,  called  Ulhdipa  by 
the  Chinooks,  and  Sehuiab  by  the  Clallams  and  Lum- 

09 Ruxton's  Adven.  in  Mex.,  pp.  244-6. 

60  Wilkes'  Nar.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  496. 


93  ORIGIN   AND  END   OF  THINGS. 

mis.  The  Chinooks  say  that  the  human  race  was 
created  by  Italapas,  the  Coyote.  The  first  men  were 
sent  into  the  world  in  a  very  lumpish  and  imperfect 
state,  their  mouths  and  eyes  were  closed,  their  hands 
and  feet  immovable.  Then  a  kind  and  powerful  spirit, 
called  Ikdnam,  took  a  sharp  stone,  opened  the  eyes  of 
these  poor  creatures,  and  gave  motion  to  their  hands 
and  feet.  He  taught  them  how  to  make  canoes  as 
well  as  all  other  implements  and  utensils ;  and  he  threw 
great  rocks  into  the  rivers  and  made  falls,  to  obstruct 
the  salmon  in  their  ascent,  so  that  they  might  be 
easily  caught.61 

Farther  north  among  the  Ahts  of  Vancouver  Island, 
perhaps  the  commonest  notion  of  origin  is  that  of  men 
at  first  existed  as  birds,  animals,  and  fishes.  We  are 
told  of  a  certain  Quawteaht,  represented  somewhat 
contradictorily,  as  the  first  Aht  that  ever  lived,  thick- 
set and  hairy-limbed,  and  as  the  chief  Aht  deity,  a 
purely  supernatural  being,  if  not  the  creator,  at  least 
the  maker  and  shaper  of  most  things,  the  maker  of 
the  land  and  the  water,  and  of  the  animals  that  inhabit 
the  one  or  the  other.  In  each  of  these  animals  as  at 
first  created,  there  resided  the  embryo  or  essence  of  a 
man.  One  day  a  canoe  came  down  the  coast,  paddled 
by  two  personages  in  the  at  that  time  unknown  form 
of  men.  The  animals  were  frightened  out  of  their 
wits,  and  fled,  each  from  his  house,  in  such  haste  that 
he  left  behind  him  the  human  essence  that  he  usually 
carried  in  his  body.  These  embryos  rapidly  developed 
into  men;  they  multiplied,  made  use  of  the  huts  de- 
serted by  the  animals,  and  became  in  every  way  as 
the  Ahts  are  now.  There  exists  another  account  of 
the  origin  of  the  Ahts,  which  would  make  them  the 
direct  descendants  of  Quawteaht  and  an  immense  bird 
that  he  married — the  great  Thunder  Bird,  Tootooch, 
with  which,  under  a  different  name  and  in  a  different 
sex,  we  shall  become  more  familiar  presently.  The 

61  FrancMre's  Nar.,  p.  258;  Cox's  Adven.,  vol.  i.,  p.  317;  Gibbs'  Chinook 
Vocab.,  pp.  11-13;  Id.,  Clallam  and  Lummi  Vocab,,  pp.  15-29;  Parker's  Ex- 
plor.  Tour,  p.  139. 


NOOTKA  AND  SALISH  CREATION-MYTHS.  97 

flapping  of  Tootooch's  wings  shook  the  hills  with  thun- 
der, tootah;  and  when  she  put  out  her  forked  tongue, 
the  lightning  quivered  across  the  sky. 

The  Ahts  have  various  legends  of  the  way  in  which 
fire  was  first  obtained,  which  legends  may  be  reduced 
to  the  following:  Quawteaht  withheld  fire,  for  some 
reason  or  other,  from  the  creatures  that  he  had  brought 
into  the  world,  with  one  exception;  it  was  always  to 
be  found  burning  in  the  home  of  the  cuttle-fish,  telhoop. 
The  other  beasts  attempted  to  steal  this  fire,  but  onjy 
the  deer  succeeded;  he  hid  a  little  of  it  in  the  joint  of 
his  hind  leg,  and  escaping,  introduced  the  element  to 
general  use. 

Not  all  animals,  it  would  appear,  were  produced  in 
the  general  creation;  the  loon  and  the  crow  had  a 
special  origin,  being  metamorphosed  men.  Two  fisher- 
men, being  out  at  sea  in  their  canoes,  fell  to  quarrel- 
ling, the  one  ridiculing  the  other  for  his  small  success 
in  fishing.  Finally  the  unsuccessful  man  became  so  in- 
furiated by  the  taunts  of  his  companion  that  he  knocked 
him  on  the  head,  and  stole  his  fish,  cutting  out  his 
tongue  before  he  paddled  off,  lest  by  any  chance  the 
unfortunate  should  recover  his  senses  and  gain  the 
shore.  The  precaution  was  well  taken,  for  the  mu- 
tilated man  reached  the  land  and  tried  to  denounce 
his  late  companion.  No  sound,  however,  could  he  utter 
but  something  resembling  the  cry  of  a  loon,  upon 
which  the  Great  Spirit,  Quawteaht,  became  so  indis- 
criminatingly  angry  at  the  whole  affair  that  he  changed 
the  poor  mute  into  a  loon,  and  his  assailant  into  a 
crow.  So  when  the  mournful  voice  of  the  loon  is 
heard  from  the  silent  lake  or  river,  it  is  still  the  poor 
fisherman  that  we  hear,  trying  to  make  himself  under- 
stood and  to  tell  the  hard  story  of  his  wrongs.62 

The  general  drift  of  many  of  the  foregoing  myths 
would  go  to  indicate  a  wide-spread  belief  in  the  theory 
of  an  evolution  of  man  from  animals.63  Traditions  are 


Scenes,  pp.  176-85,  202-14. 
63  To  the  examples  already  given  of  this  we  may  add  the  case  of  the  Hai- 
dahs  of  Queen  Charlotte  Island,  of  whom  Mr  Poole,  Q.  Cta*  M,  P-  136, 
VOL.  III.    7 


98  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

not  wanting,  however,  whose  teaching  is  precisely  the 
reverse.  The  Salish,  the  Nisquallies,  and  the  Yaki- 
mas  of  Washington,  all  hold  that  beasts,  fishes,  and 
even  edible  roots  are  descended  from  human  originals. 
One  account  of  this  inverse  Darwinian  development  is 
this :  The  son  of  the  Sun — whoever  he  may  have  been 
— caused  certain  individuals  to  swim  through  a  lake 
of  magic  oil,  a  liquid  of  such  Circean  potency  that  the 
unfortunates  immersed  were  transformed  as  above  re- 
lated. The  peculiarities  of  organism  of  the  various 
animals  are  the  results  of  incidents  of  their  passage ; 
the  bear  dived,  and  is  therefore  fat  all  over;  the  goose 
swam  high,  and  is  consequently  fat  only  up  to  the 
water-line ;  and  so  on  through  all  the  list.64 

Moving  north  to  the  Tacullies  of  British  Columbia, 
we  find  the  Musk-rat  an  active  agent  in  the  work  of 
creation.  The  flat  earth,  following  the  Tacully  cos- 
mogony, was  at  first  wholly  covered  with  water.  On 
the  water  a  Musk-rat  swam  to  and  fro,  seeking  food. 
Finding  none  there,  he  dived  to  the  bottom  and 
brought  up  a  mouthful  of  mud,  but  only  to  spit  it  out 
again  when  he  came  to  the  surface.  All  this  he  did 
again  and  again  till  quite  an  island  was  formed  and 
by  degrees  the  whole  earth.  In  some  unexplained 
way  this  earth  became  afterward  peopled  in  every 
part,  and  so  remained,  until  a  fierce  fire  of  several 
days'  duration  swept  over  it,  destroying  all  life,  with 
two  exceptions;  one  man  and  one  woman  hid  them- 
selves in  a  deep  cave  in  the  heart  of  a  mountain,  and 
from  these  two  has  the  world  been  since  repeopled.65 

From  the  Tacully  country  we  pass  north  and  west 
to  the  coast  inhabited  by  the  Thlinkeets,  among  whom 
the  myth  of  a  great  Bird,  or  of  a  great  hero-deity 
whose  favorite  disguise  is  the  shape  of  a  bird,  assumes 
the  most  elaborate  proportions  and  importance.  Here 
the  name  of  this  great  Somebody  is  Yehl,  the  Crow 
or  Raven,  creator  of  most  things,  and  especially  of  the 

says:  '  Their  descent  from  the  crows  is  quite  gravely  affirmed  and  steadfastly 
.  maintained. ' 

6*  Anderson,  in  Lord's  Nat.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  240. 

65  Harmon 's  Jour.,  pp.  302-3. 


YEHL,  THE  CREATOR  OF  THE  THLINKEETS.  99 

Thlinkeets.  Very  dark,  damp,  and  chaotic  was  the 
world  in  the  beginning ;  nothing  with  breath  or  body 
moved  there  except  Yehl ;  in  the  likeness  of  a  raven 
he  brooded  over  the  mist,  his  black  wings  beat  down 
the  vast  confusion,  the  waters  went  back  before  him, 
and  the  dry  land  appeared.  The  Thlinkeets  were 
placed  on  the  earth — though  how  or  when  does  not 
exactly  appear — while  the  world  was  still  in  darkness, 
and  without  sun  or  moon  or  stars.  A  certain  Thlin- 
keet,  we  are  further  informed,  had  a  wife  and  a  sister. 
Of  the  wife  he  was  devouringly  jealous,  and  when 
employed  in  the  woods  at  his  trade  of  building  canoes, 
he  had  her  constantly  watched  by  eight  red  birds  of 
the  kind  called  kun.  To  make  assurance  surer,  he 
even  used  to  coop  her  up  in  a  kind  of  box  every  time 
he  left  home.  All  this  while  his  sister,  a  widow  it 
would  appear,  was  bringing  up  certain  sons  she  had, 
fine  tall  fellows,  rapidly  approaching  manhood.  The 
jealous  uncle  could  not  endure  the  thought  of  their 
being  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  wife.  So  he  inveigled 
them  one  by  one,  time  after  time,  out  to  sea  with  him, 
on  pretence  of  fishing,  and  drowned  them  there.  The 
poor  mother  was  left  desolate,  she  went  to  the  sea- 
shore to  weep  for  her  children.  A  dolphin — some  say 
a  whale — saw  her  there,  and  pitied  her;  the  beast 
told  her  to  swallow  a  small  pebble  and  drink  some 
sea-water.  She  did  so,  and  in  eight  months  was 
delivered  of  a  child.  That  child  was  Yehl,  who  thus 
took  upon  himself  a  human  shape,  and  grew  up  a 
mighty  hunter  and  notable  archer.  One  day  a  large 
bird  appeared  to  him,  having  a  long  tail  like  a  magpie, 
and  a  long  glittering  bill  as  of  metal ;  the  name  of  the 
bird  was  Kutzghatushl,  that  is,  Crane,  that  can  soar 
to  heaven.  Yehl  shot  the  bird,  skinned  it,  and  when- 
ever he  wished  to  fly  used  to  clothe  himself  in  its  skin. 
Now,  Yehl  had  grown  to  manhood,  and  he  deter- 
mined to  avenge  himself  upon  his  uncle  for  the  death 
of  his  brothers;  so  he  opened  the  box  in  which  the 
well-guarded  wife  was  shut  up.  Instantly  the  eight 
faithful  birds  flew  off  and  told  the  husband,  who  set  out 


100  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

for  his  home  in  a  murderous  mood.  Most  cunning, 
however,  in  his  patience,  he  greeted  Yehl  with  com- 
posure, and  invited  him  into  his  canoe  for  a  short  trip 
to  sea.  Having  paddled  out  some  way,  he  flung  him- 
self on  the  young  man  and  forced  him  overboard. 
Then  he  put  his  canoe  about  and  made  leisurely  for 
the  land,  rid  as  he  thought  of  another  enemy.  But 
Yehl  swam  in  quietly  another  way,  and  stood  up  in 
his  uncle's  house.  The  baffled  murderer  was  beside 
himself  with  fury,  he  imprecated  with  a  potent  curse 
a  deluge  upon  all  the  earth,  well  content  to  perish  him- 
self so  he  involved  his  rival  in  the  common  destruction, 
for  jealousy  is  cruel  as  the  grave.  The  flood  came,  the 
waters  rose  and  rose;  but  Yehl  clothed  himself  in  his 
bird-skin,  and  soared  up  to  heaven,  where  he  struck  his 
beak  into  a  cloud,  and  remained  till  the  waters  were 
assuaged. 

After  this  affair  Yehl  had  many  other  adventures,  so 
many  that  "  one  man  cannot  know  them  all,"  as  the 
Thlinkeets  say.  One  of  the  most  useful  things  he  did 
was  to  supply  light  to  mankind — with  whom,  as  ap- 
pears, the  earth  had  been  again  peopled  after  the  de- 
luge. Now,  all  the  light  in  the  world  was  stored  away 
in  three  boxes,  among  the  riches  of  a  certain  mysteri- 
ous old  Chief,  who  guarded  his  treasure  closely.  Yehl 
set  his  wits  to  work  to  secure  the  boxes;  he  deter- 
mined to  be  born  into  the  chief's  family.  The  old  fellow 
had  one  daughter  upon  whom  he  doted,  and  Yehl  trans- 
forming himself  into  a  blade  of  grass,  got  into  the  girl's 
drink  ing-cup  and  was  swallowed  by  her.  In  due  time 
she  gave  birth  to  a  son,  who  was  Yehl,  thus  a  second 
time  born  of  a  woman  into  the  world.  Very  proud 
was  the  old  chief  of  his  grandson,  loving  him  even  as 
he  loved  his  daughter,  so  that  Yehl  came  to  be  a  de  - 
cidedly  spoiled  child.  He  fell  a-crying  one  day,  work- 
ing himself  almost  into  a  fit;  he  kicked  and  scratched 
and  howled,  and  turned  the  family  hut  into  a  pande- 
monium as  only  an  infant  plague  can.  He  screamed 
for  one  of  the  three  boxes;  he  would  have  a  box;  noth- 
ing but  a  box  should  ever  appease  him  I  The  indulgent 


ADVENTURES  OF  YEHL  AND  KHANUKH.  101 

grandfather  gave  him  one  of  the  boxes ;  he  clutched  it, 
stopped  crying,  and  crawled  off  into  the  yard  to  play. 
Playing,  he  contrived  to  wrench  the  lid  off,  and  lo ! 
the  beautiful  heaven  was  thick  with  stars,  and  the  box 
empty.  The  old  man  wept  for  the  loss  of  his  stars, 
but  he  did  not  scold  his  grandson,  he  loved  him  too 
blindly  for  that.  Yehl  had  succeeded  in  getting  the 
stars  into  the  firmament,  and  he  proceeded  to  repeat 
his  successful  trick,  to  do  the  like  by  the  moon  and 
sun.  As  may  be  imagined,  the  difficulty  was  much 
increased ;  still  he  gained  his  end.  He  first  let  the 
moon  out  into  the  sky,  and  some  time  afterward,  get- 
ting possession  of  the  box  that  held  the  sun,  he  changed 
himself  into  a  raven  and  flew  away  with  his  greatest 
prize  of  all.  When  he  set  up  the  blazing  light  in 
heaven,  the  people  that  saw  it  were  at  first  afraid. 
Many  hid  themselves  in  the  mountains,  and  in  the  for- 
ests, and  even  in  the  water,  and  were  changed  into  the 
various  kinds  of  animals  that  frequent  these  places. 

There  are  still  other  feats  of  Yehl's  replete  with  the 
happiest  consequences  to  mankind.  There  was  a  time, 
for  instance,  when  all  the  fire  in  the  world  was  hid 
away  in  an  island  of  the  ocean.  Thither  flew  the  in- 
defatigable deity,  fetching  back  a  brand  in  his  mouth. 
The  distance,  however,  was  so  great  that  most  of  the 
wood  was  burned  away  and  a  part  of  his  beak,  before 
he  reached  the  Thlinkeet  shore.  Arrived  there,  he 
dropped  the  embers  at  once,  and  the  sparks  flew  about 
in  all  directions  among  various  sticks  and  stones; 
therefore  it  is  that  by  striking  these  stones  and  by 
friction  on  this  wood,  fire  is  always  to  be  obtained. 

Light  they  now  had,  and  fire ;  but  one  thing  was 
still  wanting  to  men :  they  had  no  fresh  water.  A 
personage  called  Khanukh66  kept  all  the  fresh  water 
in  his  well,  in  an  island  to  the  east  of  Sitka,  and  over 
the  mouth  of  the  well,  for  its  better  custody,  he  had 
built  his  hut.  Yehl  set  out  to  the  island  in  his  boat, 


66  This  Khanukh  was  the 
even  as  Yehl  was  that  of 

seems  to  have  been  generally  malign,  but  except   in  connection  with   thia 
water-legend,  he  is  little  mentioned  in  the  Thlinkeet  myths. 


the  progenitor  of  the  Wolf  family  of  the  Thlinkeets, 
the  Raven  family.     The  influence  of  this  wolf-deity 


102  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

to  secure  the  water,  and  on  his  way  he  met  Khanukh 
himself  paddling  along  in  another  boat.  Khanukh 
spoke  first :  How  long  hast  thou  been  living  in  the 
world?  Proudly  Yehl  answered:  Before  the  world 
stood  in  its  place,  I  was  there.  Yehl  in  his  turn  ques- 
tioned Khanukh:  But  how  long  hast  thou  lived  in 

O 

the  world  ?  To  which  Khanukh  replied :  Ever  since 
the  time  that  the  liver  came  out  from  below.67  Then 
said  Yehl :  Thou  art  older  than  I.  Upon  this  Khan- 
ukh, to  show  that  his  power  was  as  great  as  his  age, 
took  off  his  hat,  and  there  rose  a  dense  fog,  so  that 
the  one  could  no  longer  see  the  other.  Yehl  then  be- 
came afraid,  and  cried  out  to  Khanukh ;  but  Khanukh 
answered  nothing,  At  last  when  Yehl  found  himself 
completely  helpless  in  the  darkness,  he  began  to  weep 
and  howl;  upon  which  the  old  sorcerer  put  on  his  hat 
again,  and  the  fog  vanished.  Khanukh  then  invited 
Yehl  to  his  house,  and  entertained  him  handsomely  with 
many  luxuries,  among  which  was  fresh  water.  The 
meal  over,  host  and  guest  sat  down,  and  the  latter  began 
a  long  relation  of  his  many  exploits  and  adventures. 
Khanukh  listened  as  attentively  as  he  could,  but  the 
story  was  really  so  interminable  that  he  as  last  fell 
asleep  across  the  cover  of  his  well.  This  frustrated 
Yehl's  intention  of  stealing  the  water  while  its  owner 
slept,  so  he  resorted  to  another  stratagem :  he  put  some 
filth  under  the  sleeper,  then  waking  him  up,  made  him 
believe  he  had  bewrayed  himself.  Khanukh,  whose  own 
nose  abhorred  him,  at  once  hurried  off  to  the  sea  to  wash, 
and  his  deceiver  as  quickly  set  about  securing  the  pre- 
cious water.  Just  as  All-father  Odin,  the  Raven-god, 
stole  Suttung's  mead,  drinking  it  up  and  escaping  in 
the  form  of  a  bird,  so  Yehl  drank  what  fresh  water  he 
could,  filling  himself  to  the  very  beak,  then  took  the 
form  of  a  raven  and  attempted  to  fly  off  through  the 
chimney  of  the  hut.  He  stuck  in  the  flue,  however, 

67  '  Seit  der  Zeit,  entgegnete  Khanukh,  als  von  unten  die  Leber  heraus- 
kam.'  Holmbery,  Ethn.  Skiz.,  p.  61.  What  is  meant  by  the  term  '  die  Leber,' 
literally  the  particular  gland  of  the  body  called  in  English  '  the  liver, '  I 
cannot  say;  neither  Holmberg  nor  any  one  else,  as  far  as  my  knowledge  goes, 
attempting  any  explanation. 


CHETHL  AND   AHGISHANAKHOU.  103 

and  Khanukh  returning  at  that  instant  recognized  his 
guest  in  the  struggling  bird.  The  old  man  compre- 
hended the  situation,  and  quietly  piling  up  a  roaring 
fire,  he  sat  down  comfortably  to  watch  the  choking  and 
scorching  of  his  crafty  guest.  The  raven  had  always 
been  a  white  bird,  but  so  thoroughly  was  he  smoked 
in  the  chimney  on  this  occasion  that  he  has  ever  since 
remained  the  sootiest  of  fowls.  At  last  Khanukh, 
watching  the  fire,  became  drowsy  and  fell  asleep;  so 
Yehl  escaped  from  the  island  with  the  water.  He 
flew  back  to  the  continent,  where  he  scattered  it  in 
every  direction ;  and  whenever  small  drops  fell  there 
are  now  springs  and  creeks,  while  the  large  drops  have 
produced  lakes  and  rivers.  This  is  the  end  of  the  ex- 
ploits of  Yehl ;  having  thus  done  everything  necessary 
to  the  happiness  of  mankind,  he  returned  to  his  habi- 
tation, which  is  in  the  east,  and  into  which  no  other 
spirit,  nor  any  man,  can  possibly  enter. 

The  existing  difference  in  language  between  the 
Thlinkeets  and  other  people  is  one  of  the  consequences 
of  a  great  flood — perhaps  that  flood  already  described 
as  having  been  brought  on  through  the  jealousy  of  the 
canoe-builder.  Many  persons  escaped  drowning  by 
taking  refuge  in  a  great  floating  building.  When  the 
waters  fell,  this  vessel  grounded  upon  a  rock,  and  was 
broken  into  two  pieces;  in  the  one  fragment  were  left 
those  whose  descendants  speak  the  Thlinkeet  language, 
in  the  other  remained  all  whose  descendants  employ  a 
different  idiom. 

Connected  with  the  history  of  this  deluge  is  another 
myth,  in  which  a  great  Bird  figures.  When  the  waters 
rose,  a  certain  mysterious  brother  and  sister  found  it 
necessary  to  part.  The  name  of  the  brother  was 
Chethl,  that  is,  Thunder  or  Lightning,  and  the  name 
of  the  sister  was  Ahgishanakhou,  which  means  the 
Underground  Woman.  As  they  separated,  Chethl 
said  to  her:  Sister,  you  shall  never  see  me  again,  but 
while  I  live  you  shall  hear  my  voice.  Then  he  clothed 
himself  in  the  skin  of  a  great  bird,  and  flew  toward 
the  south-west.  His  sister  climbed  to  the  top  of 


104  ORIGIN  AND   END  OF  THINGS. 

Mount  Edgecomb,  which  is  near  Sitka,  and  it  opened 
and  swallowed  her  up,  leaving  a  great  hole,  or  crater. 
The  world  itself  is  an  immense  flat  plate  supported  on 
a  pillar,  and  under  the  world,  in  silence  and  darkness, 
this  Underground  Woman  guards  the  great  pillar 
from  evil  and  malignant  powers.  She  has  never  seen 
her  brother  since  she  left  the  upper  world,  and  she 
shall  never  see  him  again ;  but  still,  when  the  tempest 
sweeps  down  on  Edgecomb,  the  lightning  of  his  eyes 
gleams  down  her  crater- window,  and  the  thundering 
of  his  wings  reechoes  through  all  her  subterranean 
halls.68 

The  Koniagas,  north  of  the  Thlinkeets,  have  their 
legendary  Bird  and  Dog — the  latter  taking  the  place 
occupied  in  the  mythology  of  many  other  tribes  by  the 
wolf  or  coyote.  Up  in  heaven,  according  to  the  Koni- 
agas, there  exists  a  great  deity  called  Shljam  Schoa. 
He  created  two  personages  and  sent  them  down  to  the 
earth,  and  the  Raven  accompanied  them,  carrying 
light.  This  original  pair  made  sea,  rivers,  mountains, 
forests,  and  such  things.  Among  other  places,  they 
made  the  island  of  Kadiak,  and  so  stocked  it  that  the 
present  Koniagas  assert  themselves  the  descendants 
of  a  Dog.69 

The  Aleuts  of  the  Aleutian  Archipelago  seem  to 
disagree  upon  their  origin.  Some  say  that  in  the  be- 
ginning a  Bitch  inhabited  Unalaska,  and  that  a  great 
Dog  swam  across  to  her  from  Kadiak;  from  which 
pair  the  human  race  have  sprung.  Others,  naming 
the  bitch-mother  of  their  race  Mahakh,  describe  a  cer- 
tain Old  Man,  called  Iraghdadakh,  who  came  from 
the  north  to  visit  this  Mahakh.  The  result  of  this 
visit  was  the  birth  of  two  creatures,  male  and  female, 
with  such  an  extraordinary  mixing  up  of  the  elements 
of  nature  in  them  that  they  were  each  half  man,  half 
fox.  The  name  of  the  male  creature  was  Acagnikakh, 

68 Barrett-Lennard's  Trav.,  pp.  54-7;  Holmberg,  Ethn.  Skiz.,  pp.  14,  52-63; 
Baer,  Stat.  u,  Ethn.,  pp.  93-100;  Dall's  Alaska,  pp.  421-2;  Macfics  Vane. 
IsL,  pp.  452-5;  Richardson's  Jour.,  vol.  i.,  p.  405;  Mayne's  B.  C.,  p.  272. 

69 Baer,  Stat.  u.  Ethn.,  p.  116;  Lisiansfoj's  Voy.,  pp.  197-8;  DalVs  Alaska, 
p.  405;  Holmberg,  Ethn.  Skiz.,  p.  140. 


THE  DOG-ORIGIN  OF  THE  HYPERBOREANS.  105 

and  by  the  other  creature  he  became  father  of  the 
human  race.  The  Old  Man,  however,  seems  hardly 
to  have  needed  any  help  to  people  the  world,  for,  like 
the  great  patriarch  of  Thessaly,  he  was  able  to  create 
men  by  merely  casting  stones  on  the  earth.  He  flung 
also  other  stones  into  the  air,  into  the  water,  and  over 
the  land,  thus  making  beasts,  birds,  and  fishes.  In 
another  version  of  the  narrative,  the  first  father  of  the 
Aleuts  is  said  to  have  fallen  from  heaven  in  the  shape 
of  a  dog.70 

In  the  legends  of  the  Tinneh,  living  inland,  north- 
east of  the  Koniagas,  the  familiar  Bird  and  Dog 
again  appear.  These  legends  tell  us  that  the  world 
existed  at  first  as  a  great  ocean  frequented  only  by  an 
immense  Bird,  the  beating  of  whose  wings  was  thun- 
der, and  its  glance  lightning.  This  great  flying  mon- 
ster descended  and  touched  the  waters,  upon  which 
the  earth  rose  up  and  appeared  above  them;  it  touched 
the  earth,  and  therefrom  came  every  living  creature — 
except  the  Tinneh,  who  owe  their  origin  to  a  Dog. 
Therefore  it  is  that  to  this  day  a  dog's  flesh  is  an 
abomination  to  the  Tinneh,  as  are  also  all  who  eat 
such  flesh.  A  few  years  before  Captain  Franklin's 
visit  they  almost  ruined  themselves  by  following  the 
advice  of  some  fanatic  reformer.  Convinced  by  him 
of  the  wickedness  of  exacting  labor  from  their  near 
relations,  the  dogs,  they  got  rid  at  once  of  the  sin  and 
of  all  temptation  to  its  recommission,  by  killing  every 
cur  in  their  possession. 

To  return  to  the  origin  of  the  Tinneh,  the  wonder- 
ful Bird  before  mentioned  made  and  presented  to  them 
a  peculiar  arrow,  which  they  were  to  preserve  for  all 
time  with  great  care.  But  they  would  not ;  they  mis- 
appropriated the  sacred  shaft  to  some  common  use, 
and  immediately  the  great  Bird  flew  away,  never  to 
return.  With  its  departure  ended  the  Golden  Age 
of  the  Tinneh — an  age  in  which  men  lived  till  their 

70  Choris,   Voy.  Pitt.,  pt.  vii.,  p.  7;  Kotzelmes  Voy,,  vol.  ii.,  p.  1G5. 


106  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

throats  were  worn  through  with  eating,  and  their  feet 
with  walking.71 

Belonging  to  the  Northern-Indian  branch  of  the 
Tinneh  we  find  a  narrative  in  which  the  Dog  holds  a 
prominent  place,  but  in  which  we  find  no  mention  at 
all  of  the*  Bird :  The  earth  existed  at  first  in  a  chaotic 
state,  with  only  one  human  inhabitant,  a  woman  who 
dwelt  in  a  cave  and  lived  on  berries.  While  gather- 
ing these  one  day,  she  encountered  an  animal  like  a 
dog,  which  followed  her  home.  This  Dog  possessed 
the  power  of  transforming  himself  into  a  handsome 
young  man,  and  in  this  shape  he  became  the  father 
by  the  woman  of  the  first  men.  In  course  of  time  a 
giant,  of  such  height  that  his  head  reached  the  clouds, 
arrived  on  the  scene  and  fitted  the  earth  for  its  inhabi- 
tants. He  reduced  the  chaos  to  order ;  he  established 
the  land  in  its  boundaries,  he  marked  out  with  his 
staff  the  position  or  course  of  the  lakes,  ponds,  and 
rivers.  Next  he  slew  the  Dog  and  tore  him  to  pieces, 
as  the  four  giants  did  the  Beaver  of  the  Palouse 
River,  or  as  the  creating  ^Esir  did  Aurgelmir.  Un- 
like the  four  brothers,  however,  and  unlike  the  sons  of 
Bor,  this  giant  of  the  Tinneh  used  the  fragments  not 
to  create  men  or  things,  but  animals.  The  entrails  of 
the  dog  he  threw  into  the  water,  and  every  piece  be- 
came a  fish ;  the  flesh  he  scattered  over  the  land,  and 
every  scrap  became  an  animal;  the  bits  of  skin  he 
sowed  upon  the  wind,  and  they  became  birds.  All 
these  spread  over  the  earth,  and  increased  and  multi- 
plied ;  and  the  giant  gave  the  woman  and  her  progeny 
power  to  kill  and  eat  of  them  according  to  their  neces- 
sities. After  this  he  returned  to  his  place,  and  he  has 
not  since  been,  heard  of.72 

Leaving  now  this  division  of  our  subject,  more  par- 
ticularly concerned  with  cosmogony,  it  may  not  be 
amiss  to  forestall  possible  criticism  as  to  the  discon- 
nected manner  in  which  the  various  myths  are  given. 

71  Dunns  Oregon,  pp.  102  et  seq.;  Sclvoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  173;  Mac- 
kenzie's Voy.,  p.  cxviii.;  Franklins  Nar.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  249-50. 
Vi Hearties  Journey,  pp.  342-3. 


INTERPRETATION  OF  MYTHS.  107 

I  have  but  to  repeat  that  the  mythology  with  which 
we  have  to  deal  is  only  known  in  fragments,  and  to 
submit  that  a  broken  statue,  or  even  a  broken  shard, 
of  genuine  or  presumably  genuine  antiquity,  is  more 
valuable  to  science,  and  even  to  poetry,  than  the  most 
skilful  ideal  restoration. 

Further,  the  absence  of  any  attempt  to  form  a  con- 
nected whole  out  of  the  myths  that  come  under  our 
notice  cannot  but  obviate  that  tendency  to  alter  in 
outline  and  to  color  in  detail  which  is  so  insensibly 
natural  to  any  inythographer  prepossessed  with  the 
spirit  of  a  system.  In  advancing  lastly  the  opinion 
that  the  disconnected  arrangement  is  not  only  better 
adapted  toward  preserving  the  original  myths  in  their 
integrity,  but  is  also  better  for  the  student,  I  may  be 
allowed  to  close  the  chapter  with  the  second  of  the 
Rules  for  the  Interpretation  of  Mythes  given  by  so 
distinguished  an  authority  as  Mr  Keightley:  "In  like 
manner  the  mythes  themselves  should  be  considered 
separately,  and  detached  from  the  system  in  which 
they  are  placed ;  for  the  single  mythes  existed  long 
before  the  system,  and  were  the  product  of  other 
minds  than  those  which  afterwards  set  them  in  con- 
nection, not  unfrequently  without  fully  understanding 
them."73 

73  Keightley 's  Myth  of  Ancient  Greece  and  Italy,  p.  14, 


CHAPTER  III. 

'PHYSICAL  MYTHS. 

SUN,  MOON,  AND  STABS — ECLIPSES — THE  MOON  PERSONIFIED  IN  THE  LAND  OF 
THE  CRESCENT — FIRE — How  THE  COYOTE  STOLE  FIRE  FOR  THE  CAHROCS 
— How  THE  FROG  LOST  HIS  TAIL — How  THE  COYOTE  STOLE  FIRE  FOR 
THE  NAVAJOS — WIND  AND  THUNDER — THE  FOUR  WINDS  AND  THE  CROSS 
— WATER,  THE  FIRST  OF  ELEMENTAL  THINGS — ITS  SACRED  AND  CLEANS- 
ING POWER — EARTH  AND  SKY — EARTHQUAKES  AND  VOLCANOES — MOUN- 
TAINS— How  THE  HAWK  AND  CROW  BUILT  THE  COAST  RANGE — THE 
MOUNTAINS  OF  YOSEMITE. 

FETICHISM  seems  to  be  the  physical  philosophy  of 
man  in  his  most  primitive  state.  Iff  e  looks  on  material 
things  as  animated  by  a  life  analogous  to  his  own,  as 
having  a  personal  consciousness  and  character,  as  be- 
ing severally  the  material  body  that  contains  some 
immaterial  essence  or  soul.  A  child  or  a  savage 
strikes  or  chides  any  object  that  hurts  him,  and  caresses 
the  gewgaw  that  takes  his  fancy,  talking  to  it  much 
as  to  a  companion. 

Let  there  be  something  peculiar,  mysterious,  or 
dangerous  about  the  thing,  and  the  savage  worships  it, 
deprecates  its  wrath  and  entreats  its  favor,  with  such, 
ceremonies,  prayers,  and  sacrifices  as  he  may  deem 
likely  to  win  upon  its  regard.  In  considering  such 
cases  mythologically,  it  will  be  necessary  to  examine 
the  facts,  to  see  whether  we  have  to  deal  with  simple 
fetichism  or  with  idolatry.  That  savage  worships  a 
fetich  who  worships  the  heaving  sea  as  a  great  living 
creature,  or  kneels  to  flame  as  to  a  hissing  roaring 
animal;  but  the  Greeks,  in  conceiving  a  separate  an- 
thropomorphic god  of  the  sea  or  of  the  fire,  and  in 

(108) 


VAGARIES  CONCERNING  CELESTIAL  BODIES.  109 

representing  that  god  by  figures  of  different  kinds, 
were  only  idolaters.  The  two  things,  however,  are 
often  so  merged  into  each  other  that  it  becomes  diffi- 
cult or  impossible  to  say  in  many  instances  whether  a 
particular  object,  for  example,  the  sun,  is  regarded  as 
the  deity  or  merely  as  the  representation  or  symbol  of 
the  deity.  It  is  plain  enough,  however,  that  a  toler- 
ably distinct  element  of  fetichism  underlies  much  of  the 
Indian  mythology.  Speaking  of  this  mythology  in 
the  mass,  the  North  American  Review  says:  "A 
mysterious  and  inexplicable  power  resides  in  inanimate 
things.  They,  too,  can  listen  to  the  voice  of  man,  and 
influence  his  life  for  evil  or  for  good.  Lakes,  rivers, 
and  waterfalls  are  sometimes  the  dwelling-place  of 
spirits,  but  more  frequently  they  are  themselves  living 
beings,  to  be  propitiated  by  prayers  and  offerings."1 

The  explicit  worship  of  the  sun,  and  more  or  less 
that  of  other  heavenly  bodies,  or  at  least  a  recognition 
of  some  supernatural  power  resident  in  or  connected 
with  them,  was  widely  spread  through  Mexico,  as  well 
among  the  uncivilized  as  among  the  civilized  tribes. 
The  wild  Chichimecs,  or  that  portion  of  the  wild  tribes 
of  Mexico  to  which  Alegre  applied  this  name,  owned 
the  sun  as  their  deity,  as  did  also  the  people  of  the 
Nayarit  country.2 

In  what  we  may  call  civilized  Mexico,  the  sun  was 
definitely  worshipped  under  the  name  of  Tonatiuh,  the 
Sun  in  his  substance,  and  under  that  of  Naolin,  the 
Sun  in  his  four  motions.  He  was  sometimes  repre- 
sented by  a  human  face  surrounded  with  rays,  at 
other  times  by  a  full-length  human  figure,  while  again 
he  often  seems  to  be  confused  or  connected  with  the 
element  fire  and  the  god  of  fire.  Sahagun,  for  instance, 
usually  speaks  of  the  festival  of  the  month  Itzcalli  as 
appertaining  to  the  god  of  fire,  but  in  at  least  one 
place  he  describes  it  as  belonging  to  the  sun  and  the 
fire.3  The  sun,  it  is  tolerably  certain,  held,  if  not  the 

1  North  Am.  Rev.,  vol.  ciii.,  p.  1. 

2  Alegre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  i.,  p.  279;  Apostdttcos  Afanes,  p.  68. 

3 Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  74-5,  200-18;  Explication,  del 
Codex  Telleriano-Remensis,  parte  ii.,  lam.  x.,  in  Kingsborougtis  Mex.  Antiq., 


110  PHYSICAL  MYTHS. 

highest  place,  one  not  far  removed  from  that  position 
in  the  Mexican  pantheon.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
Tylor,  Squier,  and  Schoolcraft  agree  in  considering  sun- 
worship  the  most  radical  religious  idea  of  all  civilized 
American  religions.4  Professor  M tiller  considers  the 
sun-god  and  the  supreme  Mexican  Teotl  to  be  identical.5 
Dr  Brinton,  as  we  shall  see  when  we  corne  to  notice 
the  mythology  of  fire,  while  not  denying  the  promi- 
nence of  the  sun-cult,  would  refer  that  cult  to  a  basal 
and  original  fire-worship.  Many  interpreters  of  my- 
thology see  also  the  personification  of  the  sun  in  others 
of  the  Mexican  gods  besides  Tonatiuh.  More  espe- 
cially does  evidence  seem  to  point  strongly  in  this 
direction  in  the  case  of  Quetzalcoatl,  as  will  be  seen, 
when  we  come  to  deal  with  this  god. 

The  Mexicans  were  much  troubled  and  distressed 
by  an  eclipse  of  the  sun.  They  thought  that  he  was 
much  disturbed  and  tossed  about  by  something,  and 
that  he  was  becoming  seriously  jaundiced.  This  was 
the  occasion  of  a  general  panic,  women  weeping  aloud, 
and  men  howling  and  shouting  and  striking  the  hand 
upon  the  mouth.  There  was  an  immediate  search  for 
men  with  white  hair  and  white  faces,  and  these  were 
sacrificed  to  the  sun,  amid  the  din  and  tumult  of  singing 
and  musical  instruments.  It  was  thought  that  should 
the  eclipse  become  once  total,  there  would  be  an  end 
of  the  light,  and  that  in  the  darkness  the  demons 
would  come  down  to  the  devouring  of  the  people.6 

vol.  v.,  p.  139;  Spiegazione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano),  tav. 
xxv.  and  xxxiii.,  in  Kingsborouylis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  178,  181-2;  Men- 
dieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  pp.  80-1;  Claviqero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  9, 
11,  17,  34-5. 

4 Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist,  des  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  301;  Brasseur  de 
Bourbourg,  Quatre  Lettres,  p.  156;  Tylor's  Prim.  Cult.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  259,  262-3; 
Squier's  Serpent  Symbol,  pp.  18-20;  Schooler  affs  Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  60,  vol.  iv., 
p.  639,  vol.  v.,  pp.  29-87,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  594,  626,  636. 

5 Mutter,  AmerikaniscJie  Urreligionen,  p.  474. 

7 Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vii.,  pp.  244-5.  In  Campeche,  in 
1834,  M.  Waldeck  witnessed  an  eclipse  of  the  moon  during  which  the  Yuca- 
tecs  conducted  themselves  much  as  their  fathers  might  have  done  in  their 
gentile  days,  howling  frightfully  and  making  every  effort  to  part  the  celestial 
combatants.  The  only  apparent  advance  made  on  the  old  customs  was  the 
firing  off  of  muskets,  '  to  prove, '  in  the  words  of  the  sarcastic  artist,  '  that  the 
Yucatecs  of  to-day  are  not  strangers  to  the  progress  of  civilization. '  Waldeck, 
Voy.  Pitt.,  p.  14. 


ECLIPSES,  AND  THEIR  EFFECT  ON  MAN.  Ill 

The  Tlascaltecs,  regarding  the  sun  and  the  moon  as 
husband  and  wife,  believed  eclipses  to  be  domestic  quar^ 
rels,  whose  consequences  were  likely  to  be  fatal  to  the 
world  if  peace  could  not  be  made  before  things  pro- 
ceeded to  an  extremity.  To  sooth  the  ruffled  spirit  of 
the  sun  when  he  was  eclipsed,  a  human  sacrifice  was 
offered  to  him  of  the  ruddiest  victims  that  could  be 
found;  and  when  the  moon  was  darkened  she  was 
appeased  with  the  blood  of  those  white-complexioned 
persons  commonly  known  as  Albinos.7 

The  idea  of  averting  the  evil  by  noise,  in  case  of  an 
eclipse  either  of  the  sun  or  moon,  seems  to  have  been 
a  common  one  among  other  American  tribes.  Alegre 
ascribes  it  to  the  natives  of  Sonora  in  general.  Bibas 
tells  how  the  Sinaloas  held  that  the  moon  in  an  eclipse 
was  darkened  with  the  dust  of  battle.  Her  enemy 
had  come  upon  her,  and  a  terrible  fight,  big  with  con- 
sequence to  those  on  earth,  went  on  in  heaven.  In 
wild  excitement  the  people  beat  on  the  sides  of  their 
houses,  encouraging  the  moon  and  shooting  flights  of 
arrows  up  into  the  sky  to  distract  her  adversary. 
Much  the  same  as  this  was  also  done  by  certain  Cali- 
fornians.8 

With  regard  to  an  eclipse  of  the  moon  the  Mexi- 
cans seem  to  have  had  rather  special  ideas  as  to  its 
effects  upon  unborn  children.  At  such  times,  women 
who  were  with  child  became  alarmed  lest  their  infant 
should  be  turned  into  a  mouse,  and  to  guard  against 
such  an  undesirable  consummation  they  held  a  bit  of 
obsidian,  iztli,  in  their  mouth,  or  put  a  piece  of  it  in 
their  girdle,  so  that  the  child  should  be  born  perfect, 
and  not  lipless,  or  noseless,  or  wry-mouthed,  or  squint- 
ing, or  a  monster.9  These  ideas  are  probably  con- 
nected with  the  fact  that  the  Mexicans  worshipped 
the  moon  under  the  name  of  Meztli,  as  a  deity  presid- 
ing over  human  generations.  This  moon-god  is  con- 

7  Camargo,  Hist,  de  Tlaxcallan,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn, 
xcvii.,  p.  193. 

8  Alegre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  ii.,  p.  218;  Ribas,  Hist,  de  foe  Trium* 
phos,  p.  202;  Boscana,  in  Robinson's  Life  in  CaL,  pp.  296-300. 

9  Sahayun,  Hist.  Gen..,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  viii.,  p.  250. 


112  PHYSICAL  MYTHS. 

sidered  by  Clavigero  to  be  identical  with  Joaltecutli, 
god  of  night.10 

It  is  to  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  however, 
that  we  must  turn  for  a  truly  novel  and  cyclopean 
theory  of  Mexican  lunolatry.  He  sees  back  to  a  time 
when  the  forefathers  of  American  civilization  lived  in 
a  certain  Crescent  Land  in  the  Atlantic;  here  they 
practised  Sabaism.  Through  some  tremendous  physi- 
cal catastrophe  their  country  was  utterly  overwhelmed 
by  the  sea;  and  this  inundation  is  considered  by  the 
abbe  to  be  the  origin  of  the  deluge-myths  of  the  Cen- 
tral-American nations.  A  remnant  of  these  Crescent 
people  saved  themselves  in  the  seven  principal  islands 
of  the  Lesser  Antilles;  these  are,  he  explains,  the 
seven  mythical  caves  or  grottos  celebrated  in  so  many 
American  legends  as  the  cradle  of  the  nations.  The 
saved  remnant  of  the  people  wept  the  loss  of  their 
friends  and,  of  their  old  land,  making  the  latter,  with 
its  crescent  shape,  memorable  forever  by  adopting  the 
moon  as  their  god.  "  It  is  the  moon,"  writes  the  great 
Americaniste,  "male  and  female,  Luna  and  Lunas, 
personified  in  the  land  of  the  Crescent,  ingulfed  in  the 
abyss,  that  I  believe  I  see  at  the  commencement  of 
this  amalgam  of  rites  and  symbols  of  every  kind."  n  I 
confess  inability  to  follow  the  path  by  wrhich  the  abbe 
has  reached  this  conclusion;  but  I  have  indicated  its 
whereabouts,  and  future  students  may  be  granted  a 
further  insight  into  this  new  labyrinth,  and  the  subtile- 
ties  of  its  industrious  Daedalus. 

The  Mexicans  had  many  curious  ideas  about  the 
stars,  some  of  which  have  come  down  to  us.  They 
particularly  reverenced  a  certain  group  of  three  called 
mamalhoaztli,  in,  or  in  the  neighborhood  of,  the  sign 
Taurus  of  the  zodiac.  This  name  was  the  same  as  that 
of  the  sticks  from  which  fire  was  procured :  a  resem- 

" 10  Explication  del  Codex  Tellerlano-Remensis,  parte  ii.,  lam.  x.,  in  Kings- 
borougtis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  139;  Spiegazione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexi- 
cano  iVatieano),  tav.  xxvi.,  in  Kingsborouglis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  179; 
jSahaguM,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vii.,  p.  250;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Mes- 
sico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  9-17. 

11  Braaseur  de  Bourbourg,  Quatre  Lettres,  pp.  155-6. 


WHAT  THE  MEXICANS  THOUGHT  OF  STARS  AND  COMETS.  113 

blance  of  some  kind  being  supposed  to  exist  between 
them  and  these  stars.  Connected  again  with  this  was 
the  burning  by  every  male  Mexican  of  certain  marks 
upon  his  wrist,  in  honor  of  the  same  stars ;  it  being  be- 
lieved that  the  man  who  died  without  these  marks 
should,  on  his  arrival  in  hades,  be  forced  to  draw  fire 
from  his  wrist  by  boring  upon  it  as  on  a  fire-stick. 
The  planet  Yenus  was  worshipped  as  the  first  light 
that  appeared  in  the  world,  as  the  god  of  twilight,  and, 
according  to  some,  as  being  identical  with  Quetzal- 
coatl.  This  star  has  been  further  said  to  borrow  its 
light  from  the  moon,  and  to  rise  by  four  starts.  Its 
first  twinkle  was  a  bad  augury,  and  to  be  closed  out  of 
all  doors  and  windows ;  on  appearing  for  the  third  time, 
it  began  to  give  a  steady  light,  and  on  the  fourth  it 
shone  forth  in  all  its  clearness  and  brilliancy. 

Comets  were  called  each  citlalinpopoca,  or  the  smok- 
ing star ;  their  appearance  was  considered  as  a  public 
disaster,  and  as  announcing  pest,  dearth,  or  the  death 
of  some  prince.  The  common  people  were  accustomed 
to  say  of  one,  This  is  our  famine,  and  they  believed  it 
to  cast  down  certain  darts,  which  falling  on  any  ani- 
mal, bred  a  maggot  that  rendered  the  creature  unfit 
for  food.  All  possible  precautions  of  shelter  were  of 
course  taken  by  persons  in  positions  exposed  to  the 
influence  of  these  noxious  rays.  Besides  the  foregoing, 
there  were  many  stars  or  groups  of  stars  whose  names 
were  identical  with  those  of  certain  gods;  the  follow- 
ing seem  to  belong  to  this  class:  Tonacatlecutli  or 
Citlalalatonalli,  the  milky  way ;  Yzacatecutli,  Tlahviz-. 
calpantecutli,  Ceyacatl,  Achitumetl,  Xacupancalqui, 
Mixcoatl,  Tezcatlipoca,  and  ContemocthV 


12 


I  have  already  noticed  a  prevailing  tendency  to  con- 
nect the  worship  of  fire  and  that  of  the  sun.  The 
rites  of  a  perpetual  fire  are  found  closely  connected 

12  Explication  ddle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano,  parte  i.,  lam.  ii.,  parte  ii., 
lam.  xiv.,  in  Kingsborough 's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  132,  140;  Spiegazione 
ddle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano),  tav.  xvii.,  xxxi.,  2b.,  vol.  v.,  pp. 
175,  181;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vii.,  pp.  250-52;  Camargo,  Hist, 
de  Tlaxcallan,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.}  1843,  torn,  xcviij,,  p.  193;  Men* 
VOL.  III.  8 


114  PHYSICAL  MYTHS, 

with  a  sun-cult,  and,  whichever  may  be  the  older,  it  is 
certain  they  are  rarely  found  apart.  "What,"  says 
Ty]or,  "the  sea  is  to  Water-worship,  in  some  measure 
the  Sun  is  to  the  Fire-worship."13  Brinton  would 
reverse  this,  and  give  to  fire  the  predominance;  in 
short,  he  says,  the  sun  "  is  always  spoken  of  as  a  fire;" 
"  and  without  danger  or  error  we  can  merge  the  con- 
sideration of  its  worship  almost  altogether  in  this  ele- 
ment." u  This  sounds  rather  extravagant,  and  is  hardly 
needed  in  any  case ;  for  sufficient  reason  for  its  deifica- 
tion can  always  be  found  in  its  mysterious  nature  and 
awful  powers  of  destruction,  as  well  as  in  its  kind  and 
constantly  renewed  services,  if  gratitude  have  any 
power  in  making  a  god.  The  mere  guarding  and  hold- 
ing sacred  a  particular  fire  probably  originated  in  the 
importance  of  possessing  an  unfailing  source  of  the 
element,  and  in  the  difficulty  of  its  production  if 
allowed  to  die  out,  among  men  not  possessed  of  the 
appliances  of  civilization. 

When  we  come  to  review  the  gods  in  general,  those 
connected  with  fire  will  be  pointed  out  as  they  appear; 
for  the  present,  let  it  suffice  to  say  that  many  Ameri- 
can peoples  had  such  gods,  or  had  ceremonies  suggest 
ing  their  existence  and  recognition,  or  lastly,  had 
legends  of  the  origin  or  procurement  of  the  fire  they 
daily  used  on  the  altar  or  on  the  hearth.  In  the 
Pueblos  of  New  Mexico,  and  more  especially  among 
the  Pecos,  sacred  perpetual  fires  were  kept  up  by 
special  command  of  their  traditionary  god  and  ruler 
Montezuma;  but  these  fires  were  not  regarded  as 
fetiches.15  The  Mexican  fire-god  was  known  by  the 
name  of  Xiuhtecutli,  and  by  other  names  appertaining 
to  the  different  aspects .  in  which  he  was  viewed. 
While  preserving  his  own  well-marked  identity,  he 
was  evidently  closely  related  also  to  the  sun-god. 

dieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  p.  81.  The  word  tecuili  is  of  frequent  occurrence  as  a  ter- 
mination in  the  names  of  Mexican  gods.  It  signifies  '  lord, '  and  is  written 
with  various  spellings.  I  follow  that  given  by  Molina's  Vocabulary. 

18  Ty  tor's  Prim.  Cult.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  259. 

14  Brinton's  Myths,  p.  143. 

*5  Ward,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Kept.,  1864,  p.  153. 


HOW  THE  CAHROCS  OBTAINED  FIRE.  115 

Many  and  various,  even  in  domestic  life,  were  the 
ceremonies  by  which  he  was  recognized;  the  most 
important  ritual  in  connection  with  his  service  being, 
perhaps,  the  lighting  of  the  new  fire,  with  which,  as 
we  shall  see,  the  beginning  of  every  Mexican  cycle 
was  solemnized.16 

There  are  various  fables  scattered  up  and  down 
among  the  various  tribes  regarding  the  origin  or 
rather  the  procuring  of  fire.  We  know  how  the  Qui- 
ches received  it  from  the  stamp  of  the  sandal  of  Tohil; 
how,  from  the  home  of  the  cuttle-fish,  a  deer  brought 
it  to  the  Ahts  in  a  joint  of  his  leg;  how  from  a  dis- 
tant island  the  great  Yehl  of  the  Thlinkeets  fetched 
the  brand  in  his  beak  that  filled  the  flint  and  the  fire- 
stick  with  seeds  of  eternal  fire. 

The  Cahrocs  hold  that,  when  in  the  beginning  the 
creator  Chareya  made  fire,  he  gave  it  into  the  custody  of 
two  old  hags,  lest  the  Cahrocs  should  steal  it.  The 
Cahrocs,  having  exhausted  every  means  to  procure  the 
treasure,  applied  for  help  to  their  old  friend  the  Coyote ; 
who,  having  maturely  considered  how  the  theft  might 
best  be  accomplished,  set  about  the  thing  in  this  way : 
From  the  land  of  the  Cahrocs  to  the  home  of  the  old 
women  he  stationed  a  great  company  of  animals,  at  con- 
venient distances ;  the  strongest  nearest  the  den  of  the 
old  beldames,  the  weakest  farthest  removed.  Last  of 
all,  he  hid  a  Cahroc  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  hut,  and 
having  left  the  man  precise  directions  how  to  act,  he 
trotted  up  to  the  door  and  asked  to  be  let  in  out  of  the 
cold.  Suspecting  nothing,  the  crones  gave  him  admit- 
tance ;  so  he  lay  down  in  front  of  the  fire,  and  made  him- 
self as  comfortable  as  possible,  waiting  for  the  further 
action  of  his  human  accomplice  without.  In  good 
time,  the  man  made  a  furious  attack  on  the  house,  and 
the  old  furies  rushed  out  at  once  to  drive  off  the  in- 
vader. This  was  the  Coyote's  opportunity.  Instantly 
he  seized  a  half-burnt  brand  and  fled  like  a  comet 


lGSahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  p.  16;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Tnd., 
torn,  ii.,  pp.  56-7;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist,  des  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  pp. 
491-2. 


116  PHYSICAL  MYTHS. 

down  the  trail;  and  the  two  hags,  seeing  how  they 
had  been  outwitted,  turned  after  him  in  immediate 
and  furious  chase.  It  had  gone  hard  then  with  the 
hopes  of  the  Cahrocs,  if  their  four-legged  Prometheus 
had  trusted  to  his  single  speed;  but  just  as  he  began 
to  feel  the  pace  tell  on  him,  and  just  as  the  weird 
women  thought  they  were  about  to  recover  the  brand, 
the  Cougar  relieved  him  of  it.  Great  was  the  satis- 
faction of  our  wise  Coyote,  as  he  sank  down,  clearing 
his  sooty  eyes  and  throat,  and  catching  his  breath,  to 
see  the  great  lithe  cat  leap  away  with  the  torch,  and 
the  hags  gnash  their  choppy  gums  as  they  rushed  by, 
hard  in  pursuit,  on  the  dim  trail  of  sparks.  The  Cou- 
gar passed  the  brand  to  the  Bear,  the  Bear  to  his 
neighbor,  and  so  on  to  the  end.  Down  the  long  line 
of  carriers,  the  panting  crones  plied  their  withered  old 
legs  in  vain ;  only  two  mishaps  occurring  among  all 
the  animals  that  made  up  the  file.  The  Squirrel,  last 
in  the  train  but  one,  burned  his  tail  so  badly  that  it 
curled  up  over  his  back,  and  even  scorched  the  skin 
above  his  shoulders.  Last  of  all,  the  poor  Frog,  who 
received  the  brand  when  it  had  burned  down  to  a  very 
little  piece,  hopped  along  so  heavily  that  his  pursuers 
gained  on  him,  gained  fast  and  surely.  In  vain  he 
gathered  himself  for  every  spring,  in  vain  he  stretched 
at  every  leap  till  the  jarred  muscles  cracked  again. 
He  was  caught.  The  smoke-dimmed  eyes  stood  out 
from  his  head,  his  little  heart  thumped  like  a  club 
against  the  lean  fingers  that  closed  upon  his  body — 
yet  that  wild  croak  was  not  the  croak  of  despair. 
Once  more  for  the  hope  of  the  Cahrocs!  one  more 
struggle  for  the  Coyote  that  trusted  him  in  this  great 
thing!  and  with  a  gulp  the  plucky  little  martyr  swal- 
lowed the  fire,  tore  himself  from  the  hands  that  held 
him,  leaped  into  a  river,  and  diving  deep  and  long, 
gained  his  goal ;  but  gained  it  a  mournful  wreck,  the 
handsome  tail,  which,  of  all  his  race,  only  the  tadpole 
should  ever  wear  again,  was  utterly  gone,  left,  like 
that  of  an  O'Shanter's  mare,  in  the  witch's  grasp; 
only  the  ghost  of  himself  was  left  to  spit  out  on  some 


FIRE,  THE  LIGHTNING,  AND  WIND.  117 

pieces  of  wood  the  precious  embers  preserved  at  so 
great  a  cost.  And  it  is  because  the  Frog  spat  out 
this  fire  upon  these  pieces  of  wood  that  it  can  always 
be  extracted  again  by  rubbing  them  hard  together.17 

The  Navajos  have  a  legend  as  to  the  procuring  of 
fire,  that  has  many  analogies  to  the  foregoing.  They 
tell  how,  when  they  first  gained  the  earth,  they  were 
without  fire,  and  how  the  Coyote,  the  Bat,  and  the 
Squirrel  agreed  to  procure  it  for  them.  The  object  of 
their  desire  seems  to  have  been  in  the  possession  of 
the  animals  in  general,  in  some  distant  locality.  The 
Coyote,  having  attached  pine  splinters  to  his  tail,  ran 
quickly  through  the  fire  and  fled  with  his  lighted 
prize.  Being  keenly  pursued,  however,  by  the  other 
animals,  he  soon  tired;  upon  which  the  Bat  relieved 
him,  and  dodging  and  flitting  here  and  there,  carried 
the  splinters  still  farther.  Then  the  Squirrel  came  to 
the  assistance  of  the  Bat,  and  succeeding  him  in  his 
office,  contrived  to  reach  the  hearths  of  the  Navajos 
with  the  coveted  embers.18 

The  natives  of  Mendocino  County,  California,  believe 
that  lightning  is  the  origin  of  fire,  that  a  primeval 
bolt  hurled  down  by  the  Man  Above  fell  upon  certain 
wood,  from  which,  consequently,  fire  can  always  be 
extracted  by  rubbing  two  pieces  together.19 

From  fire  let  us  turn  for  a  moment  to  wind,  whose 
phenomena,  as  might  be  expected,  have  not  been 
allowed  to  pass  wholly  unnoticed  by  the  mythologies 
with  which  we  have  to  deal.  When  we  come  to  ex- 
amine ideas  connected  with  death  and  with  the  soul  of 
man  and  its  future,  we  shall  find  the  wind,  or  the  air, 
often  in  use  as  the  best  name  and  figure  for  the  ex- 
pression of  primitive  conceptions  of  that  mysterious 
thing,  the  vital  essence  or  spirit.  The  wind,  too,  is 
often  considered  as  a  god,  or  at  least  as  the  breath  of 
a  god,  and  in  many  American  languages  the  Great 

17  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 

18  Eaton,  in  ScUoolcra/Vs  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  218-19. 

19  Powers  Porno.  MS. 


118  PHYSICAL  MYTHS. 

Spirit  and  the  Great  Wind  are  one  and  the  same  both 
in  word  and  signification.  The  name  of  the  god  Hu- 
rakan,  mentioned  in  Quiche  myths,  still  signifies  the 
Storm  in  many  a  language  strange  to  his  worshippers, 
while  in  Quiche  it  may  be  translated  Spirit,  or  swiftly 
moving  Spirit;20  and  the  name  of  the  Mexican  god 
Mixcoatl  is  said  to  be  to  this  day  the  correct  Mexican 
term  for  the  whirlwind.21 

An  interesting  point  here  arises  with  regard  to  the 
division  of  the  heavens  into  four  quarters  and  the 
naming  of  these  after  the  names  of  the  wind.  Dr 
Brinton  believes  this  fact  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  the 
sacredness  and  often  occurrence  of  the  number  four  in  so 
many  early  legends,  and  he  connects  these  four  winds 
and  their  embodiment  in  many  quaternions  of  deities, 
with  the  sacredness  of  the  cross  and  its  use  among 
widely  separated  nations,  to  whom  its  later  Christian 
signification  was  utterly  unknown.22 

If  we  may  suppose  that  the  Great  Spirit  and  the 
wind  are  often  represented  under  the  form  of  an  enor- 
mous bird,  we  must  connect  with  them,  as  their  most 
inseparable  attributes,  the  thunder  and  the  lightning ; 
the  first,  as  we  have  so  often  seen,  is  the  rustling  or 
stridor  of  the  wings  of  the  bird,  the  second  is  the 
flashing  of  his  eyes.  The  Raven  of  the  Koniagas  is 
not,  however,  as  among  most  other  tribes  of  the  great 
Northwest,  the  author  of  these  things;  but  their  prin- 
cipal deity  when  he  is  angry  sends  down  two  dwarfs, 
who  thunder  and  lighten  according  to  his  command.23 
Of  the  god  Hurakan,  whom  we  have  noticed  as  the 
etymon  of  the  word  hurricane,  the  Popol  Vuh  says : 
''The  flash  is  the  first  sign  of  Hurakan;  the  second  is 
the  furrow  of  the  flash;  the  third  is  the  thunderbolt 


29  Brasaeur  de  Bourbourg,  S'il  Existe  des  Sources  de  THist.  Prim,  du  Mex- 
ique,  p.  101. 

21  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.t  torn,  iii.,  p.  485;  Brinton  s  Myths, 
p.  51. 

22  Brinton's  Myths,  pp.  66-98. 

»  Holmberg,  Ethn.  Skiz.,  p.  141. 


WATER  AS  A  PURIFYING  ELEMENT.  119 

that  strikes;"24  and  to  the  Mexican  god  Tlaloc  are 
also  attached  the  same  three  attributes.25 

Turning  to  water,  we  find  it  regarded  among  many 
tribes  as  the  first  of  elemental  things.  It  is  from  a 
primeval  ocean  of  water  that  the  earth  is  generally 
supposed  to  come  up.  Water  is  obviously  a  first  and 
chief  nourisher  of  vegetable  life,  and  an  indispensable 
prerequisite  of  all  fertility ;  from  this  it  is  but  a  short 
step  to  saying  that  it  is  the  mother  of  those  that  live 
by  the  earth's  fertility.  "  Your  mother,  Chalchiuhtli- 
cue,  goddess  of  water,"  is  a  phrase  constantly  found  in 
the  midwife's  mouth,  in  her  address  to  the  child,  in 
the  Mexican  washing  or  baptismal  service.26 

The  use  of  water  more  or  less  sanctified  or  set  apart 
or  made  worthy  the  distinction  'holy;'  the  employ- 
ment of  this  in  a  rite  of  avowed  purification  from  in- 
herent sin  at  the  time  of  giving  a  name — baptism,  in 
one  word — runs  back  to  a  period  far  pre-Christian 
among  the  Mexican,  Maya,  and  other  American  na- 
tions, as  ancient  ceremonies  to  be  hereafter  described 
will  show.  That  man  sets  out  in  this  life-journey  of 
his  with  a  terrible  bias  toward  evil,  with  a  sad  and 
pitiful  liability  to  temptation,  is  a  point  upon  which 
all  religions  are  practically  unanimous.  How  else 
could  they  exist?  Were  man  born  perfect  he  would 
remain  perfect,  otherwise  the  first  element  of  perfection 
would  be  wanting;  and  perfection  admits  of  no  super- 
lative, no  greater,  no  god.  Where  there  is  a  religion, 
then,  there  is  generally  a  consciousness  of  sin  volun- 
tary and  involuntary.  How  shall  I  be  cleansed  ?  how 
shall  my  child  be  cleansed  from  this  great  wickedness  ? 
is  the  cry  of  the  idolater  as  well  as  of  the  monotheist. 
Is  it  strange  that  the  analogy  between  corporal  and 
spiritual  pollution  should  independently  suggest  itself 
to  both  ?  Surely  not.  Wash  and  be  clean,  is  to  all 
the  world  a  parable  needing  no  interpreter.27 

2*Ximenez,  Hist.  Ind.  Guat.,  p.  6;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,^.  9. 

"*Gama,  Dos  Piedras,  pt.  ii.,jp.  76. 

26Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  197. 

27  Singularly  apt  in  this  connection  are  the  wise  words  that  Carlyle,  Past 
and  Present  Chartism,  book  i.,  p.  233,  puts  into  th«  mouth  of  his  mythical 
friend  Sauerteig:  'Strip  thyself,  go  into  the  bath,  or  were  it  into  the  limpid 


120  PHYSICAL  MYTHS. 

The  ceremonial  use  of  water  followed  the  Mexican 
through  all  his  life ;  though  for  the  present  we  shall 
only  notice  one  more  custom  connected  with  it,  the 
last  of  all.  When  a  body  was  buried,  a  vase  of  clean, 
sweet  water  was  let  down  into  the  tomb ;  bright,  clear, 
life-giving,  and  preserving  water — hope  and  love,  dumb 
and  inarticulate,  stretching  vague  hand  toward  a  resur- 
rection. 

The  Mexican  rain  and  water  god  was  Tlaloc,  sender 
of  thunder  and  lightning,  lord  of  the  earthly  paradise, 
and  fertilizer  of  earth;  his  wife  was  the  Chalchiuhtli- 
cue,  already  mentioned.28  Like  Tlaloc  was  Quiateot, 
the  Nicaraguan  rain-god,  master  of  thunderbolts  and 
general  director  of  meteorological  phenomena.29 

The  Navajos  puffed  tobacco  smoke  straight  up 
toward  heaven  to  bring  rain,  and  those  of  them  that 
carried  a  corpse  to  burial  were  unclean  till  washed  in 
water.30  In  a  deep  and  lonely  canon  near  Fort  De- 
fiance there  is  a  spring  that  this  tribe  hold  sacred, 
approaching  it  only  with  much  reverence  and  the  per- 
formance of  certain  mystic  ceremonies.  They  say  it 
was  once  a  boiling  spring,  and  that  even  yet  if  ap- 
proached heedlessly  or  by  a  bad  Indian,  its  waters 
will  seethe  up  and  leap  forth  to  overwhelm  the  in- 
truder.31 

The  Zunis  had  also  a  sacred  spring;  sacred  to  the 
rain-god,  who,  as  we  see  by  implication,  is  Monte- 
zuma,  the  great  Pueblo  deity  himself.  No  animal 
might  taste  of  its  sacred  waters,  and  it  was  cleansed 

pool  and  running  brook,  and  there  wash  and  be  clean;  thou  wilt  step  out 
again  a  purer  and  a  better  man.  This  consciousness  of  perfect  outer  pureness, 
that  to  thy  skin  there  now  adheres  no  foreign  speck  of  imperfection,  how  it 

radiates  in  on  thee  with  cunning  symbolic  influences,  to  the  very  soul ! 

It  remains  a  religious  duty  from  oldest  time  in  the  East Even  the  dull 

English  feel  something  of  this;  they  have  a  saying,  "Cleanliness  is  near  of 
kin  to  Godliness." ' 

m  Clatfiyero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn.  ii.?  pp.  15-16.  'Era  conosciuta 
con  altri  nomi  assai  espressive,  i  quali  o  sigriificavano  i  diversi  effetti,  che 
cagionano  1'acque,  o  le  diverse  apparenze,  colori,  che  formano  col  loro  moto. 
I  Tlascallesi  la  chiamavano  Matlalcueje,  cioe,  vestita  di  gonna  turchina.' 
See  also  MiiUer,  Reisen  in  Mex.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  89. 

Z90viedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  46,  55. 

33  Ten  Broeck,  in  Schoolcrafis  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  91;  Bristol,  in  Ind.  Af. 
Kept.,  1867,  p.  358. 

11  Backus,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  213. 


THE  EARTH,  THE  SEA,  THE  SKY.  121 

annually  with  vessels  also  sacred — most  ancient  vases 
that  had  been  transmitted  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion since  times  to  which  even  tradition  went  not 
back.  These  vessels  were  kept  ranged  on  the  wall  of 
the  well.  The  frog,  the  rattlesnake,  and  the  tortoise 
were  depicted  upon  them,  and  were  sacred  to  the  great 
patron  of  the  place,  whose  terrible  lightning  should 
consume  the  sacrilegious  hand  that  touched  these 
hallowed  relics.32 

We  have  seen  how  the  Californian  tribes  believe 
themselves  descended  from  the  very  earth,  how  the 
bodiless  ancestor  of  the  Tezcucans  came  up  from  the 
soil,  how  the  Guatemaltecs,  Papagos,  and  Pimas  were 
moulded  from  the  clay  they  tread,  and  how  the  Nava- 
jos  came  to  light  from  the  bowels  of  a  great  moun- 
tain near  the  river  San  Juan.  It  seems  long  ago  and 
often  to  have  come  into  men's  mind  that  the  over- 
arching heaven  or  something  there  and  the  all-produc- 
ing earth  are,  as  it  were,  a  father  and  mother  to  all 
living  creatures.  The  Comanches  call  on  the  earth  as 
their  mother,  and  on  the  Great  Spirit  as  their  father. 
The  Mexicans  used  to  pray:  Be  pleased,  0  our  Lord, 
that  the  nobles  who  may  die  in  the  war  be  peacefully 
and  pleasingly  received  by  the  sun  and  the  earth, 
who  are  the  father  and  mother  of  all.33  It  was  prob- 
ably, again,  with  some  reference  to  the  motherly  func- 
tion of  the  earth  that  the  same  people,  when  an  earth- 
quake came,  took  their  children  by  the  head  or  hand, 
and  lifted  them  up,  saying  :  The  earthquake  will  make 
them  grow.34  Sometimes  they  specified  a  particular 
part  of  the  earth  as  closer  to  them  in  this  relation 
than  other  parts.  It  is  said  that  on  the  tenth  day 
of  the  month  Quecholli,  the  citizens  of  Mexico  and 
those  of  Tlatelolco  were  wont  to  visit  a  hill  called 
Cacatpec,  for  they  said  it  was  their  mother.35 

As  to  the  substance,  arrangement,  and  so  on  of  the 
earth  and  sky  there  remain  one  or  two  ideas  not  al- 

32  Whipple,  in  Pac.  P.  R.  Kept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  39. 
33 Sahaynn,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  43. 
ZiSahayun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  v.,  ap..  pp.  21-2 
35 Sahayun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  p.  70. 


122  PHYSICAL  MYTHS. 

ready  given  in  connection  with  the  general  creation. 
The  Tlascaltecs,  and  perhaps  others  of  the  Anahuac 
peoples,  believed  that  the  earth  was  flat,  and  ending 
with  the  sea-shore,  was  borne  up  by  certain  divinities, 
who  when  fatigued  relieved  each  other,  and  that  as  the 
burden  was  shifted  from  shoulder  to  shoulder  earth- 
quakes occurred.  The  sea  and  sky  were  considered  as 
of  one  material,  the  sea  being  more  highly  condensed; 
and  the  rain  was  thought  to  fall,  not  from  clouds,  but 
from  the  very  substance  of  heaven  itself.36  The  south- 
ern Californians  believed  that  when  the  Creator  made 
the  world  he  fixed  it  on  the  back  of  seven  giants,  whose 
movements,  as  in  the  preceding  myth,  caused  earth- 
quakes.37 The  sky,  according  to  certain  of  the  Yuca- 
tecs,  was  held  up  by  four  brothers  called  each  of  them 
Bacab,  in  addition  to  their  several  names,  which  seem 
to  have  been  Kan,  Muluc,  Ix,  and  Cauac.  These  four, 
God  had  placed  at  the  four  corners  of  the  world  when 
he  created  it,  and  they  had  escaped  when  all  else  were 
destroyed  by  flood.38 

In  the  interior  of  the  earth,  in  volcanoes,  subterra- 
nean gods  were  often  supposed  to  reside.  The  Koni- 
agas,  for  example,  held  that  the  craters  of  Alaska 
were  inhabited  by  beings  mightier  than  men,  and  that 
these  sent  forth  fire  and  smoke  when  they 'heated  their 
sweat-houses  or  cooked  their  food.39 

The  rugged  majesty  of  hills  and  mountains  has  not 
been  without  its  effect  on  the  reverential  mind  of  the 
American  aborigines.  Direct  worship  was  unusual, 
but  several  incidents  must  have  already  informed  the 
reader  that  a  kind  of  sanctity  is  often  attached  to  great 
elevations  in  nature.  A  predilection  for  hills  and 
mounds  as  landmarks  and  fanes  of  tradition,  and  as 
places  of  worship,  was  as  common  among  the  Americans 
as  among  the  people  of  the  Old  World.  The  Choles 

Z6Camargo,  Hist,  de  Tiaxcallan,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1834,  torn, 
xcviii.,  p.  192. 

37  Reid,  in  Los  Ancjeks  Star. 

38  Landa,  Rel.  de  las  Cosas  de  Yucatan,  p.  206. 
™Holmberg,  Ethn.  Skiz.,  p.  141. 


HILLS  AND  MOUNTAIN  RANGES.  123 

of  the  province  of  Itza  had  a  hill  in  their  country  that 
they  regarded  as  the  god  of  all  the  mountains,  and  on 
which  they  burned  a  perpetual  fire.40  The  Mexicans, 
praying  for  rain,  were  accustomed  to  vow  that  they 
would  make  images  of  the  mountains  if  their  petitions- 
were  favorably  received;41  and  in  other  points  con- 
nected with  their  religion,  to  show,  as  has  appeared 
and  will  appear,  both  with  them  and  with  other  peo- 
ple, their  recognition  of  a  divinity  abiding  on  or  hedg- 
ing about  the  great  peaks.  What  wonder,  indeed, 
that  to  the  rude  and  awe-struck  mind  the  everlasting 
hills  seemed  nearer  and  liker  heaven  than  the  common- 
place level  of  earth?  and  that  the  wild  man  should 
kneel  or  go  softly  there,  as  in  the  peculiar  presence  of 
the  Great  Spirit?  This  is  hardly  a  new  feeling,  it 
seems  an  instinct  and  custom  as  old  as  religion.  Where 
went  Abraham  in  that  awful  hour,  counted  to  him 
for  righteousness  through  all  the  centuries?  Where 
smoked  the  thunderings  and  lightnings  that  heralded 
the  delivery  of  the  Law,  when  the  son  of  Amram 
talked  with  Jehovah  face  to  face,  as  a  man  talketh 
with  his  friend  ?  Whence  saw  a  greater  than  Moses 
the  kingdoms  of  the  world  and  the  glory  of  them? 
whence,  in  the  all-nights  that  came  after,  did  the 
prayers  of  the  Christ  ascend?  and  where  stood  he 
when  his  raiment  became  as  no  fuller  on  earth  could 
white  it,  Moses  and  Elias  talking  with  him,  and  Peter 
so  sore  afraid? 

Where  hills  were  not  found  conveniently  situated 
for  purposes  of  worship,  they  seem  to  have  been 
counterfeited  after  man's  feeble  fashion:  from  high- 
place  and  mound,  from  pyramid  and  teocalli,  since  the 
morning  stars  sang  together,  the  smoke  of  the  altar 
and  the  censer  has  not  ceased  to  ascend.  But  the 
day  begins  to  broaden  out,  and  the  mists  of  the  morn- 
ing flee  away;  though  the  hills  be  not  lowered,  God 
is  lifted  up.  Yet  they  have  their  glory  and  their 
charm  still  even  to  us,  and  to  the  savage  they  often 

40  Villagutierre,  Eist.  Conq,  de  /tea,  pp.  151-2. 
ilSahayun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  p.  177. 


124  PHYSICAL  MYTHS. 

appear  as  the  result  of  a  special  and  several  creation. 
We  remember  how  the  Great  Spirit  made  Mount 
Shasta  as  his  only  worthy  abiding-place  on  earth;  and 
I  give  here  another  legend  of  a  much  more  trivial 
sort  than  the  first,  telling  how,  not  Mount  Shasta 
alone,  but  all  the  mountains  of  California,  were  built 
and  put  into  position:42  At  a  time  when  the  world 
was  covered  with  water  there  existed  a  Hawk  and  a 
Crow  and  a  very  small  Duck.  The  latter,  after  div- 
ing to  the  bottom  and  bringing  up  a  beakful  of  mud, 
died;  whereupon  the  Crow  and  the  Hawk  took  each 
a  half  of  the  mud  that  had  been  brought  up,  and  set 
to  work  to  make  the  mountains.  Beginning  at  a  place 
called  Teheechaypah  Pass,  they  built  northwards,  the 
Hawk  working  on  the  eastern  range  and  the  Crow 
on  the  western.  It  was  a  long  and  weary  toil,  but  in 
time  the  work  was  finished,  and  as  they  laid  the  last 
peak  the  workers  met  at  Mount  Shasta.  Then  the 
Hawk  saw  that  there  had  been  foul  play  somewhere, 
for  the  western  range  was  bigger  than  his;  and  he 
charged  the  Crow  with  stealing  some  of  his  mud.  But 
the  smart  bird  laughed  a  hoarse  guffaw  in  the  face  of 
his  eastern  brother,  not  even  taking  the  trouble  to 
disown  the  theft,  and  chuckled  hugely  over  his  own 
success  and  western  enterprise.  The  honest  Hawk 
was  at  his  wit's  end,  and  he  stood  thinking  with  his 
head  on  one  side  for  quite  a  long  time;  then  in  an  ab- 
sent kind  of  way  he  picked  up  a  leaf  of  Indian  tobacco 
and  began  to  chew,  and  wisdom  came  with  chewing. 
And  he  strengthened  himself  mightily,  and  fixed  his 
claws  in  the  mountains,  and  turned  the  whole  chain  in 
the  water  like  a  great  floating  wheel,  till  the  range  of 
his  rival  had  changed  places  with  his,  and  the  Sierra 
Nevada  was  on  the  east  and  the  Coast  Range  on  the 
west,  as  they  remain  to  this  day. 

This  legend  is  not  without  ingenuity  in  its  way,  but 
there  is  more  of  human  interest  in  the  following  pretty 

42  Poivers'  Porno,  MS.  This  is  a  tradition  of  the  Yocuts,  a  Californian 
tribe,  occupying  the  Kern  and  Tulare  basins,  the  middle  San  Joaquin,  and 
the  various  streams  running  into  Lake  Tulaie. 


TOTOKONULA  AND  TISAYAC  OF  YOSEMITE.  125 

story  of  the  Yosemite  nations,  as  to  the  origin  of  the 
names  and  present  appearance  of  certain  peaks  and 
other  natural  features  of  their  valley :  - 

A  certain  Totokonula  was  once  chief  of  the  people 
here;  a  mighty  hunter  and  a  good  husbandman,  his 
tribe  never  wanted  food  while  he  attended  to  their 
welfare.  But  a  change  came;  while  out  hunting  one 
day,  the  young  man  met  a  spirit-maid,  the  guardian 
angel  of  the  valley,  the  beautiful  Tisayac.  She  was 
not  as  the  dusky  beauties  of  his  tribe,  but  white  and 
fair,  with  rolling  yellow  tresses  that  fell  over  her 
shoulders  like  sunshine,  and  blue  eyes  with  a  light  in 
them  like  the  sky  where  the  sun  goes  down.  White, 
cloudlike  wings  were  folded  behind  her  shoulders,  and 
her  voice  was  sweeter  than  the  song  of  birds;  no  won- 
der the  strong  chief  loved  her  with  a  mad  and  instant 
love.  He  reached  toward  her,  but  the  snowy  wings 
lifted  her  above  his  sight,  and  he  stood  again  alone 
upon  the  dome  where  she  had  been. 

No  more  Totokonula  ]ed  in  the  chase  or  heeded  the 
crops  in  the  valley;  he  wandered  here  and  there  like 
a  man  distraught,  ever  seeking  that  wonderful  shining 
vision  that  had  made  all  else  on  earth  stale  and  un- 
profitable in  his  sight.  The  land  began  to  languish, 
missing  the  industrious  directing  hand  that  had  tended 
it  so  long;  the  pleasant  garden  became  a  wilderness 
where  the  drought  laid  waste,  and  the  wild  beast  spoiled 
what  was  left,  and  taught  his  cubs  to  divide  the  prey. 
When  the  fair  spirit  returned  at  last  to  visit  her  valley, 
she  wept  to  see  the  desolation,  and  she  knelt  upon  the 
dome,  praying  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  succor.  God 
heard,  and  stooping  from  his  place,  he  clove  the  dome 
upon  which  she  stood,  and  the  granite  was  riven  be- 
neath her  feet,  and  the  melted  snows  of  the  Nevada 
rushed  through  the  gorge,  bearing  fertility  upon  their 
cool  bosom.  A  beautiful  lake  was  formed  between 
the  cloven  walls  of  the  mountain,  and  a  river  issued 
from  it  to  feed  the  valley  forever.  Then  sang  the 
birds  as  of  old,  laving  their  bodies  in  the  water,  and 
the  odor  of  flowers  rose  like  a  pleasant  incense,  and 


126  PHYSICAL  MYTHS. 

the  trees  put  forth  their  buds,  and  the  corn  shot  up 
to  meet  the  sun  and  rustled  when  the  breeze  crept 
through  the  tall  stalks. 

Tisayac  moved  away  as  she  had  come,  and  none 
knew  whither  she  went;  but  the  people  called  the 
dome  by  her  name,  as  it  is  indeed  known  to  this  day. 
After  her  departure  the  chief  returned  from  his  weary 
quest;  and  as  he  heard  that  the  winged  one  had  vis- 
ited the  valley,  the  old  madness  crept  up  into  his  eyes 
and  entered,  seven  times  worse  than  at  the  first,  into 
his  empty  soul;  he  turned  his  back  on  the  lodges  of 
his  people.  His  last  act  was  to  cut  with  his  hunting- 
knife  the  outline  of  his  face  upon  a  lofty  rock,  so  that 
if  he  never  returned  his  memorial  at  least  should  re- 
main with  them  forever.  He  never  did  return  from 
that  hopeless  search,  but  the  graven  rock  was  called 
Totokonula,  after  his  name,  and  it  may  be  still  seen, 
three  thousand  feet  high,  guarding  the  entrance  of 
the  beautiful  valley.43 

Leaving  this  locality  and  subject,  I  may  remark 
that  the  natives  have  named  the  Pohono  Fall,  in  the 
same  valley,  after  an  evil  spirit;  many  persons  having 
been  swept  over  and  dashed  to  pieces  there.  No 
native  of  the  vicinity  will  so  much  as  point  at  this 
fall  when  going  through  the  valley,  nor  could  anything 
tempt  one  of  them  to  sleep  near  it;  for  the  ghosts  of 
the  drowned  are  tossing  in  its  spray,  and  their  wail  is 
heard  forever  above  the  hiss  of  its  rushing  waters.44 

*3  Hutcliings'  Gal  Mag.,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  197-9. 
"Hutdiings  Cal  Mag.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  243. 


CHAPTEE   IV. 

ANIMAL    MYTHOLOGY. 

ROLES  ASSIGNED  TO  ANIMALS — AUGURIES  FROM  THEIR  MOVEMENTS — THE 
ILL-OMENED  OWL  —  TUTELARY  ANIMALS — METAMORPHOSED  MEN — THE 
OGRESS-SQUIRREL  OF  VANCOUVER  ISLAND — MONKEYS  AND  BEAVERS — 
FALLEN  MEN — THE  SACRED  ANIMALS — PROMINENCE  OF  THE  BIRD — AN 
EMBLEM  OF  THE  WIND— THE  SERPENT,  AN  EMBLEM  OF  THE  LIGHTNING — 
NOT  SPECIALLY  CONNECTED  WITH  EVIL — THE  SERPENT  OF  THE  PUEBLOS 
— THE  WATER-SNAKE—OPHIOLATRY — PROMINENCE  OF  THE  DOG,  OR  THE 
COYOTE — GENERALLY,  THOUGH  NOT  ALWAYS,  A  BENEVOLENT  POWER — 
How  THE  COYOTE  LET  SALMON  UP  THE  KLAMATH — DANSE  MACABRE  AND 
SAD  DEATH  OF  THE  COYOTE. 

THE  reader  must  have  already  noticed  the  strange 
roles  filled  by  animals  in  the  creeds  of  the  Native 
Races  of  the  Pacific  States.  Beasts  and  birds  and 
fishes  fetch  and  carry,  talk  and  act,  in  a  way  that 
leaves  even  ^Esop's  heroes  in  the  shade ;  while  a  mys- 
terious and  inexplicable  influence  over  human  destiny 
is  often  accorded  to  them.  It  is,  of  course,  impossible 
to  say  precisely  how  much  of  all  this  is  metaphorical, 
and  how  much  is  held  as  soberly  and  literally  true. 
Probably  the  proportion  varies  all  the  way  from  one 
extreme  to  the  other  among  different  nations,  and 
among  peoples  of  different  stages  of  culture  in  the 
same  nation.  They  spake  only  in  part,  these  priests 
and  prophets  of  barbaric  cults,  and  we  can  understand 
only  in  part;  we  cannot  solve  the  dark  riddle  of  the 
past ;  we  can  oftenest  only  repeat  it,  and  even  that  in 
a  more  or  less  imperfect  manner. 

The  Mexicans  had  their  official  augurs  and  sooth- 
cm) 


128  ANIMAL  MYTHOLOGY. 

sayers,  who  divined  much  as  did  their  brethren  of 
classic  times.  The  people  also  drew  omen  and  presage 
from  many  things:  from  the  howling  of  wild  beasts  at 
night;  the  singing  of  certain  birds;  the  hooting  of 
the  owl ;  a  weasel  crossing  a  traveller's  path ;  a  rabbit 
running  into  its  burrow;  from  the  chance  movements 
of  worms,  beetles,  ants,  frogs,  and  mice ;  and  so  on  in 
detail.1 

The  owl  seems  to  have  been  in  many  places  consid- 
ered a  bird  of  ill  omen.  Among  all  the  tribes  visited 
by  Mr  Lord,  from  the  Fraser  River  to  the  Saint  Law- 
rence, this  bird  was  portentously  sacred,  and  was  a 
favorite  decoration  of  the  medicine-men.  To  come  on 
an  owl  at  an  unusual  time,  in  daylight,  for  example, 
and  to  hear  its  mystic  cry,  were  things  not  desirable  of 
any  that  loved  fulness  of  pleasure  and  length  of  days.2 
In  California,  by  the  tribes  on  the  Russian  River, 
owls  were  held  to  be  devils  or  evil  spirits  incarnate.3 

We  often  find  an  animal  adopted  in  much  the  same 
way  as  a  patron  saint  was  selected  by  the  mediaeval 
knight.  The  Hyperborean  lad,  for  example,  when  he 
reaches  manhood,  takes  some  beast  or  fish  or  bird  to 
be  his  patron,  and  the  spirit  connected  with  that  ani- 
mal is  supposed  to  guard  him.  Unlike  most  Indians, 
the  Eskimo  will  have  no  hesitation  in  killing  an  ani- 
mal of  his  tutelary  species;  he  is  only  careful  to  wear 
a  piece  of  its  skin  or  bone,  which  he  regards  as  an 
amulet,  which  it  w^ere  to  him  a  serious  misfortune  to 
lose.  Prolonged  ill  luck  sometimes  leads  a  man  to 
change  his  patron  beast  for  another.  The  spirits  con- 
nected with  the  deer,  the  seal,  the  salmon,  and  the 
beluga  are  regarded  by  all  with  special  veneration.4 

The  Mexicans  used  to  allot  certain  animals  to  cer- 
tain parts  of  the  body ;  perhaps  in  much  the  same  way 
as  astrologers  and  alchemists  used  to  connect  the  stars 
of  heaven  with  different  substances  and  persons.  The 
following  twenty  Mexican  symbols  were  supposed  to 

lSahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  v.,  pp.  1-14,  ap.  pp.  25-6. 

2  Lord's  Naturalist  in  Vancouver  Island,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  32-4. 

3  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 

4 Daft*  Alaska,  p.  145. 


THE   HUMANITY   OF  ANIMALS.  129 

rule  over  the  various  members  of  the  human  body : 
The  sign  of  the  deer,  over  the  right  foot;  of  the  tiger, 
over  the  left  foot;  of  the  eagle,  over  the  right  hand; 
of  the  monkey,  over  the  left  hand;  of  death — repre- 
sented by  a  skull — over  the  skull;  of  water,  over  the 
hair;  of  the  house,  over  the  brow;  of  rain,  over  the 
eyes;  of  the  dog,  over  the  nose;  of  the  vulture,  over 
the  right  ear;  of  the  rabbit,  over  the  left  ear;  of  the 
earthquake,  over  the  tongue ;  of  flint,  over  the  teeth  ; 
of  air,  over  the  breath ;  of  the  rose,  over  the  breast ; 
of  the  cane,  over  the  heart;  of  wind,  over  the  lungs— 
as  appears  from  the  plate  in  the  Codex  Vaticanus,  the 
Italian  interpreter  giving,  however,  "over  the  liver;" 
of  the  grass,  over  the  intestines;  of  the  lizard,  over 
the  loins ;  and  of  the  serpent,  over  the  genitals.5 

Sometimes  the  whole  life  and  being  of  a  man  was 
supposed  to  be  bound  up  in  the  bundle  with  that  of 
some  animal.  Thus,  of  the  Guatemaltecs,  old  Gage 
quaintly  enough  writes:  "Many  are  deluded  by  the 
Devil  to  believe  that  their  life  dependeth  upon  the 
life  of  such  and  such  a  beast  (which  they  take  unto 
them  as  their  familiar  spirit),  and  think  that  when  that 
beast  dieth  they  must  die;  when  he  is  chased  their 
hearts  pant;  when  he  is  faint  they  are  faint;  nay,  it 
happeneth  that  by  the  devil's  delusion  they  appear  in 
the  shape  of  that  beast."6 

Animals  are  sometimes  only  men  in  disguise;  and 
this  is  the  idea  often  to  be  found  at  the  bottom  of  that 
sacredness  which  among  particular  tribes  is  ascribed 
to  particular  animals. 

The  Thlinkeet  will  kill  a  bear  only  in  case  of  great 
necessity,  for  the  bear  is  supposed  to  be  a  man  that 
has  taken  the  shape  of  an  animal  We  do  not  know 
if  they  think  the  same  of  the  albatross,  but  they  cer- 

a  Codex  Vaticanus  (Mex.),  in  Kingsborougti s  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  ii.,  plate  75; 
Spiegazimie  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano),  in  Kingsborouyh's 
Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  197,  tav.  Ixxv.;  Explanation  of  the  Codex  Vaticanus,  in 
Kinysborouytis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  222-3,  plate  Ixxv.  It  will  be  seen 
that  I  have  trusted  more  to  the  plate  itself  than  to  the  Italian  explanation. 
As  to  Kingsborough's  translation  of  that  explanation,  it  is  nothing  but  a  gloss 
with  additions  to  and  omissions  from  the  original. 

6 Gage's  New  Survey,  p.  334. 
VOL.  III.    9 


130  ANIMAL   MYTHOLOGY. 

tainly  will  not  kill  this  bird,  believing,  like  mariners 
ancient  and  modern,  that  such  a  misdeed  would  be 
followed  by  bad  weather.7  t 

Among  the  natives  seen  by  Mr  Lord  on  Vancouver 
Island,  ill  luck  is  supposed  to  attend  the  profane  kill- 
ing of  the  ogress-squirrel,  and  the  conjurers  wear  its 
skin  as  a  strong  charm  among  their  other  trumpery. 
As  tradition  tells,  there  once  lived  there  a  monstrous 
old  woman  with  wolfish  teeth,  and  finger-nails  like 
claws.  She  ate  children,  this  old  hag,  wiling  them  to 
her  with  cunning  and  oily  words,  and  many  were  the 
broken  hearts  and  empty  cradles  that  she  left.  One 
poor  Rachel,  weeping  for  her  child,  and  not  to  be  com- 
forted because  it  was  not,  cries  aloud:  "0  Great 
Spirit,  Great  Medicine,  save  my  son,  in  any  way,  in 
any  form!"  And  the  great,  good  Father,  looking 
down  upon  the  red  mother  pities  her;  lo,  the  child's 
soft  brown  skin  turns  to  fur,  and  there  slides  from  the 
ogress's  grip  no  child,  but  the  happiest,  liveliest,  mer- 
riest, little  squirrel  of.all  the  west — but  bearing,  as  its 
descendants  still  bear,  those  four  dark  lines  along  the 
back  that  show  where  the  cruel  claws  ploughed  into 
it  escaping.8 

Where  monkeys  are  found,  the  idea  seems  often  to 
have  occurred  to  men  to  account  for  the  resemblance 
of  the  monkey  to  the  man  by  making  of  the  first  a 
fallen  or  changed  form  of  the  latter.  We  have  already 
seen  how  the  third  Quiche  destruction  of  the  human 
race  terminated  thus ;  and  how  the  hurricane-ended 
Sun  of  the  Air  in  Mexican  mythology  also  left  men 
in  the  apish  state.  The  intelligence  of  beavers  may 
have  been  the  means  of  winning  them  a  similar  dis- 
tinction. The  Flathead  says  these  animals  are  a  fallen 
race  of  Indians,  condemned  for  their  wickedness  to 
this  form,  but  who  will  yet,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  be 
restored  to  their  humanity.0 

As  we  shall  see  more  particularly,  when  we  come  to 

7  Holmberg,  Ellin.  Skiz.,  p.  30. 
*  Lord's  Nat.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  52-4. 
9 Cox's  Advfn.t  vol.  i.,  p.  253. 


SACREDNESS   OF   CERTAIN   BRUTES.  131 

deal  with  the  question  of  the  future  life,  it  was  a  com- 
mon idea  that  the  soul  of  the  dead  took  an  animal 
shape,  sometimes  inhabiting  another  world,  sometimes 
this.  The  Thlinkeets,  for  example,  believed  that  their 
shamans  used  to  have  interviews  with  certain  spirits 
of  the  dead  that  appeared  to  them  in  two  forms,  some 
as  land  animals,  some  as  marine.10 

The  Californians  round  San  Diego  will  not  eat  the 
flesh"  of  large  game,  believing  such  animals  are  inhab- 
ited by  the  souls  of  generations  of  people  that  have 
died  ages  ago ;  '  eater  of  venison '  is  a  term  of  reproach 
among  them.11 

The  Pimos  and  Maricopas  had,  if  Bartlett's  account 
be  correct,  some  curious  and  unusual  ideas  regarding 
their  future  state;  saying  that  the  several  parts  of 
the  body  should  be  changed  into  separate  animals;  the 
head  would  perhaps  take  the  form  of  an  owl,  the  feet 
become  wolves,  and  so  on.12  The  Moquis  supposed 
that  at  death  they  should  be  severally  changed  into 
animals — bears,  deer,  and  such  beasts;  which  indeed, 
as  we  have  already  seen,  they  believed  to  have  been 
their  original  form.13 

Different  reasons  are  given  by  different  tribes  for 
holding  certain  animals  sacred;  some  of  these  we  have 
already  had  occasion  to  notice.  Somewhat  different 
from  most,  however,  is  that  given  by  the  Northern- 
Indian  branch  of  the  Tinneh,  for  not  eating  the  flesh 
of  foxes,  wolves,  ravens,  and  so  on.  This  tribe  are 
accustomed  to  abandon  the  bodies  of  their  dead  wher- 
ever they  happen  to  fall,  leaving  them  to  the  maws 
of  kites  or  of  any  other  animals  of  prey  in  the  neigh- 
borhood; therefore  nothing  but  the  extremest  neces- 
sity can  force  any  member  of  the  nation  to  make  use 
of  such  animals  as  food.u 

Certain  natives  of  Guatemala  in  the  province  of 
A.caldn,  called  by  Villagutierre  Mazotecas,  kept  deer 

{*  DaUs  Alaska,  pp.  422-3. 

n  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  215. 

^Bartlett's  Pers.  Nar.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  222. 

13  Ten  Broeck,  in  Schooler aft's  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  86. 

14  Hearne's  Journey,  p.  341. 


132  ANIMAL  MYTHOLOGY. 

in  so  tame  a  state  that  they  were  easily  killed  4  by 
the  least  active  soldiers.  These  deer  were  held  as 
sacred  by  the  inhabitants;  for  tradition  told  them 
that  their  greatest  god  had  visited  them  in  this  fig- 
ure.15 The  Apaches  greatly  respect  the  bear,  neither 
killing  him  nor  tasting  his  flesh.  They  think  that 
there  are  spirits  of  divine  origin  within  or  connected 
with  the  eagle,  the  owl,  and  all  birds  perfectly  white. 
Swine  they  hold  to  be  wholly  unclean.16  Some  ani- 
mals are  sacred  to  particular  gods:  with  the  Zunis, 
the  frog,  the  turtle,  and  the  rattlesnake  were  either 
considered  as  specially  under  the  protection  of  Monte- 
zuma — here  considered  as  the  god  of  rain — or  they 
were  themselves  the  lesser  divinities  of  water.1' 

It  is  sometimes  necessary  to  guard  against  being 
misled  by  names.  Thus  the  natives  of  Nicaragua  had 
gods  whose  name  was  that  of  a  rabbit  or  a  deer ;  yet 
these  animals  were  not  considered  as  gods.  The  iden- 
tity of  name  went  only  to  say  that  such  arid  such 
were  the  gods  to  be  invoked  in  hunting  such  and  such 
animals.18 

The  reader  must  have  already  noticed  how  impor- 
tant is  the  part  assigned  to  birds  in  our  mythology, 
especially  in  creation-myths.  A  great  bird  is  the 
agent  of  the  chief  deity,  perhaps  the  chief  deity  him- 
self. The  sweep  of  his  wings  is  thunder;  the  light- 
nings are  the  glances  of  his  eyes.19  Chipewyans, 
Thlinkeets,  Atnas,  Koltschanes,  Kenai,  and  other 
nations  give  this  being  great  prominence  in  their 
legends. 

Brinton  believes  this  bird  to  be  the  emblem  of  the 
wind,  to  be  "a  relic  of  the  cosmogonal  myth  which 

15  ViUagutfave,  Hist.  Canq.  Itza,  p.  43. 

™Charlton,  in  Sckookraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  209. 

™Whipple,  Ewbank,  and  Turners  Rept.,  pp.  39-40,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept., 
vol.  iii. 

l*0viedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  54-5. 

19  Swinburne,  Anactoria,  has  found  an  allied  idea  worthy  of  his  sublime 
verse: 

'  Cast  forth  of  heaven,  with  feet  of  awful  gold. 
And  plumeless  wings  that  make  the  bright  air  blind, 
Lightning,  with  thunder  for  a  hound  behind, 
Hunting  through  fields  unfurrowecl  and  unsown.' 


THE  WIND  OR  THUNDER  BIRD.  133 

explained  the  origin  of  the  world  from  the  action  of 
the  winds,  under  the  image  of  the  bird,  on  the  prime- 
val ocean;"20  and  his  view  is  probably  correct  in  many 
cases. 

The  savage  is  ever  ready  to  be  smitten  by  natural 
powers.  Ignorant  and  agape  with  wonder,  is  it  unnat- 
ural that  he  should  regard  with  a  superstitious  awe 
and  respect  the  higher  and  more  peculiar  animal  gifts, 
relating  them  to  like  physical  powers,  and  managing 
to  mix  and  confuse  the  whole  by  a  strange  synthesis  of 
philosophy  ?  Birds  flew,  the  winds  flew ;  the  birds  were 
of  the  kith  of  the  winds,  and  the  winds  were  of  the  kin 
of  the  gods  who  are  over  all.  Poor,  weary,  painted 
man,  who  could  only  toil  dustily  along,  foot-sore,  and 
perhaps  heart-sore,  with  strange  longings  that  venison 
and  bear-meat  could  not  satisfy — was  it  very  wonderful 
if  the  throbbing  music  and  upward  flight  of  the  clear- 
throated  and  swift- winged  were  to  him  very  mysterious, 
and  sacred  things  ?  "  All  living  beings,"  say  the  north- 
eastern Eskimos,  "have  the  faculty  of  soul,  but  espe- 
cially the  bird."  From  the  flight  and  song  of  birds, 
the  Mexican  divined  and  shadowed  forth  the  unborn 
shapes  of  the  to-come.  He  died,  too,  if  he  died  in  an 
odor  of  warlike  sanctity,  in  the  strong  faith  that  his 
soul  should  ultimately  take  the  form  of  a  bird  and 

™Brinton's  Myths,  p.  205.     The  Norse  belief  is  akin  to  this: 
*  The  giant  Hrsuelgur, 
At  the  end  of  heaven, 
Sits  in  an  eagle's  form; 
'Tis  said  that  from  his  wings 
The  cold  winds  sweep 
Over  all  the  nations.' 

Vafthrudvers  maal;  Grenville  Pigott's  translation,  in  Scandinavian  Mythology, 
p.  27. 

Scott,  Pirate,  chap,  v.,  in  the  'Song  of  the  Tempest,'  which  he  translates 
from  Norna's  mouth,  shows  that  the  same  idea  is  still  found  in  the  Shetland 
Islands: 

'  Stern  eagle  of  the  far  north-west, 
Thou  that  bearest  in  thy  grasp  the  thunderbolt, 
Thou  whose  rushing  pinions  stir  ocean  to  madness, 
Cease  thou  the  waving  of  thy  pinions, 
Let  the  ocean  repose  in  her  dark  strength; 
Cease  thou  the  flashing  of  thine  eyes, 
Let  the  thunderbolt  sleep  in  the  armory  of  Odin. ' 


134  ANIMAL  MYTHOLOGY. 

twitter  through  the  ages  in  the  purple  shadows  of  the 
trees  of  paradise.21 

The  Kailtas  on  the  south  fork  of  the  Trinity  in  Cali- 
fornia, though  they  do  not  turn  the  soul  into  a  bird, 
do  say  that  as  it  leaves  the  body  a  little  bird  carries  it 
up  to  the  spirit-land.22 

The  Spaniards  of  Vizcaino's  expedition,  in  1602, 
found  the  Californians  of  Santa  Catalina  Island  ven- 
erating two  great  black  crows,  which,  according  to 
Senor  Galan,  were  probably  a  species  of  bird  known 
in  Mexico  as  rey  de  los  zopilotes,  or  king  of  turkey- 
buzzards  ;  he  adding  that  these  birds  are  still  the  ob- 
jects of  respect  and  devotion  among  most  California!! 
tribes.23 

As  another  symbol,  sign,  or  type  of  the  supernat- 
ural, the  serpent  would  naturally  suggest  itself  at  an 
early  date  to  man.  Its  stealthy,  subtle,  sinuous  motion, 
the  glittering  fascination  of  its  eyes,  the  silent  deathly 
thrust  of  its  channelled  fangs — what  marvel  if  the 
foolishest  of  men,  like  the  wisest  of  kings,  should  say, 
"I  know  it  not;  it  is  a  thing  too  wonderful  for  me?" 
It  seems  to  be  immortal :  every  spring-time  it  cast  off 
and  crept  from  its  former  skin,  a  crawling  unburnt 
phoenix,  a  new  animal. 

Schwartz,  of  Berlin,  affirms,  from  deep  researcli  in 
Greek  and  German  mythology,  that  the  paramount 
germinal  idea  in  this  wide-spread  serpent-emblem  is 
the  lightning,  and  Dr  Brinton  develops  the  same  opin- 
ion at  some  length.24 

Tlaloc,  the  Aztec  rain-god,  held  in  his  hand  a  ser- 
pent-shaped piece  of  gold  representing  most  probably 
the  lightning.  Hurakan,  of  the  Quiche  legends,  is 

21  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p.  265;  Clawgero,  Storia  Ant.  del 
Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  5. 

22  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 


23  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  toin.  i.,  p.  713.      'The  entire  tribes  of  the 
lifomian  Indiania  [sic]  appear  to  have  had  a  great  devotion  and  venera- 
tion for  the  Condor,  or  Yellow-headed  Vulture.'  Taylor,  in  Col.  Farmer,  May 


25,   1860.     'Cathartes   Calif ornianus,  the   largest   rapacious   bird    of  North 
America.'  Baird's  Birds  of  N.  Am.,  p.  5.      'This  bird  is  an  object  of  great 
veneration  or  worship  among  the  Indian  tribes  of  every  portion  of  the  state.  * 
Jteid,  in  Los  Angeles  Star. 
24  Brinton  s  Myths,  p.  112. 


THE  CROSS   AND   THE  FOUR  WINDS.  135 


otherwise  the  Strong  Serpent,  he  who  hurls  below,  re- 
ferring in  all  likelihood  to  storm  powers  as  thunderer.25 
This  view  being  accepted,  the  lightning-serpent  is  the 
type  of  fruitfulness;  the  thunder  storm  being  insep- 
arably joined  with  the  thick,  fertilizing  summer  show- 
ers.26 Born,  too,  in  the  middle  heaven,  of  a  cloud 
mother  and  of  an  Ixion  upon  whom  science  cannot  yet 
place  her  finger,  amid  moaning  breeze  and  threatening 
tempest,  the  lightning  is  surely  also  akin  to  the  wind 
and  to  the  bird  that  is  their  symbol.  The  amalgama- 
tion of  these  powers  in  one  deity  seems  to  be  what  is 
indicated  by  such  names  as  Quetzalcoatl,  Gucumatz, 
Cukulcan,  all  titles  of  the  God  of  the  Air  in  different 
American  languages,  and  all  signifying  'Bird  Serpent/ 

In  a  tablet  on  the  wall  of  a  room  at  Palenque  is  a 
cross  surmounted  by  a  bird,  and  supported  by  what 
appears  to  be  the  head  of  a  serpent.  "  The  cross,"  says 
Brinton,  "  is  the  symbol  of  the  four  winds;  the  bird 
and  serpent,  the  rebus  of  the  air  god,  their  ruler." 

It  does  not  appear  that  savages  attach  any  special 
significance  of  evil  to  the  snake,  though  the  prepos- 
sessions of  early  writers  almost  invariably  blind  them 
on  this  point.27  This  rule  is  not  without  its  exceptions, 
however;  the  Apaches  hold  that  every  rattlesnake 
contains  the  soul  of  a  bad  man  or  is  an  emissary  of  the 
Evil  Spirit.28  The  Piutes  of  Nevada  have  a  demon- 
deity  in  the  form  of  a  serpent  still  supposed  to  exist 
in  the  waters  of  Pyramid  La'ke.  The  wind  when  it 
sweeps  down  among  the  nine  islands  of  the  lake 
drives  the  waters  into  the  most  fantastic  swirls  and 
eddies,  even  when  the  general  surface  of  the  lake  is 
tolerably  placid.  This,  say  the  Piutes,  is  the  devil- 
snake  causing  the  deep  to  boil  like  a  pot;  this  is  the 
old  serpent  seeking  whom  he  may  devour;  and  no 
native  in  possession  of  his  five  sober  wits  will  be 


20  Torquemcula,  J/om'/v/.  I  ml.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  46-71;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del 
Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  14-15;  Garna,  DOS  Piedras,  pt.  ii.,  pp.  76-7. 
*6  Mullei'j  Amenkanische  Urrdigionen,  p.  500. 
27  TylwsPrim.  Cult.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  217. 
'2SCfiarlton,  iu  Schookraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  209. 


136  ANIMAL  MYTHOLOGY. 

found  steering  toward  those  troubled  waters  at  such  a 
time.29 

In  the  Pueblo  cities,  among  the  Pecos  especially, 
there  existed  in  early  times  an  immense  serpent,  sup- 
posed to  be  sacred,  and  which,  according  to  some 
accounts,  was  fed  with  the  flesh  of  his  devotees.  Gregg 
heard  an  *  honest  ranchero'  relate  how,  one  snowy 
morning,  he  had  come  upon  this  terrible  reptile's  trail, 
"large  as  that  of  a  dragging  ox;"  the  ranchero  did 
not  pursue  the  investigation  further,  not  obtruding  his 
science,  such  as  it  was,  upon  his  religion.  This  ser- 
pent was  supposed  to  be  specially  connected  with 
Montezuma,  and  with  rain  phenomena;  it  is  often 
called  "the  great  water-snake."  It  was  described  to 
Whip  pie  "as  being  as  large  round  as  a  man's  body; 
and  of  exceeding  great  length,  slowly  gliding  upon 
the  water,  with  long  wavy  folds,"  like  the  Nahant  sea- 
serpent — to  Mollhausen,  as  being  a  great  rattlesnake, 
possessor  of  power  over  seas,  lakes,  rivers,  and  rain; 
as  thick  as  many  men  put  together,  and  much  longer 
than  all  the  snakes  in  the  world;  moving  in  great 
curves  and  destroying  wicked  men.  The  Pueblo  In- 
dians prayed  to  it  for  rain,  and  revered  its  mysterious 
powers.30 

A  people,  called  by  Castafieda  Tahus,  apparently  of 
Sinaloa  in  the  neighborhood  of  Culiacan,  regarded 
certain  large  serpents  with  sentiments  of  great  ven- 
eration, if  not  of  worship.31  These  reptiles  seem  also 
to  have  been  regarded  with  considerable  reverence  in 
Yucatan.  In  1517,  Bernal  Diaz  noticed  many  figures 
of  serpents  in  a  temple  he  saw  at  Campeche.  Juan 
de  Grijalva,  also,  found  at  the  same  time  many  such 

29  Virginia  City  Chronicle,  in  S.  F.  Daily  Evg  Post,  of  Aug.  12,  1872. 

36  Gregg's  Com.  Prairies,  vol.  i.,  pp.  271-2;  WMpple,  Ewbank,  and  Turner's 
Re.pt.,  pp.  38-9,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  in.;  Mollhausen,  Tagebuch,  p.  170; 
Domenedis  Deserts,  vol.  i.,  pp.  164-5.  Certain  later  travellers  deny  all  the 
foregoing  as  *  fiction  and  fable; '  meaning,  probably,  that  they  saw  nothing  of 
it,  or  that  it  does  not  exist  at  present.  Wand,  in  2nd.  A/.  Rept.,  1864,  p.  193; 
Meline's  Two  Tluwsand  Miles,  p.  256. 

31  Castaneda,  Voy.  de  Cibola,  in  Ternaux-Compans,  Voyages,  serie  i.,  torn, 
ix.,  p.  150. 


THE  DOG  OR  AMERICAN  MYTHOLOGY.  137 

figures  at  Champoton,  among  other  idols  of  clay  and 
wood.32 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  Mexican  Tlaloc  and 
of  the  frequent  appearance  of  the  serpent  in  his  wor- 
ship; it  does  not  appear,  however,  notwithstanding 
Mr  Squier's  assertion  to  the  contrary,  that  the  ser- 
pent was  actually  worshipped  either  in  Yucatan  or 
Mexico.  Bernal  Diaz,  indeed,  says  positively  in  one 
passage,  speaking  of  a  town  called  Tenayuca,  that 
"they  worshipped  here,  in  their  chief  temple,  three 
serpents;"  but  the  stout  soldier  was  not  one  to  make 
fine  distinctions  between  gods  and  their  attributes  or 
symbols;  nor,  even  with  the  best  intentions,  was  he 
or  any  other  of  the  conquistadores  in  a  position  to  do 
justice  to  the  faith  of  'gentiles.'31 

We  shall  hereafter  find  the  serpent  closely  con- 
nected with  Quetzalcoatl  in  many  of  his  manifesta- 
tions, as  well  as  with  others  of  the  Mexican  gods. 

From  the  serpent,  let  us  turn  to  the  dog,  with  his 
relations  the  wolf  and  coyote,  an  animal  holding  a 
respectable  place  in  American  mythology.  We  have 
seen  how  many  tribes  derive,  figuratively  or  literally, 
their  origin  from  him,  and  how  often  he  becomes 
legendarily  important  as  the  hero  of  some  adventure 
or  the  agent  of  some  deity.  He  is  generally  brought 
before  us  in  a  rather  benevolent  aspect,  though  an 
exception  occurs  to  this  in  the  case  of  the  Chinooks 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  With  these,  the  coy- 
ote figures  as  the  chosen  medium  for  the  action  of  the 
Evil  Spirit  toward  any  given  malevolent  end — as  the 
form  taken  by  the  Evil  One  to  counteract  some  benefi- 
cence .of  the  Good  Spirit  toward  the  poor  Indian  whom 
he  loves.34 

Very  different  from  this  is  the  character  of  that 
Coyote  of  the  Cahrocs  whose  good  deeds  we  have  so 
often  had  occasion  to  set  forth.  One  feat  of  his  yet 

^Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Conq.,  fol.  3,  8. 

33  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Conq.,  fol.  136;  Scltoolcraffs  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  105. 

2*  Lord's  Nat,.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  218. 


138  ANIMAL  MYTHOLOGY. 

remains  to  be  told — Low  he  stocked  the  river  with 
salmon.  Chareya,  the  creator,  had  made  salmon,  but 
he  had  put  them  in  the  big-water,  and  made  a  great 
fish-darn  at  the  mouth  of  the  Klarnath,  so  that  they 
could  not  go  up ;  and  this  dam  was  closed  with  some- 
thing of  the  nature  of  a  white  man's  key,  which  key 
was  given  in  charge  to  two  old  hags,  not  wholly  unfa- 
miliar to  us,  to  keep  and  watch  over  it  night  and  day, 
so  that  no  Cahroc  should  get  near  it.  Now,  fish  being 
wanting  to  the  Cahrocs,  they  were  sorely  pushed  by 
hunger,  and  the  voice  of  women  and  little  children 
was  heard  imploring  food.  The  Coyote  determined  to 
help  them ;  he  swore  by  the  stool  of  Chareya  that 
before  another  moon  their  lodges  should  drip  with  sal- 
mon, and  the  very  dogs  be  satisfied  withal.  ,  So  he 
travelled  down  the  Klamath  many  days'  journey  till 
he  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  saw  the  big- 
water  and  heard  the  thunder  of  its  waves.  Up  hu 
went  to  the  hut  of  the  old  women,  rapped,  and  asked 
hospitality  for  the  night;  and  he  was  so  polite  and 
debonair  that  the  crones  could  find  no  excuse  for  refus- 
ing him.  He  entered  the  place  and  threw  himself 
down  by  the  fire,  warming  himself  while  they  prepared 
salmon  for  supper,  which  they  ate  without  offering 
him  a  bite.  All  night  long  he  lay  by  the  fire  pretend- 
ing to  sleep,  but  thinking  over  his  plans  and  waiting 
for  the  event  that  should  put  him  in  possession  of  the 
mighty  key  that  he  saw  hanging  so  high  above  his 
reach.  In  the  morning,  one  of  the  hags  took  down 
the  key  and  started  off  toward  the  dam  to  get  some 
fish  for  breakfast.  Like  a  flash  the  Coyote  leaped  at 
her,  hurling  himself  between  her  feet;  heels  over  head 
she  pitched,  and  the  key  flew  far  from  her  hands. 
Before  she  well  knew  what  had  hurt  her,  the  Coyote 
stood  at  the  dam  with  the  key  in  his  teeth,  wrenching 
at  the  fastenings.  They  gave  way ;  and  with  a  great 
roar  the  green  water  raced  through,  all  ashine  with 
salmon,  utterly  destroying  and  breaking  down  the 
dam,  so  that  ever  after  fish  found  free  way  up  the 
Klamath. 


COYOTES  MUST  NOT  DANCE  WITH   ST^RS.  139 

The  end  of  the  poor  Coyote  was  rather  sad,  consid- 
ering his  kindness  of  heart  and  the  many  services  he 
had  rendered  the  Cahrocs.  Like  too  many  great  per- 
sonages, he  grew  proud  and  puffed  up  with  the  adula- 
tion of  flatterers  and  sycophants — proud  of  his  courage 
and  cunning,  and  of  the  success  that  had  crowned  his 
great  enterprises  for  the  good  of  mankind — proud  that 
he  had  twice  deceived  and  outwitted  the  guardian 
hags  to  whom  Chareya  had  intrusted  the  fire  and  the 
salmon — so  proud  that  he  determined  to  have  a  dance 
through  heaven  itself,  having  chosen  as  his  partner  a 
certain  star  that  used  to  pass  quite  close  by  a  moun- 
tain where  he  spent  a  good  deal  of  his  time.  So  he 
called  out  to  the  star  to  take  him  by  the  'paw  and  they 
would  go  round  the  world  together  for  a  night;  but 
the  ^tar  only  laughed,  and  winked  in  an  excessively 
provoking  way  from  time  to  time.  The  Coyote  per- 
sisted angrily  in  his  demand,  and  barked  and  barked 
at  the  star  all  round  heaven,  till  the  twinkling  thing 
grew  tired  of  his  noise,  and  told  him  to  be  quiet  and 
he  should  be  taken  next  night.  Next  night  the  star 
came  up  quite  close  to  the  cliff  where  the  Coyote  stood, 
who  leaping  was  able  to  catch  on.  Away  they  danced 
together  through  the  blue  heavens.  Fine  sport  it 
was  for  a  while ;  but  oh !  it  grew  bitter  cold  up  there 
for  a  Coyote  of  the  earth,  and  it  was  an  awful  sight 
to  look  down  to  where  the  broad  Klamath  lay  like  a 
slack  bowstring  and  the  Cahroc  villages  like  arrow- 
heads. Woe  for  the  Coyote!  his  numb  paws  have 
slipped  their  hold  on  his  bright  companion ;  dark  is 
the  partner  that  leads  the  dance  now.  and  the  name 
of  him  is  Death.  Ten  long  snows  the  Coyote  is  in 
falling,  and  when  he  strikes  the  earth  he  is  "  smashed 
as  flat  as  a  willow-mat." — Coyotes  must  not  dance 
with  stars.35 

34 Powers'  Porno,  MS.;  Boscana,  in  Robinsons  Life  in  CaL,  pp.  259-62, 
describes  certain  other  Californians  as  worshipping  for  their  chief  god  some- 
thing in  the  form  of  a  stuffed  coyote. 


CHAPTER  V. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,   AND  WORSHIP. 

ESKIMO  WJTCHCRAFT— THE  TINNEH  AND  THE  KONIAGAS — KUGANS  OF  THE 
ALEUTS — THE  THLINKEETS,  THE  HAIDAHS,  AND  THE  NOOTKAS — PARA- 
DISE LOST  or  THE  OKANAGANS — THE  SALISH,  THE  CLALLAMS,  THE 
CHINOOKS,  THE  CAYUSES,  THE  WALLA  WALLAS,  AND  THE  NEZ  PER- 
CES — SHOSHONE  GHOULS — NORTHERN  CALIFORNIA — THE  SUN  AT  MON- 
TEREY— OUIOT  AND  CHINIGCHINICH — ANTAGONISTIC  GODS  OF  LOWER 
CALIFORNIA — COMANCHES,  APACHES,  AND  NAVAJOS— MONTEZUMA  o?  THE 
PUEBLOS — MOQUIS  AND  MOJAVES — PRIMEVAL  RACE  OF  NORTHERN  CAL- 
IFORNIA. » 

WE  now  come  to  the  broadest,  whether  or  not  it 
be  the  most  important,  branch  of  our  subject;  namely, 
the  gods  and  spirits  that  men  worship  or  know  of. 
Commencing  at  the  extreme  north,  we  shall  follow 
them  through  the  various  nations  of  our  territory 
toward  the  south.  Very  wild  and  conflicting  is  the 
general  mass  of  evidence  bearing  on  a  belief  in  super- 
natural existences.  Not  only  from  the  nature  of  the 
subject  is  it  allied  to  questions  and  matters  the  most 
abstruse  and  transcendental — in  the  expression  of 
which  the  exactest  dialectic  terminology  must  often 
be  at  fault;  much  more  the  rude  and  stammering 
speech  of  savages — but  it  is  also  apt  to  call  up  preju- 
dices of  the  most  warping  and  contradictory  kind  in 
the  minds  of  those  through  whose  relation  it  must  pass 
to  us.  However  hopeless  the  task,  I  will  strive  to 
hold  an  equal  beam  of  historical  truth,  and  putting 
away  speculations  of  either  extreme,  try  to  give  the 
naked  expression  of  the  belief  of  the  peoples  we  deal 
with — however  stupid,  however  absurd — and  not  what 

(140) 


ESKIMO   SHAMANISM.  141 

they  ought  to  believe,  or  may  be  supposed  to  believe, 
according  to  the  ingenious  speculations  of  different 
theorists. 

The  Eskimos  do  not  appear  to  recognize  any  supreme 
deity,  but  only  an  indefinite  number  of  supernatural 
beings  varying  in  name,  power,  and  character — the  evil 
seeming  to  predominate.  They  carry  on  the  person  a 
small  ivory  image  rudely  carved  to  represent  some 
animal,  as  a  kind  of  talisman;  these  are  thought  to 
further  success  in  hunting,  fishing,  and  other  pursuits, 
but  can  hardly  be  looked  upon  with  any  great  rever- 
ence, as  they  are  generally  to  be  bought  of  their  own- 
ers for  a  reasonable  price.  All  supernatural  business 
is  transacted  through  the  medium  of  shamans — func- 
tionaries answering  to  the  medicine-men  of  eastern 
Indian  tribes;  of  these  there  are  both  male  and 
female,  each  practising  on  or  for  the  benefit  of  his  or 
her  own  respective  sex.  The  rites  of  their  black  art 
diifer  somewhat,  according  to  Dall,  from  those  of  their 
Tinneh  neighbors,  and  very  much  from  those  of  the 
Tschuktschi  and  other  Siberian  tribes ;  and  their  whole 
religion  may  be  summed  up  as  a  vague  fear  finding 
its  expression  in  witchcraft.1 

The  Tinneh,  that  great  people  stretching  north  of  the 
fifty-fifth  parallel  nearly  to  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  of  the 
Pacific,  do  not  seem  in  any  of  their  various  tribes  to 
have  a  single  expressed  idea  with  regard  to  a  supreme 
power.  The  Loucheux  branch  recognize  a  certain 
personage,  resident  in  the  moon,  whom  they  suppli- 
cate for  success  in  starting  on  a  hunting  expedition. 
This  being  once  lived  among  them  as  a  poor  ragged 
boy  that  an  old  woman  had  found  and  was  bringing 
up;  and  who  made  himself  ridiculous  to  his  fellows 
by  making  a  pair  of  very  large  snow-shoes;  for  the 
people  could  not  see  what  a  starveling  like  him  should 
want  with  shoes  of  such  unusual  size.  Times  of  great 
scarcity  troubled  the  hunters,  and  they  would  often 
have  fared  badly  had  they  not  invariably  on  such  oc- 

1  Armstrong's  Nar.,  pp.  102,  193;  Ricliardsorfs  Pol  Reg.,  pp.  319-20,  325; 
Richardson'*  Jour.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  358,  385;  DalVs  Alaska,  pp.  144-5. 


142  GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND   WORSHIP. 

casions  come  across  a  new  broad  trail  that  led  to  a 
head  or  two  of  freshly  killed  game,  They  were  glad 
enough  to  get  the  game  and  without  scruples  as  to  its 
appropriation ;  still  they  felt  curious  as  to  whence  it 
came,  and  how.  Suspicion  at  last  pointing  to  the  boy 
and  his  great  shoes,  as  being  in  some  way  implicated 
in  the  affair,  he  was  watched.  It  soon  became  evi- 
dent that  he  was  indeed  the  benefactor  of  the  Lou- 
cheux,  and  the  secret  hunter  whose  quarry  had  so 
often  replenished  their  empty  pots;  yet  the  people 
were  far  from  being  adequately  grateful,  and  continued 
to  treat  him  with  little  kindness  or  respect.  On  one 
occasion  they  refused  him  a  certain  piece  of  fat — him 
who  had  so  often  saved  their  lives  'by  his  timely 
bounty!  That  night  the  lad  disappeared,  leaving  only 
his  clothes  behind,  hanging  on  a  tree.  He  returned 
to  them  in  a  month,  however,  appearing  as  a  man  and 
dressed  as  a  man.  He  told  them  that  he  had  taken  up 
his  home  in  the  moon;  that  he  would  always  look  down 
with  a  kindly  eye  to  their  success  in  hunting ;  but  he 
added  that,  as  a  punishment  for  their  shameless  greed 
and  ingratitude  in  refusing  him  the  piece  of  fat,  all 
animals  should  be  lean  the  long  winter  through,  and 
fat  only  in  summer :  as  has  sines  been  the  case. 

According  to  Hearne,  the  Tinneh  believe  in  a  kind 
of  spirits,  or  fairies,  called  nantena,  which  people  the 
earth,  the  sea,  and  the  air,  and  are  instrumental  for 
both  good  and  evil.  Some  of  them  believe  in  a  good 
spirit  called  Tihugun,  'my  old  friend/  supposed  to  re- 
side in  the  sun  and  in  the  moon;  they  have  also  a  bad 
spirit,  Chutsain,  apparently  only  a  personification  of 
death,  and  for  this  reason  called  bad. 

They  have  no  regular  order  of  shamans;  any  one 
when  the  spirit  moves  him  may  take  upon  himself 
their  duties  and  pretensions,  though  some,  by  happy 
chances  or  peculiar  cunning,  are  much  more  highly 
esteemed  in  this  regard  than  others,  and  are  supported 
by  voluntary  contributions.  The  conjurer  often  shuts 
himself  in  his  tent  and  abstains  from  food  for  days  till 
his  earthly  grossness  thins  away,  and  the  spirits  and 


SPIRITS   WITH   THE  KONIAGAS   AND   TINNEH.  143 

things  unseen  are  constrained  to  appear  at  his  behest. 
The  younger  Tinneh  care  for  none  of  these  things; 
the  strong  limb  and  the  keen  eye,  holding  their  own 
well  in  the  jostle  of  life,  mock  at  the  terrors  of  the 
invisible;  but  as  the  pulses  dwindle  with  disease  or 
age,  and  the  knees  strike  together  in  the  shadow  of 
impending  death,  the  shanidn  is  hired  to  expel  the 
evil  things  of  which  the  patient  is  possessed.  Among 
the  Tacullies,  a  confession  is  often  resorted  to  at  this 
stage,  on  the  truth  and  accuracy  of  which  depend  the 
chances  of  a  recovery.  As  Harmon  says :  "The  crimes 
which  they  most  frequently  confess  discover  something 
of  their  moral  character,  and  therefore  deserve  to  be 
mentioned;"  but  in  truth  I  cannot  mention  them;  both 
with  women  and  with  men  a  filthiness  and  bestiality 
worse  than  the  sins  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  defy  the 
stomach  of  description.  The  same  thing  is  true  of 
the  tedious  and  disgusting  rites  performed  by  the  Tin- 
neh shamans  over  the  sick,  and  at  various  other  emer- 
gencies. They  blow  on  the  invalid,  leap  about  him 
or  upon  him,  shriek,  sing,  groan,  gesticulate,  and  foam 
at  the  mouth,  with  other  details  of  hocus-pocus  vary- 
ing indefinitely  with  tribe  and  locality.  The  exist- 
ence of  a  soul  is  for  the  most  part  denied,  and  the 
spirits  with  whom  dealings  are  had  are  not  spirits 
that  were  ever  in  or  of  men;  neither  are  they  re- 
garded by  men  with  any  sentiment  of  love  or  kindly 
respect;  fear  and  self-interest  are  the  bonds — where 
any  bonds  exist — that  link  the  Tinneh  with  powers 
supernal  or  infernal.2 

The  Koniagas  have  the  usual  legion  of  spirits  haunt- 
ing water,  earth,  and  air,  whose  wrath  is  only  to  be 
appeased  by  offerings  to  the  shamans ;  and  sometimes, 
though  very  rarely,  by  human  sacrifices  of  slaves. 

2Hardisty,  in  Smithsonian  Rept.,  1866,  pp.  318-19;  Jarvis'  Religion,  I  rid.  N. 
Am.,  p.  91;  Kennicott,  in  Whympers  Alaska,  p.  345;  Mackenzie s  Voy.,  p. 
cxxviii.;  Schookraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  178;  Ross,  in  Smithsonian  Rept.,  1860, 
pp.  406-7;  Franklins  Nar.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  246-7:  Harmons  Jour.,  p.  300;  Hoo- 
per's Tush,  p.  317;  Richardson  s  Jour.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  385-6;  DalVs  Alaska,  pp. 
88-90;  Whympers  Alaska,  pp.  231-2. 


144          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND    WORSHIP. 

They  have  also  a  chief  deity  or  spirit,  called  Shljain 
Schod,  and  a  power  for  evil  called  Eyak-* 

Of  the  Aleuts  it  is  said  that  their  rites  showed  a 
much  higher  religious  development  than  was  to  be 
found  among  any  of  their  neighbors ;  the  labors  of  the 
Russian  priests  have,  however,  been  successful  enough 
among  them  to  obliterate  all  remembrance  of  aught 
but  the  outlines  of  their  ancient  cult.     They  recognize 
a  creator-god,  but  without  worshipping  him;  he  had 
made  the  world,  but  he  did  not  guide  it;  men  had 
nothing  to  do  any  longer  with  him,  but  only  with  the 
lesser  Icugans,  or  spirits,  to  whom  the  direction  and  care 
of  earthly  affair  have  been  committed.     The  stars  and 
the  sun  and  the  moon  were  worshipped,  or  the  spirits 
of  them  among  others,  and  avenged  themselves  on 
those  that  adored  them  not.     The  offended  sun  smote 
the  eyes  of  a  scoffer  with  blindness,  the  moon  stoned 
him  to  death,  and  the  stars  constrained  him  to  count 
their    number — hopeless   task   that   always   left   the 
victim  a  staring  maniac.     The  shamans  do  not  seem 
to  have  enjoyed  that  distinction  among  the  Aleuts 
that  their  monopoly  of  mediation  between  man  and 
the  invisible  world  gave  them  among  other  nations. 
They  were  generally  very  poor,  living  in  want  and 
dying  in  misery;  they  had  no  part  nor  lot  in  the  joys 
or  sorrows  of  social  life ;  never  at  feast,  at  wedding, 
or  at  a  funeral  was  their  face  seen.     They  lived  and 
wandered  men  forbid,  driven  to  and  fro  by  phantoms 
that  were  their  masters,  and  not  their  slaves.     The 
Aleuts  had  no  permanent  idols,  nor  any  worshipping- 
places  built  with  hands;  near  every  village  was  some 
sanctified  high  place  or  rock,  sacred  as  a  Sinai  against 
the  foot  of  woman  or  youth,  and  whoever  profaned  it 
became  immediately  mad  or  sick  to  death.     Only  the 
men  and  the  old  men  visited  the  place,  leaving  there 
their  offerings    of  skins  or   feathers,  with  unknown 
mysterious  ceremonies. 

The  use  of  amulets  was  universal;  and  more  than 
shield  or  spear  to  the  warrior  going  to  battle  was  a 

3ffolmberg,  Ethn.  STciz.,  pp.  140-1;  Saner,  Billings'  Ex.,  p.  174. 


ALEUTIAN  MYSTERY-DANCE.  14& 

belt  of  sea-weed  woven  in  magic  knots.  What  a 
plilosopher's  stone  was  to  a  Roger  Bacon  or  a  Para- 
celsus was  the  tkhimkee,  a  marvellous  pebble  thrown 
up  at  rare  intervals  by  the  sea,  to  the  Aleutian  hunter. 
No  beast  could  resist  its  attraction ;  he  that  carried  it 
had  no  need  to  chase  his  prey,  he  had  only  to  wait 
and  strike  as  the  animal  walked  up  to  its  death. 
Another  potent  charm  was  grease  taken  from  a  dead 

I.  O 

man's  body;  the  spear-head  touched  with  this  was 
sure  to  reach  a  mortal  spot  in  the  whale  at  which  it 
was  hurled. 

There  are  dim  Aleutian  traditions  of  certain  religi- 
ous night-dances  held  in  the  month  of  December. 
Wooden  idols,  or  figures  of  some  kind,  were  made  for 
the  occasion,  and  carried  from  island  to  island  with 
many  esoteric  ceremonies.  Then  was  to  be  seen  a 
marvellous  sight.  The  men  and  women  were  put  far 
apart;  in  the  middle  of  each  party  a  wooden  figure 
was  set  up;  certain  great  wooden  masks  or  blinders 
were  put  on  each  person,  so  contrived  that  the  wearer 
could  see  nothing  outside  a  little  circle  round  his  feet. 
Then  every  one  stripped,  and  there  upon  the  snow, 
under  the  moonlight,  in  the  bitter  Arctic  night,  danced 
naked  before  the  image — say  rather  before  the  god, 
for  as  they  danced  a  kugan  descended  and  entered 
into  the  wooden  figure.  Woe  to  him  or  to  her  whose 
drift-wood  mask  fell,  or  was  lifted,  in  the  whirl  of  that 
awful  dance;  the  stare  of  the  Gorgon  was  not  more 
fatal  than  a  glance  of  the  demon  that  possessed  the 
idol;  and  for  any  one  to  look  on  one  of  the  opposite 
sex,  however  it  came  about,  he  might  be  even  counted 
as  one  dead.  When  the  dance  was  over,  the  idols  and 
the  masks  were  broken  and  cast  away.  It  may  be 
added  that  such  masks  as  this  were  needed,  even  by 
prophets  in  their  interviews  with  the  great  spirits 
that  know  all  mortal  consequences;  and  that  when  a 
man  died,  such  a  mask  was  put  over  his  eyes.  0  naked 
and  shivering  soul,  face  to  face  with  the  darkest  kugan 
of  all,  we  will  shelter  thee  what  we  can!4 

*D'Orbiany,    Voy.,  pp.  579-80;  Coxes  Rms.  Dis.,  p.  217; .  Dalfs  Alaska, 
pp.  385.  389  j  see  Bancroft's  Nat.  Races,  vol.  i.,  p.  93. 
VOL  m.    10 


146          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND   WORSHIP. 

The  Thlinkeets  are  said  not  to  believe  in  any  su- 
preme being.  They  have  that  Yehl,  the  Raven,  and 
that  Khanukh,  the  Wolf,  whom  we  are  already  to 
some  extent  acquainted  with;  but  neither  the  exact 
rank  and  character  of  these  in  the  supernatural  world, 
nor  even  their  comparative  rank,  can  be  established 
above  contradiction.  Thus  Yehl  is  said  to  be  the 
creator  of  all  beings  and  things,  yet  we  have  not  for- 
gotten how  Khanukh  wrung  from  the  unwilling  lips 
of  him  the  confession,  Thou  art  older  than  I.  It  is 
again  said  of  Yehl  that  his  power  is  unlimited;  but 
alas !  we  have  seen  him  helpless  in  the  magic  darkness 
raised  by  Khanukh,  and  howling  as  a  frightened  child 
might  do  in  a  gloomy  corridor.  The  nature  of  Yehl 
is  kind,  and  he  loves  men,  while  the  reverse  is  gener- 
ally considered  true  of  Khanukh ;  but  Yehl,  too,  when 
his  anger  is  stirred  up  sends  sickness  and  evil  fortune. 
Yehl  existed  before  his  birth  upon  earth;  he  cannot 
die,  nor  even  become  older.  Where  the  sources  of 
the  Nass  are,  whence  the  east-wind  comes,  is  Nass- 
Shakieyehl,  the  home  of  Yehl;  the  east-wind  brings 
news  of  him.  By  an  unknown  mother  a  son  was  born 
to  him,  who  loves  mankind  even  more  than  his  father, 
and  provides  their  food  in  due  season.  To  conclude 
the  matter,  Yehl  is,  if  not  the  central  figure,  at  least 
the  most  prominent  in  the  Thlinkeet  pantheon,  and  the 
alpha  and  the  omega  of  Thlinkeet  philosophy  and 
theology  is  summed  up  in  their  favorite  aphorism :  As 
Yehl  acted  and  lived,  so  also  will  we  live  and  do. 
After  Yehl  and  Khanukh,  the  Thlinkeets  believe  in 
the  brother  and  sister,  Chethl  and  Ahgishanakhou, 
the  Thunder  or  Thunder-bird,  and  the  Underground 
Woman.  Chethl  is  a  kind  of  great  northern  rukh 
that  snatches  up  and  swallows  a  whale  without  diffi- 
culty, while  his  wings  and  eyes  produce  thunder  and 
lightning,  as  already  described ;  his  sister  Ahgishanak- 
hou sits  alone  below  and  guards  the  Irminsul  that 
supports  the  world  of  the  North-west.5 

&  In  Holmberg's  account  of  these  Thlinkeet  supernatural  powers,  nothing 
is  said  of  the  sun  or  moon  as  indicating  the  possession  of  life  by  them  or  of 


THE  THLINKEET   SHAMAN.  147 

The  Thlinkeets  have  no  idols,  unless  the  little  images 
sometimes  carried  by  the  magicians  for  charming  with 
may  be  called  by  that  name;  they  have  no  worship 
nor  priests,  unless  their  sorcerers  and  the  rites  of  them 
may  be  entitled  to  these  appellations.  These  sorcerers 
or  shamans  seem  to  be  much  respected;  their  words 
and  actions  are  generally  believed  and  acquiesced  in 
by  all;  though  the  death  of  a  patient  or  victim,  or 
supposed  victim,  is  sometimes  avenged  upon  them  by 
the  relatives  of  the  deceased.  Shamanism  is  mostly 
hereditary;  as  a  natural  course  of  things,  the  long  ar- 
ray of  apparatus,  masks,  dresses,  and  so  on,  is  inherited 
by  the  son  or  grandson  of  the  deceased  conjurer.  The 
young  man  must,  however,  prove  himself  worthy  of 
his  position  before  it  becomes  assured  to  him,  by  call- 
ing up  and  communicating  with  spirits.  The  future 
shamdn  retires  into  a  lonely  forest  or  up  some  moun- 
tain, where  he  lives  retired,  feeding  only  on  the  roots 
of  the  panax-homdum,  arid  waiting  for  the  spirits  to 
come  to  him,  which  they  are  generally  supposed  to  do 
in  from  two  to  four  weeks.  If  all  go  well,  the  meeting- 
takes  place,  and  the  chief  of  the  spirits  sends  to  the 
neophyte  a  river-otter,  in  the  tongue  of  which  animal 
is  supposed  to  be  hid  the  whole  power  and  secret  of 
shamanism.  The  man  meets  the  beast  face  to  face, 
and  four  times,  each  time  in  a  different  fashion,  he 
pronounces  the  syllable  '  Oh ! '  Upon  this,  the  otter 
falls  instantly,  reaching  out  at  the  same  time  its 
tongue,  which  the  man  cuts  off  and  preserves,  hiding 
it  away  in  a  close  place,  for  if  any  one  not  initiated 
should  look  on  this  talisman  the  sight  would  drive  him 
mad.  The  otter  is  skinned  by  the  new  shamdn  and 
the  skin  kept  for  a  sign  of  his  profession,  while  the 
flesh  is  buried;  it  was  unlawful  to  kill  a  river-otter 
save  on  such  occasions  as  have  been  described.  If> 

any  qualities  not  material.  But  Dunn,  The  Oregon  Territory,  p.  284,  and 
Dixon,  Voyage  Round  the  World,  pp.  189-90,  describe  at  least  some  tribe  or 
tribes  of  the  Thlinkeets,  and  many  tribes  of  the  Haidahs,  that  consider  the  sun 
to  be  a  great  spirit  moving  over  the  earth  once  every  day,  animating  and 
keeping  alive  all  creatures,  and  apparently,  as  being  the  origin  of  all;  the 
moon  is  a  subordinate  and  night  watcher. 


148  GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

however,  the  spirits  will  not  visit  the  would-be 
shamdn,  nor  give  him  any  opportunity  to  get  the 
otter- tongue  as  described  above,  the  neophyte  visits 
the  tomb  of  a  dead  shaman  and  keeps  an  awful  vigil 
over  night,  holding  in  his  living  mouth  a  finger  of  the 
dead  man  or  one  of  his  teeth;  this  constrains  the 
spirits  very  powerfully  to  send  the  necessary  otter. 
When  all  these  things  have  been  done,  the  shamdn 
returns  to  his  family  emaciated  and  worn  out.,  and  his 
new  powers  are  immediately  put  to  the  test.  His 
reputation  depends  on  the  number  of  spirits  at  his 
command.  The  spirits  are  called  yek,  and  to  every 
conjurer  a  certain  number  of  them  are  attached  as 
familiars,  while  there  are  others  on  whom  he  may  call 
in  an  emergency ;  indeed,  every  man  of  whatever  rank 
or  profession  is  attended  by  a  familiar  spirit  or  demon, 
who  only  abandons  his  charge  when  the  man  becomes 
exceedingly  bad.  The  world  of  spirits  in  general  is 
divided  into  three  classes:  keeyek,  tdkeeyek,  and  tekee- 
yek.  The  first  class,  '  the  Upper  Ones,'  dwell  in  the 
north,  and  seem  to  be  connected  with  the  northern 
lights;  they  are  the  spirits  of  the  brave  fallen  in  bat- 
tle. The  other  two  classes  are  the  spirits  of  those 
that  died  a  natural  death,  and  their  dwelling  is  called 
takankou.  The  tdkeeyek,  '  land-spirits/  appear  to  the 
shamdns  in  the  form  of  land  animals.  With  regard  to 
the  tekeeyek,  '  sea-spirits,'  which  appear  in  the  form 
of  marine  animals,  there  is  some  dispute  among  the 
Thlinkeets  as  to  whether  these  spirits  were  ever  the 
spirits  of  men  like  those  of  the  other  two  classes,  or 
whether  they  were  merely  the  souls  of  sea  animals. 

The  supreme  feat  of  a  conjurer's  power  is  to  throw 
one  of  his  liege  spirits  into  the  body  of  one  who  refuses 
to  believe  in  his  power;  upon  which  the  possessed  is 
taken  with  swooning  and  fits.  The  hair  of  a  shamdn 
is  never  cut.  As  among  the  Aleuts,  a  wooden  mask 
is  necessary  to  his  safe  intercourse  with  any  spirit; 
separate  masks  are  worn  for  interviews  with  separate 
spirits.  When  a  shaman  sickens,  his  relatives  fast  for 
his  recovery;  when  he  dies,  his  body  is  not  burned  like 


SOLAR  SPIRIT  OF  THE  HAIDAHS.  149 

that  'of  other  men,  but  put  in  a  box  which  is  set  up  on 
a  high  frame.  The  first  night  following  his  death,  his 
body  is  left  in  that  corner  of  his  hut  in  which  he  died. 
On  the  second  night,  it  is  carried  to  another  corner,  and 
so  on  for  four  nights  till  it  has  occupied  successively 
all  the  corners  of  the  yourt,  all  the  occupants  of  which 
are  supposed  to  fast  during  this  time.  On  the  fifth  day, 
the  body  is  tied  down  on  a  board,  and  two  bones  that 
the  dead  man  had  often  used  in  his  rites  when  alive  are 
stuck,  the  one  in  his  hair,  and  the  other  in  the  bridge  of 
his  nose.  The  head  is  then  covered  with  a  willow  bas- 
ket, and  the  body  taken  to  its  place  of  sepulture,  which 
is  always  near  the  sea-shore ;  no  Thlinkeet  ever  passes 
the  spot. without  dropping  a  little  tobacco  into  the 
water  to  conciliate  the  manes  of  the  mighty  dead.6 

The  Haidahs  believe  the  great  solar  spirit  to  be  the 
creator  and  supreme  ruler ;  they  do  not,  however,  con- 
fuse him  with  the  material  sun,  who  is  a  shining  man 
walking  round  the  fixed  earth  and  wearing  a  '  radi- 
ated '  crown.  Sometimes  the  moon  is  also  connected 
in  a  confused,  indefinite  way  with  the  great  spirit. 
There  is  an  evil  spirit  who,  according  to  Dunn,  is  pro- 
vided with  hoofs  and  horns,  though  nothing  is  said  as 
to  the  fashion  of  them,  whether  orthodox  or  not.  The 

*Holmberg,  Ethn.  Sliz.,  pp.  52-73;  DaWs  Alaska,  pp.  421-3;  Kotzebue's 
New  Voyage,  vol.  ii.,  p.  58;  Dunn's  Oregon,  p.  280;  BendeVs  Alex.  Arch., 
pp.  31-3.  This  last  traveller  gives  us  a  variation  of  the  history  of  Yehl  and 
Khanukh,  which  is  best  presented  in  his  own  words:  'The  Klinkits  do  not 
believe  in  one  Supreme  Being,  but  in  a  host  of  good  and  evil  spirits,  above 
whom  are  towering  two  lofty  beings  of  godlike  magnitude,  who  are  the  prin- 
cipal objects  of  Indian  reverence.  These  are  Yethl  and  Kanugh,  two 
brothers;  the  former,  the  benefactor  and  well-wisher  of  mankind,  but  of  a 
very  whimsical  and  unreliable  nature;  the  latter,  the  stern  God  of  \Var,  terri- 
ble in  his  wrath,  but  a  true  patron  of  every  fearless  brave.  It  is  he  who 
sends  epidemics,  bloodshed,  and  war  to  those  who  have  displeased  him, 
while  it  seems  to  be  the  principal  function  of  Yethl  to  cross  the  sinister  pur- 
poses of  his  dark-minded  brother.  Yethl  and  Kanugh  lived  formerly  on 
earth,  and  were  born  of  a  woman  of  a  supernatural  race  now  passed  away, 
about  the  origin  and  nature  of  which  many  conflicting  legends  are  told,  hard 
to  comprehend.  When  Yethl  walked  on  earth  and  was  quite  young,  he  ac- 
quired great  skill  in  the  use  of  the  bow  and  arrow.  He  used  to  kill  large 
birds,  assume  their  shape,  and  fly  about.  His  favorite  bird  was  the  raven; 
hence  its  name,  "Yethl,"  which  signifies  "raven  "in  the  Klinkit  language. 
He  had  also  the  fogs  and  clouds  at  his  command,  and  he  would  often  draw 
them  around  him  to  escape  his  enemies.  His  brother's  name,  Kanugh,  signi- 
fies "wolf,"  consequently  "raven"  and  "wolf"  are  the  names  of  the  two 
gods  of  the  Klinkits,  who  are  supposed  to  be  the  founders  of  the  Indian  race. 


150  GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Haidahs,  at  least  those  seen  by  Mr  Poole  on  Queen 
Charlotte  Island,  have  no  worship,  nor  did  they  look 
upon  themselves  as  in  any  way  responsible  to  any  deity 
for  their  actions.  As  with  their  northern  neighbors,  a 
the  belief  in  goblins,  spectres,  and  sorcery  seems  to  be 
the  sum  of  their  religion. 

With  some  at  least  of  the  Haidahs  there  was  in  ex- 
istence a  rite  of  this  sorcery  attended  by  circumstances 
of  more  than  ordinary  barbarity  and  ferocity.     When 
the  salmon  season  is  over  and  the  provisions  of  winter 
have  been  stored  away,  feasting  and  conjuring  begin. 
The  chief — who  seems  to  be  the  principal  sorcerer,  and 
indeed  to  possess  little  authority  save  from  his  connec- 
tion with  the  preterhuman  powers — goes  off  to  the  lone- 
liest and  wildest  retreat  he  knows  of  or  can  discover 
in  the  mountains  or  forest,  and  half  starves  himself 
there  for  some  weeks  till  he  is  worked  up  to  a  frenzy  of 
religious  insanity,  and  the  nawloks — fearful  beings  of 
some  kind  not  human — consent  to  communicate  with 
him  by  voices  or  otherwise.     During  all  this  observ- 
ance, the  chief  is  called  taamish,  and  woe  to  the  un- 
lucky Haidah  who  happens  by  chance  so  much  as  to 
look  on  him  during  its  continuance ;  even  if  the  taa- 
mish do  not  instantly  slay  the  intruder,  his  neighbors 
are  certain  to  do  so  when  the  thing  comes  to  their 
knowledge,  and  if  the  victim  attempt  to  conceal  the 
affair,  or  do  not  himself  confess  it,  the  most  cruel  tor- 
tures are  added  to  his  fate.     At  last  the  inspired  de- 
moniac returns  to  his  village,  naked  save  a  bear-skin  or 
a  ragged  blanket,  with  a  chaplet  on  his  head  and  a  red 
band  of  alder-bark  about  his  neck.     He  springs  on  the 
first  person  he  meets,  bites  out  and  swallows  one  or 
more  mouthfuls  of  the  man's  living  flesh  wherever  lie 
can  fix  his  teeth,  then  rushes  to  another  and  another, 
repeating  his  revolting  meal  till  he  falls  into  a  torpor 
from  his  sudden  and  half-masticated  surfeit  of  flesh. 
For  some  days  after  this  he  lies  in  a  kind  of  coma, 
"  like  an  over-gorged  beast  of  prey,"  as  Dunn  says ; 
the  same  observer  adding  that  his  breath  during  that 
time  is  "like  an  exhalation  from  a  grave."     The  vie- 


NOOTKA  GODS.  151 

tims  of  this  ferocity  dare  not  resist  the  bite  of  the  taa- 
mish;  on  the  contrary,  they  are  sometimes  willing  to 
offer  themselves  to  the  ordeal,  and  are  always  proud 
of  its  scars.7 

The  Nootkas  acknowledge  the  existence  of  a  great 
personage  called  Quahootze,  whose  habitation  is  appar- 
ently in  the  sky,  but  of  whose  nature  little  is  known. 
When  a  storm  begins  to  rage  dangerously,  the  Nootkas 
climb  to  the  top  of  their  houses,  and  looking  upward 
to  this  great  god,  they  beat  drums,  and  chant  and  call 
upon  his  name,  imploring  him  to  still  the  tempest. 
They  fast,  as  something  agreeable  to  the  same  deity, 
before  setting  out  on  the  hunt,  and  if  their  success 
warrant  it,  hold  a  feast  in  his  honor  after  their  return. 
This  festival  is  held  usually  in  December,  and  it  was 
formerly  the  custom  to  finish  it  with  a  human  sacrifice, 
an  atrocity  now  happily  fallen  into  disuse ;  a  boy,  with 
knives  stuck  in  flesh  of  his  arms,  legs,  and  sides,  being- 
exhibited  as  a  substitute  for  the  ancient  victim. 

Matlose  is  a  famous  hobgoblin  of  the  Nootkas;  he  is 
a  very  Caliban  of  spirits;  his  head  is  like  the  head  of 
something  that  might  have  been  a  man  but  is  not;  his 
uncouth  bulk  is  horrid  with  black  bristles;  his  mon- 
strous teeth  and  nails  are  like  the  fangs  and  claws  of  a 
bear.  Whoever  hears  his  terrible  voice  falls  like  one 
smitten,  and  his  curved  claws  rend  a  prey  into  morsels 
with  a  single  stroke. 

The  Nootkas,  like  so  many  American  peoples,  have 
a  tradition  of  a  supernatural  teacher  and  benefactor,  an 
old  man  that  came  to  them  up  the  Sound  long  ago. 
His  canoe  was  copper,  and  the  paddles  of  it  copper; 
everything  he  had  on  him  or  about  him  was  of  the 
same  metal.  He  landed  and  instructed  the  men  of 
that  day  in  many  things;  telling  them  that  lie  came 
from  the  sky,  that  their  country  should  be  eventually 
destroyed,  that  they  should  all  die,  but  after  death 
rise  and  live  with  him  above.  Then  all  the  people 
rose  up  angry,  and  took  his  canoe  from  him,  and  slew 

7 Dunns  Oregon,  pp.  253-9;  Scouler,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.  Jour.,  vol.  xi.,  p. 
223;  Bancroft's  Nat.  Races,  vol.  i.,  pp.  170-1. 


152          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

him — a  crime  from  which  their  descendants  have  de- 
rived much  benefit,  for  copper  and  the  use  of  it  have 
remained  with  them  ever  since.  Huge  images,  carved 
in  wood,  still  stand  in  their  houses,  intended  to  repre- 
sent the  form  and  hold  in  remembrance  the  visit  of 
this  old  man — by  which  visit  is  not  improbably  in- 
tended to  be  signified  an  avatar  or  incarnation  of  that 
chief  deity,  or  great  spirit,  worshipped  by  many  Cali- 
fornian  tribes  as  "the  Old  Man  above." 

The  Ahts  regard  the  moon  and  the  sun  as  their 
highest  deities,  the  moon  being  the  husband  and  the 
sun  the  wife.  To  the  moon  chiefly,  as  the  more  pow- 
erful deity,  they  pray  for  what  they  require ;  and  to 
both  moon  and  sun,  as  to  all  good  deities,  their  prayers 
are  addressed  directly  and  without  the  intervention  of 
the  sorcerers.  Quawteaht — which  seems  to  be  a  local 
Aht  modification  of  Quahootze — who  made  most 
things  that  are  in  the  world,  was  the  first  to  teach  the 
people  to  worship  these  luminaries,  who  are  more  pow- 
erful than  himself,  though  more  distant  and  less  active. 
There  is  also  that  Tootooch,  thunder-bird,  of  which  so 
much  has  been  already  said. 

The  Nootkas,  in  general,  believe  in  the  existence  of 
numberless  spirits  of  various  kinds,  and  in  the  efficacy 
of  sorcery.  As  in  neighboring  nations,  the  shaman 
gains  or  renews  his  inspiration  by  fasting  and  solitary 
meditation  in  some  retired  place,  reappearing  at  the 
end  of  his  vigil  half  starved  and  half  insane,  but  filled 
with  the  black  virtue  of  his  art.  He  does  not  gener- 
ally collect  a  meal  of  living  human  flesh  like  the 
taamish  of  the  preceding  family,  but  he  is  satisfied 
with  what  his  teeth  can  tear  from  the  corpses  in  the 
burial-places.  Old  women  are  admitted  to  a  share 
in  the  powers  of  sorcery  and  prophecy  and  the  inter- 
pretation of  omens  and  dreams;  the  latter  a  most  im- 
portant function,  as  few  days  and  nights  pass  over  a 
Nootka  house  that  do  not  give  occasion  by  some  vision 
or  occurrence  for  the  office  of  the  sibyl  or  the  augur.8 

*Jeuritt's  Nar.,  p.  83;  Scmiler,  in  Land.  Geog.  Soc.  Jour.,  vol.  xi.,  pp.  223- 
4;  Mofras,  Explor.,  torn,  i.,  p.  345;  Sutil  y  Mexicano,    Viaye,  p.  130;  Mearts 


PARADISE  LOST  OF  THE   OKANAGANS.  153 

The  Okanagans  believe  in  a  good  spirit  or  master  of 
life,  called  Elemehumkillanwaist  or  Skyappe ;  and  in 
a  bad  spirit,  Kishtsamah  or  Chacha ;  both  moving  con- 
stantly through  the  air,  so  that  nothing  can  be  done 
without  their  knowledge.  The  Okanagans  have  no 
worship  public  or  private,  but  before  engaging  in  any- 
thing of  importance  they  offer  up  a  short  prayer  to 
the  good  spirit  for  assistance ;  again,  on  state  occasions, 
a  pipe  is  passed  round  and  each  one  smokes  three 
whiffs  toward  the  rising  sun,  the  same  toward  the  set- 
ting, and  the  same  respectively  toward  the  heaven 
above  and  the  earth  beneath.  Then  they  have  their 
great  mythic  ruler  and  heroine,  Scomalt,  whose  story 
is  intimately  connected  with  a  kind  of  Okanagan  fall 
or  paradise  lost.  Long  ago,  so  long  ago  that  the  sun  was 
quite  young  and  very  small  and  no  bigger  than  a  star, 
there  was  an  island  far  out  at  sea,  called  Samahtumi- 
whoolah,  or  the  White  Man's  Island.  It  was  inhab- 
ited by  a  white  race  of  gigantic  stature,  and  governed 
by  a  tall  fair  woman  called  Scomalt;  and  she  was  a 
great  and  strong  '  medicine/  this  Scomalt.  At  last 
the  peace  of  the  island  was  destroyed  by  war,  and  the 
noise  of  battle  was  heard,  the  white  men  fighting  the 
one  with  the  other;  and  Scomalt  was  exceedingly 
wroth.  She  rose  up  and  said:  Lo,  now  I  will  drive 
these  wicked  far  from  me;  my  soul  shall  be  no  longer 

Voy.,  p.  270;  Hutcldngs1  Col.  May.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  222-4;  Macfie's  Vane.  1st.,  pp. 
433-41,  455;  Barret-Lennard's  Trav.,  pp.  51-3;  Sproai's  Scenes,  pp.  40,  156- 
8,  167-75,  205-11;  Cook's  Voy.  to  Pac.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  317.  As  illustrating 
strongly  the  Nootka  ideas  with  regard  to  the  sanctity  of  the  moon  and  sun, 
as  well  as  the  connection  of  the  sun  with  the  fire,  it  may  be  well  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  two  following  customs:  '  El  Tays  [chief]  nopuede  hacer  uso  de  sus 
mugeres  sin  ver  enteramente  ilumiaado  el  disco  de  la  luna. '  Sutil  y  Mexi- 
cana,  Viaye,  p.  145.  'Girls  at  puberty. . .  .are  kept  particularly  from  the  sun 
or  fire. '  Bancroft's  Nat.  Races,  vol.  i.,  p.  197.  In  this  connection  it  may  be  men- 
tioned that  Mr  Lord,  Naturalist,  vol.  ii.,  p.  257,  saw  among  the  Nootkas 
while  at  Fort  Rupert,  a  very  peculiar  Indian  'medicine/  a  solid  piece  of 
native  copper,  hammered  flat,  oval  it  would  appear  from  the  description,  and 
painted  with  curious  devices,  eyes  of  all  sizes  being  especially  conspicuous. 
The  Hudson  Bay  traders  call  it  an  'Indian  copper,'  and  said  it  was  only- 
exhibited  on  extraordinary  occasions,  and  that  its  value  to  the  tribe  was  esti- 
mated at  fifteen  slaves  or  two  hundred  blankets.  This  '  medicine '  was  pre- 
served in  an  elaborately  ornamented  wooden  case,  and  belonging  to  the  tribe, 
not  to  the  chief,  was  guarded  by  the  medicine-men.  Similar  sheets  of  cop- 
per are  described  by  Schoolcraft  as  in  use  among  certain  of  the  Vesperio 
aborigines.  May  they  all  be  intended  for  symbols  of  the  sun,  such  as  that 
reverenced  by  the  Peruvians? 


154          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

vexed  concerning  them,  neither  shall  they  trouble  the 
faithful  of  my  people  with  their  strivings  any  more. 
And  she  drove  the  rebellious  together  to  the  utter- 
most end  of  the  island,  and  broke  off  the  piece  of  land 
on  which  they  were  huddled,  and  pushed  it  out  to  sea 
to  drift  whither  it  would.  This  floating  island  was 
tossed  to  and  fro  many  days,  and  buffeted  of  the  winds 
exceedingly,  so  that  all  the  people  thereon  died,  save 
one  man  and  one  woman,  who,  seeing  their  island  was 
ready  to  sink,  made  themselves  a  canoe  and  gat  them 
away  toward  the  west.  After  paddling  day  and  night 
for  many  suns,  they  came  to  certain  islands,  whence 
steering  through  them,  they  came  at  last  to  where  the 
mainland  was,  being  the  territory  that  the  Okanagans 
now  inhabit;  it  was,  however,  much  smaller  in  those 
days,  having  grown  much  since.  This  man  and  woman 
were  so  sorely  weather-beaten  when  they  landed  that 
they  found  their  original  whiteness  quite  gone,  and  a 
dusky  reddish  color  in  its  place.  All  the  people  of 
the  continent  are  descended  from  this  pair,  and  the 
dingy  skin  of  their  storm-tossed  ancestors  has  become 
a  characteristic  of  the  race.  And  even,  as  in  time 
past  the  wrath  of  the  fair  Scomalt  loosed  the  island 
of  their  ancestors  from  its  mainland,  and  sent  it  adrift 
with  its  burden  of  sinful  men,  so  in  a  time  to  come 
the  deep  lakes,  that  like  some  Hannibal's  vinegar 
soften  the  rocks  of  the  foundations  of  the  world,  and 
the  rivers  that  run  forever  and  gnaw  them  away,  shall 
set  the  earth  afloat  again;  then  shall  the  end  of  the 
world  be,  the  awful  itsowleigh.9 

The  Salish  tribes  believe  the  sun  to  be  the  chief 
deity,  and  certain  ceremonies,  described  by  Mr  Lord 
as  having  taken  place  on  the  death  of  a  chief,  seem  to 
indicate  that  fire  is  in  some  way  connected  with  the 
great  light.10  The  chief  is  ex-officio  a  kind  of  priest, 

9 Ross*  Adven.,  pp.  287-9. 

10  '  The  bravest  woman  of  the  tribe,  one  used  to  carrying  ammunition  to 
the  warrior  when  engaged  in  fight,  bared  her  breast  to  the  person  who  for 
courage  and  conduct  was  deemed  fit  successor  to  the  departed.  From  the 
breast  he  cut  a  small  portion,  which  he  threw  into  the  fire.  She  then  cut  a 
small  piece  from  the  shoulder  of  the  warrior,  which  was  also  thrown  into 
the  fire.  A  piece  of  bitter  root,  with  a  piece  of  meat,  were  next  thrown  into 


DEITIES  OF  THE  CLALLAMS.  155 

presiding  for  the  most  part  at  the  various  observances 
by  which  the  deity  of  the  sun  is  recognized.  There  is 
the  usual  belief  in  sorcery  and  second  sight,  and  indi- 
viduals succeed,  by  force  of  special  gifts  for  fasting  and 
lonely  meditation,  in  having  themselves  accounted  con- 
jurers— an  honor  of  dubious  profit,  as  medicine-men 
are  constantly  liable  to  be  shot  by  an  enraged  relative 
of  any  one  whose  death  they  may  be  supposed  to  have 
brought  about. 

The  Clallams,  a  coast  tribe  on  the  mainland  oppo- 
site the  south  end  of  Vancouver  Island,  have  a  prin- 
cipal good  deity  called  by  various  names,  and  an  evil 
spirit  called  Skoocoom;  to  these  some  add  a  certain- 
Teyutlma, '  the  genius  of  good  fortune.'  The  medicine- 
men of  the  tribe  are  supposed  to  have  much  influence 
both  for  good  and  evil  with  these  spirits,  and  with  all 
the  demon  race,  or  sehuidb,  as  the  latter  are  sometimes 
called.  In  this  tribe,  the  various  conjurers  are  united 
by  the  bonds  of  a  secret  society,  the  initiation  into 
which  is  attended  by  a  good  deal  of  ceremony  and  ex- 
pense. Three  days  and  three  nights  must  the  novice 
of  the  order  fast  alone  in  a  mysterious  lodge  prepared 
for  him,  round  which  during  all  that  time  the  brethren 
already  initiated  sing  and  dance.  This  period  elapsed, 
during  which  it  would  seem  that  the  old  nature  has 
been  killed  out  of  him,  he  is  taken  up  like  one  dead 
and  soused  into  the  nearest  cold  water,  where  lie  is 
washed  till  he  revives;  which  thing  they  call  " wash- 
ing the  dead."  When  his  senses  are  sufficiently  gath- 
ered to  him,  he  is  set  on  his  feet;  upon  which  he  runs 
off  into  the  forest,  whence  he  soon  reappears,  a  perfect 
medicine-man,  rattle  in  hand,  and  decked  out  with  the 
various  trappings  of  his  profession.  He  then  parts  all 
his  worldly  gear  among  his  friends,  himself  henceforth 
to  be  supported  only  by  the  fees  of  his  new  calling.11 

Ikdnam,  the  creator  of  the  universe,  is  a  powerful 
deity  among   the    Chinooks,  who   have   a  mountain 

the  fire,  all  these  being  intended  as  offerings  to  the  Sun,  the  deity  of  the 
Flatheads.'  Tolmie,  in  Lord's  Nat.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  237-8.     For  references  to  the 
remaining  matter  of  the  paragraph,  see  Id.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  237-43,  2GO. 
11  Kane  a  Wand.,  pp.  218-19;  Gibb's  Clallam  and  Lummi  Vocab.,  p.  15. 


156          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

named  after  him  from  a  belief  that  he  there  turned 
himself  into  stone.  After  him,  or  before  him  as 
many  say,  comes  Ifcalapas,  the  Coyote,  who  created 
men  after  an  imperfect  fashion,12  taught  them  how  to 
make  nets  and  catch  salmon,  how  to  make  a  fire,  and 
how  to  cook;  for  this,  the  first-fruits  of  the  fishing 
season  are  always  sacred  to  him,  and  his  figure  is  to 
be  found  carved  on  the  head  of  almost  every  Chinook 
canoe  on  the  Columbia.  They  have  a  fire-spirit,  an 
evil  spirit,  and  a  body  of  familiar  spirits,  tamanoivas. 
Each  person  has  his  special  spirit,  selected  by  him  at 
an  early  age,  sometimes  by  fasting  and  other  mortifi- 
cation of  the  flesh,  sometimes  by  the  adoption  of  the 
first  object  the  child  or  young  man  sees,  or  thinks  he 
sees,  on  visiting  the  woods.  These  spirits  have  a 
great  effect  on  the  imagination  of  the  Chinooks,  and 
their  supposed  directions  are  followed  under  pain  of 
mysterious  and  awful  punishments ;  people  converse — 
" particularly  when  in  the  water" — with  them,  appar- 
ently talking  to  themselves  in  low,  monotonous  tones. 
Some  say  that  when  a  man  dies  his  tamanowa  passes 
to  his  son;  but  the  whole  matter  is  darkened  with 
much  mystery  and  secrecy ;  the  name  of  one's  familiar 
spirit  or  guardian  never  being  mentioned,  even  to  the 
nearest  friend.  A  similar  custom  forbids  the  mention 
of  a  dead  man's  name,  at  least  till  many  years  have 
elapsed  after  the  bereavement. 

The  Chinook  medicine-men  are  possessed  of  the 
usual  powers  of  converse  and  mediation  with  the  spirits 
good  and  evil ;  there  are  two  classes  of  them,  employed 
in  all  cases  of  sickness — the  etaminuas,  or  priests,  who 
intercede  for  the  soul  of  the  patient,  and,  if  necessary, 
for  its  safe  passage  to  the  land  of  spirits,  and  the  kee- 
lalles,  or  doctors,  sometimes  women,  whose  duty  it  is 
to  administer  medical  as  well  as  spiritual  aid.13 

12 This  vol.,  pp.  95-6. 

13  Wilkes'Nar.,  in  U.  8.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  124-5;  Cox's  Adven.,  vol.  i.,  p. 
317;  Dunn's  Oregon,  pp.  125-6;  Franchere's  Nar.,  p.  258;  Mofras,  Explor., 
torn,  ii.,  p.  354;  7?o,s-/ Adven.,  p.  96;  Parkers  Explor.  Tour,  pp.  139,  246,  254; 
Tolmie,  in  Lord's  Nat.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  248;  Gibbs'  Chinook  Vocab.,  pp.  11,  13; 
Gibbs'  Clallam  and  Lummi  Vocab.,  pp.  15,  29;  Irviny's  Astoria,  pp.  339-40; 
m~'~~ 's  Prim.  Cult.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  253. 


SHOSHONE  DEMONS.  157 

With  the  Cayuses  and  the  Walla  Wallas  any  one 
may  become  a  medicine-man;  among  the  Nez  Perces 
the  office  belongs  to  an  hereditary  order.  Women  are 
sometimes  trained  to  the  profession,  but  they  are  not 
believed  to  hold  such  extreme  powers  as  the  males, 
nor  are  they  murdered  on  the  supposed  exercise  of 
some  fatal  influence.  For,  as  with  the  Chinooks,14  so 
here,  the  reputation  of  sorcerer  is  at  once  the  most 
terrible  to  others  and  the  most  dangerous  to  one's  self 
that  one  can  have.  His  is  a  power  of  life  and  death ; 
his  evil  eye  can  wither  and  freeze  a  hated  life,  if  not 
as  swiftly,  at  least  as  surely  as  the  stare  of  the  Medusa; 
he  is  mortal,  however — he  can  slay  your  friend  or 
yourself,  and  death  is  bitter,  but  then  how  sweet  an 
anodyne  is  revenge!  There  is  no  strong  magic  can 
avail  when  the  heart's  blood  trickles  down  the  aven- 
ger's shaft,  no  cunning  enchantment  that  can  keep  the 
life  in  when  his  tomahawk  crumbles  the  skull  like  a 
potsherd — and  so  it  comes  about  that  the  conjurers 
walk  everywhere  with  their  life  in  their  hand,  and  are 
constrained  to  be  very  wary  in  their  exercise  of  their 
nefarious  powers.15 

The  Shoshone  legends  people  certain  parts  of  the 
mountains  of  Montana  with  little  imps  or  demons, 
called  ninumbees,  who  are  about  two  feet  long,  per- 
fectly naked,  and  provided  each  with  a  tail.  These 
limbs  of  the  evil  one  are  accustomed  to  eat  up  any 
unguarded  infant  they  may  find,  leaving  in  its  stead 
one  of  their  own  baneful  race.  When  the  mother 
comes  to  suckle  what  she  supposes  to  be  her  child, 
the  fiendish  changeling  seizes  her  breast  and  begins  to 
devour  it;  then,  although  her  screams  and  the  alarm 
thereby  given  soon  force  the  malicious  imp  to  make  his 
escape,  there  is  no  hope  further;  she  dies  within  the 
twenty-four  hours,  and  if  not  well  watched  in  the 

u Parkers  Explor.  Tour,  p.  254.  ' The  chiefs  say  that  they  and  their  sons 
are  too  great  to  die  of  themselves,  and  although  they  may  be  sick,  and  de- 
cline, and  die,  as  others  do,  yet  some  person,  or  some  evil  spirit  instigated 
by  some  one,  is  the  invisible  cause  of  their  death;  and  therefore  when  a  chief 
or  chief's  son  dies  the  supposed  author  of  the  deed  must  be  killed. ' 

li>Alvord,  in  Sclwolcraft  s  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  652. 


158          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

mean  time,  the  little  demon  will  even  return  and  make 
an  end  of  her  by  finishing  his  interrupted  meal. 
There  is  another  variety  of  these  hobgoblins,  called 
pahonahs,  *  water-infants/  who  devour  women  and 
children  as  do  their  brother  fiends  of  the  mountain, 
and  complete  the  ring  of  ghoulish  terror  that  closes 
round  the  Shoshone  child  and  mother.16 

The  Californian  tribes,  taken  as  a  whole,  are  pretty 
uniform  in  the  main  features  of  their  theogonic  beliefs. 
They  seem,  without  exception,  to  have  had  a  hazy 
conception  of  a  lofty,  almost  supreme  being;  for  the 
most  part  referred  to  as  a  Great  Man,  the  Old  Man 
Above,  the  One  Above ;  attributing  to  him,  however, 
as  is  usual  in  such  cases,  nothing  but  the  vaguest  and 
most  negative  functions  and  qualities.  The  real,  prac- 
tical power  that  most  interested  them,  who  had  most 
to  do  with  them  and  they  with  him,  was  a  demon,  or 
body  of  demons,  of  a  tolerably  pronounced  character. 
In  the  face  of  divers  assertions  to  the  effect  that  no 
such  thing  as  a  devil  proper  has  ever  been  found  in 
savage  mythology,  we  would  draw  attention  to  the 
following  extract  from  the  Porno  manuscript  of  Mr 
Powers — a  gentleman  who,  both  by  his  study  and  by 
personal  investigation,  has  made  himself  one  of  the 
best  qualified  authorities  on  the  belief  of  the  native 
Californian,  and  whose  dealings  have  been  for  the 
most  part  with  tribes  that  have  never  had  any  friendly 
intercourse  with  white  men :  "Of  course  the  thin  and 
meagre  imagination  of  the  American  savages  was  not 
equal  to  the  creation  of  Milton's  magnificent  imperial 
Satan,  or  of  Goethe's  Mephistopheles,  with  his  subtle 
intellect,  his  vast  powers,  his  malignant  mirth ;  but  in  so 
far  as  the  Indian  fiends  or  devils  have  the  ability,  they 
are  wholly  as  wicked  as  these.  They  are  totally  bad, 
they  have  no  good  thing  in  them,  they  think  only  evil ; 
but  they  are  weak  and  undignified  and  absurd ;  they  are 
as  much  beneath  Satan  as  the  'Big  Indians'  who  invent 
them  are  inferior  in  imagination  to  John  Milton."  17 

16  Stuart's  Montana,  pp.  64^6. 

17  Powers'  Panto,  MS. 


SACRED  TIKES.  159 

A  definite  location  is  generally  assigned  to  the  ^  evil 
one  as  his  favorite  residence  or  resort;  thus  the  Califor- 
nians,  in  the  county  of  Siskiyou,  give  over  Devil's  Cas- 
tle, its  mount  and  lake,  to  the  malignant  spirits,  and 
avoid  the  vicinity  of  these  places  with  all  possible  care. 

The  medicine-man  of  these  people  is  a  personage  of 
some  importance,  dressing  in  the  most  costly  furs;  he  is 
a  non-combatant,  not  coming  on  the  field  till  after  the 
fight;  among  other  duties,  it  is  absolutely  necessary 
for  him  to  visit  any  camp  from  which  the  tribe  has 
been  driven  by  the  enemy,  there  to  chant  the  death- 
song  and  appease  the  angry  spirit  that  wrought  this 
judgment  of  defeat,  for  only  after  this  has  been  done 
is  it  thought  safe  to  light  again  the  lodge-fires  on  the 
old  hearths.  Once  lit,  these  lodge-fires  are  never 
allowed  to  go  out  during  times  of  peace;  it  would  be 
a  bad  omen,  and  omens  are  everything  with  these  men, 
and  deducible  from  all  things.  The  power  of  prophecy 
is  thoroughly  believed  in,  and  is  credited,  not  only  to 
special  seers,  but  also  to  distinguished  warriors  going 
into  battle;  in  the  latter  case,  as  far  at  least  as  their 
own  several  fate  is  concerned;  this,  according  to  Mr 
Miller,  they  often  predict  with  startling  accuracy.18 

There  is  a  strange  sacredness  mixed  up  with  the 
sweat-house  and  its  use,  among  the  Cahrocs,  the  Eu- 
rocs,  and  many  other  tribes.  The  men  of  every  vil- 
lage spend  the  winter  and  rainy  season  in  its  warm 
shelter;  but  squaws  are  forbidden  to  enter,  under 
penalty  of  death,  except  when  they  are  initiated  into 
the  ranks  of  the  '  medicines/  So  consistent  are  the 
Indians  in  this  matter,  that  women  are  not  allowed 
even  to  gather  the  wood  that  is  to  be  burned  in  the 
sacred  fire  of  a  sweat-house;  all  is  done  by  men,  and 
that  only  with  certain  precautions  and  ceremonies. 
The  sacred  fire  is  lit  every  year  in  September  by  a 
'  medicine '  who  has  gone  out  into  the  forest  and  fasted 
and  meditated  for  ten  days ;  and,  till  a  certain  time  has 
elapsed,  no  secular  eye  must  behold  so  much  as  the 
smoke  of  it,  under  awful  penalties.  The  flame  once 

i8Joaquin  Milkrs  Life  amongst  the  Modocs,  pp.  21,  116,  259-60,  360. 


160          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

burning  is  never  suffered  to  go  out  till  the  spring  begins 
to  render  further  heat  unnecessary  and  inconvenient. 

On  one  only  occasion  is  the  ban  lifted  from  the  head 
of  women ;  when  a  female  is  being  admitted  to  the 
medicine  ranks,  she  is  made  to  dance  in  the  sweat- 
house  till  she  falls  exhausted.  It  does  not  appear, 
however,  that  even  by  becoming  a  medicine  can  she 
hope  to  see  twice  the  interior  of  this  lodge. 

The  admission  of  a  man  to  the  medicine  is  a  much 
severer  affair.  He  must  retire  to  the  forest  for  ten 
days,  eating  no  meat  the  while,  and  only  enough 
acorn -porridge  to  keep  the  life  in  him;  the  ten  days 
passed,  he  returns  to  the  sweat-house  and  leaps  up  and 
down  till  he  falls,  just  as  the  woman  did. 

The  doctors  or  sorcerers  are  of  two  kinds,  'root 
doctors '  and  '  barking  doctors.'  To  the  barking  doc- 
tor falls  the  diagnosis  of  a  case  of  sickness.  He  or 
she  squats  down  opposite  the  patient,  and  barks  at 
him,  after  the  manner  of  an  enraged  cur,  for  hours  to- 
gether. If  it  be  a  poisoning  case,  or  a  case  of  malady 
inflicted  by  some  conjurer,  the  barking  doctor  then 
goes  on  to  suck  the  evil  thing  out  through  the  skin  or 
administer  emetics,  as  may  be  deemed  desirable.  If 
the  case,  however,  be  one  of  less  serious  proportions, 
the  i  barker/  after  having  made  his  diagnosis,  retires, 
and  the  root  doctor  comes  in.  who,  with  his  herbs  and 
simples  and  a  few  minor  incantations,  proceeds  to  cure 
the  ailment.  If  a  patient  die,  then  the  medicine  is 
forced  to  return  his  fee ;  and  if  he  refuse  to  attend  on 
any  one  and  the  person  die,  then  he  is  forced  to  pay 
to  the  relatives  a  sum  equal  to  that  which  was  ten- 
dered to  him  as  a  fee  in  the  beginning  of  the  affair ; 
thus,  like  all  professions,  that  of  a  medicine  has  its 
drawbacks  as  well  as  advantages. 

Several  northern  Californian  tribes  have  secret 
societies  which  meet  in  a  lodge  set  apart,  or  in  a 
sweat-house,  and  engage  in  mummeries  of  various 
kinds,  all  to  frighten  their  women.  The  men  pretend 
to  converse  with  the  devil,  and  make  their  meeting- 
place  shake  and  ring  again  with  yells  and  whoops.  In 


CALIFORNIA^  DEITIES.  101 

some  instances,  one  of  their  number,  disguised  as  the 
master  fiend  himself,  issues  from  the  haunted  lodge, 
and  rushes  like  a  madman  through  the  village,  doing 
his  best  to  frighten  contumacious  women  and  children 
out  of  their  senses.  This,  it  would  seem,  has  been  going 
on  from  time  immemorial,  and  the  poor  women  are  still 
gulled  by  it,  and  even  frightened  into  more  or  less  pro- 
longed fits  of  wifely  propriety  and  less  easy  virtue. 

The  coast  tribes  of  Del  Norte  County,  California, 
live  in  constant  terror  of  a  malignant  spirit  that  takes 
the  form  of  certain  animals,  the  form  of  a  bat,  of  a 
hawk,  of  a  tarantula,  and  so  on — but  especially  de- 
lights in  and  affects  that  of  a  screech-owl.  The 
belief  of  the  Russian  River  tribes  and  others  is  prac- 
tically identical  with  this. 

The  Cahrocs  have,  as  we  already  know,  some  con- 
ception of  a  great  deity,  called  Chareya,  the  Old  Man 
Above;  he  is  wont  to  appear  upon  earth  at  times  to 
some  of  the  most  favored  sorcerers ;  he  is  described  as 
wearing  a  close  tunic,  with  a  medicine-bag,  and  as 
having  long  white  hair  that  falls  venerably  about  his 
shoulders.  Practically,  however,  the  Cahrocs,  like 
the  majority  of  Californian  tribes,  venerate  chiefly 
the  coyote.  Great  dread  is  also  had  of  certain  forest- 
demons  of  nocturnal  habits;  these,  say  the  Eurocs, 
take  the  form  of  bears  and  shoot  arrows  at  benighted 
wayfarers.19 

Between  the  foregoing  outlines  of  Californian  belief 
arid  those  connected  with  the  remaining  tribes,  pass- 
ing south,  we  can  detect  no  salient  difference  till  we 
reach  the  Olchones,  a  coast  tribe  between  San  Fran- 
cisco and  Monterey;  the  sun  here  begins  to  be  con- 
nected, or  identified  by  name,  with  that  Great  Spirit, 
or  rather,  that  Big  Man,  who  made  the  earth  and 
who  rules  in  the  sky.20  So  we  find  it  again  both 
around  Monterey  and  around  San  Luis  Obispo;  the 
first-fruits  of  the  earth  were  offered  in  these  neigh- 

19  powers'  Porno,  MS. 

20  Beecluey's  Voy.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  78. 

VOL.  III.    11 


1C2          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

borhoods  to  the  great  light,  and  his  rising  was  greeted 
with  cries  of  joy.21 

Father  Geronimo  Boscana22  gives  us  the  following- 
relation  of  the  faith  and  worship  of  the  Acagchernem 
nations,  in  the  valley  and  neighborhood  of  San  Juan 
Capistrano,  California.  Part  of  it  would  fall  naturally 
into  that  part  of  this  work  allotted  to  origin;  but  the 
whole  is  so  intimately  mixed  with  so  much  concerning 
the  life,  deeds,  and  worship  of  various  supernatural 
personages,  that  it  has  seemed  better  to  fit  its  present 
position  than  any  other.  Of  the  first  part  of  the  tradi- 
tion there  are  two  versions — if  indeed  they  be  versions 
of  the  same  tradition.  We  give  first  that  version 
held  by  the  serranos,  or  highlanders,  of  the  interior 
country,  three  or  four  leagues  inland  from  the  said 
San  Juan  Capistrano. 

Before  the  material  world  at  all  existed,  there  lived 
two  beings,  brother  and  sister,  of  a  nature  that  can- 
not be  explained;  the  brother  living  above,  and  his 
name  meaning  the  Heavens,  the  sister  living  below, 
and  her  name  signifying  Earth.  From  the  union  of 
these  two,  there  sprang  a  numerous  offspring.  Earth 
and  sand  were  the  first  fruits  of  this  marriage;  then 

21  Pages,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  vol.  ci.,  pp.  316,  335. 

22  Father  Boscana,  one  of  the  earliest  missionaries  to  Upper  California, 
left  behind  him  the  short  manuscript  history  from  which  the  tradition  follow- 
ing in  the  text  has  been  taken — through  the  medium  of  a  now  rare  transla- 
tion by  Mr  Robinson.     Filled  with  the  prejudices  of  its  age  and  of  the  profes- 
sion of  its  author,  it  is  yet  marvellously  truthlike;  though  a  painstaking  care 
has  evidently  been  used  with  regard  to  its  most  apparently  insignificant 
details,  there  are  none  of  those  too  visible  wrenchings  after  consistency,  and 
fillings  up  of  lacunae  which  so  surely  betray  the  hand  of  the  sophisticator 
in  so  many  monkish  manuscripts  on  like  and  kindred  subjects.     There  are 
found  on  the  other  hand  frank  confessions  of  ignorance  on  doubtful  pointo, 
and  many  naive  and  puzzled  comments  on  the  whole.     It  is  apparently  the 
longest  and  the  most  valuable  notice  in  existence  on  the  religion  of  a  nation  of 

"the  native  Californians,  as  existing  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  Conquest,  and 
:more  worthy  of  confidence  than  the  general  run  of  such  documents  of  any 
idate  whatever.  The  father  procured  his  information  as  follows:  He  says: 
'God  assigned  to  me  three  aged  Indians,  the  youngest  of  whom  was  over 
seventy  years  of  age.  They  knew  all  the  secrets,  for  two  of  them  were 
capitanes,  and  the  other  a  pul,  who  were  well  instructed  in  the  mysteries.  By 
gifts,  .endearments,  and  kindness,  I  elicited  from  them  their  secrets,  with 
their  explanations;  and  by  witnessing  the  ceremonies  which  they  performed, 
I  learned,  by  degrees,  their  mysteries.  Thus,  by  devoting  a  portion  of  the 
nights  to  profound  meditation,  and  comparing  their  actions  with  their  dis- 
closures, I  was  enabled  after  a  long  time  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  their  re- 
ligion.'' -,jBoscana,  i:i  Robinsons  Life,  in  Cal.  p.  236. 


THE  COYOTE  OF  THE  ACAGCHEMEMS.        163 

were  born  rocks  and  stones ;  then  trees  both  great  and 
small;  then  grass  and  herbs;  then  animals;  lastly  was 
born  a  great  personage  called  Ouiot,  who  was  a  '  grand 
captain/  By  some  unknown  mother  many  children 
of  a  medicine  race  were  born  to  this  Ouiot.  All  these 
things  happened  in  the  north;  and  afterward  when 
men  were  created,  they  were  created  in  the  north ;  but 
as  the  people  multiplied  they  moved  toward  the  south, 
the  earth  growing  larger  also  and  extending  itself  in 
the  same  direction. 

In  process  of  time,  Ouiot  becoming  old,  his  chil- 
dren plotted  to  kill  him,  alleging  that  the  infirmities 
of  age  made  him  unfit  any  longer  to  govern  them  or 
attend  to  their  welfare.  So  they  put  a  strong  poison 
in  his  drink,  and  when  he  drank  of  it  a  sore  sickness 
came  upon  him;  he  rose  up  and  left  his  home  in  the 
mountains  and  went  down  to  what  is  now  the  sea- 
shore, though  at  that  time  there  was  no  sea  there. 
His  mother,  whose  name  is  the  Earth,  mixed  him  an 
antidote  in  a  large  shell,  and  set  the  potion  out  in  the 
sun  to  brew;  but  the  fragrance  of  it  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  Coyote,  who  came  and  overset  the  shell. 
So  Ouiot  sickened  to  death,  and  though  he  told  his 
children  that  he  would  shortly  return  and.  be  with 
them  again,  he  has  never  been  seen  since.  All  the 
people  made  a  great  pile  of  wood  and  burned  his  body 
there,  and  just  as  the  ceremony  began,  the  Coyote 
leaped  upon  the  body,  saying  that  he  would  burn  with 
it;  but  he  only  tore  a  piece  of  flesh  from  the  stomach 
and  ate  it  and  escaped.  After  that  the  title  of  the 
Coyote  was  changed  from  Eyacque,  which  means  Sub- 
captain,  to  Eno,  that  is  to  say,  Thief  and  Cannibal. 

When  now  the  funeral  rites  were  over,  a  general 
council  was  held,  and  arrangements  made  for  collecting 
animal  and  vegetable  food;  for  up  to  this  time  the 
children  and  descendants  of  Ouiot  had  nothing  to  eat 
but  a  kind  of  white  clay.  And  while  they  consulted 
together,  behold  a  marvellous  thing  appeared  before 
them,  and  they  spoke  to  it,  saying :  Art  thou  our  cap- 
tain, Ouiot?  But  the  spectre  said:  Nay,  for  I  am 


164          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

greater  than  Ouiot;  my  habitation  is  above,  and  my 
name  is  Chinigchinich.  Then  he  spoke  further,  hav- 
ing been  told  for  what  they  were  come  together :  I 
create  all  things,  and  I  go  now  to  make  man,  another 
people  like  unto  you;  as  for  you,  I  give  you  power, 
each  after  his  kind,  to  produce  all  good  and  pleasant 
things.  One  of  you  shall  bring  rain,  and  another  dew, 
and  another  make  the  acorn  grow,  and  others  other 
seeds,  and  yet  others  shall  cause  all  kinds  of  game  to 
abound  in  the  land ;  and  your  children  shall  have  this 
power  forever,  and  they  shall  be  sorcerers  to  the  men 
I  go  to  create,  and  shall  receive  gifts  of  them,  that 
the  game  fail  not  and  the  harvests  be  sure.  Then 
Chinigchinich  made  man;  out  of  the  clay  of  the  lake 
he  formed  him,  male  and  female;  and  the  present 
Californians  are  the  descendants  of  the  one  or  more 
pairs  there  and  thus  created. 

So  ends  the  known  tradition  of  the  mountaineers; 
we  must  now  go  back  and  take  up  the  story  anew  at 
its  beginning,  as  told  by  the  playanos,  or  people  of  the 
valley  of  San  Juan  Capistrano.  These  say  that  an 
invisible,  all-powerful  being,  called  Nocuma,  made  the 
world  and  all  that  it  contains  of  things  that  grow  and 
move.  He  made  it  round  like  a  ball  and  held  it  in 
his  hands,  where  it  rolled  about  a  good  deal  at  first, 
till  he  steadied  it  by  sticking  a  heavy  black  rock  called 
tosaut  into  it,  as  a  kind  of  ballast.  The  sea  was  at  this 
time  only  a  little  stream  running  round  the  world,  and 
so  crowded  with  fish  that  their  twinkling  fins  had  no 
longer  room  to  move ;  so  great  was  the  press  that 
some  of  the  more  foolish  fry  were  for  effecting  a  land- 

*/  O 

ing  and  founding  a  colony  upon  the  dry  land,  and  it 
was  only  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  they  were 
persuaded  by  their  elders  that  the  killing  air,  and 
baneful  Sun,  and  the  want  of  feet  must  infallibly  prove 
the  destruction,  before  many  days,  of  all  who  took  part 
in  such  a  desperate  enterprise.  The  proper  plan  was 
evidently  to  improve  and  enlarge  their  present  home; 
and  to  this  end,  principally  by  the  aid  of  one  very 
large  fish,  they  broke  the  great  rock  tosaut  in  two. 


THE  FIRST  MEDICINE-MAX.  1C5 

finding  a  bladder  in  the  centre  filled  with  a  very  bit- 
ter substance.  The  taste  of  it  pleased  the  fish,  so 
they  emptied  it  into  the  water,  and  instantly  the  water 
became  salt  and  swelled  up  and  overflowed  a  great 
part  of  the  old  earth,  and  made  itself  the  new  bounda- 
ries that  remain  to  this  day. 

Then  Nocuma  created  a  man,  shaping  him  out  of 
the  soil  of  the  earth,  calling  him  Ejoni.  A  woman 
also  the  great  god  made,  presumably  of  the  same  mate- 
rial as  the  man,  calling  her  Ae.  Many  children  were 
born  to  this  first  pair,  and  their  descendants  multi- 
plied over  the  land.  The  name  of  one  of  these  last 
was  Sirout,  that  is  to  say,  Handful  of  Tobacco,  and 
the  name  of  his  wife  was  Ycaiut,  which  means  above; 
and  to  Sirout  and  Ycaiut  was  born  a  son,  while  they 
lived  in  a  place  north-east  about  eight  leagues  from 
San  Juan  Capistrano.  The  name  of  this  son  was 
Ouiot,  that  is  to  say,  Dominator ;  he  grew  a  fierce  and 
redoubtable  warrior;  haughty,  ambitious,  tyrannous, 
he  extended  his  lordship  on  every  side,  ruling  every- 
where as  with  a  rod  of  iron ;  and  the  people  conspired 
against  him.  It  was  determined  that  he  should  die 
by  poison;  a  piece  of  the  rock  tcjsaut  was  ground  up 
in  so  deadly  a  way  that  its  mere  external  application 
was  sufficient  to  cause  death,  Ouiot,  notwithstanding 
that  he  held  himself  constantly  on  the  alert,  having 
been  warned  of  his  danger  by  a  small  burrowing  ani- 
mal called  the  cucumel,  was  unable  to  avoid  his  fate; 
a  few  grains  of  the  cankerous  mixture  were  dropped 
upon  his  breast  while  he  slept,  and  the  strong  mineral 
ate  its  way  to  the  very  springs  of  his  life.  All  the 
wise  men  of  the  land  were  called  to  his  assistance ;  but 
there  was  nothing  for  him  save  to  die.  His  body  was 
burned  on  a  great  pile  with  songs  of  joy  and  dances, 
and  the  nation  rejoiced. 

While  the  people  were  gathered  to  this  end,  it  was 
thought  advisable  to  consult  on  the  feasibility  of  pro- 
curing seed  and  flesh  to  eat,  instead  of  the  clay  which 
had  up  to  this  time  been  the  sole  food  of  the  human 
family.  And  while  they  yet  talked  together,  there 


166          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

appeared  to  them,  coming  they  knew  not  whence,  one 
called  Attajen,  "which  name  implies  man,  or  rational 
being."  And  Attajen,  understanding  their  desires, 
chose  out  certain  of  the  elders  among  them,  and 
to  these  gave  he  power,  one  that  he  might  cause 
rain  to  fall,  to  another  that  he  might  cause  game  to 
abound,  and  so  with  the  rest,  to  each  his  power  and 
gift,  and  to  the  successors  of  each  forever.  These 
were  the  first  medicine-men. 

Many  years  having  elapsed  since  the  death  of 
Ouiot,  there  appeared  in  the  same  place  one  called 
Ouiamot,  reputed  son  of  Tacu  and  Auzar — people 
unknown,  but  natives,  it  is  thought  by  Boscana,  of 
"some  distant  land."  This  Ouiamot  is  better  known 
by  his  great  name  Chinigchinich,  which  means  Al- 
mighty. He  first  manifested  his  powers  to  the  peo- 
ple on  a  day  when  they  had  met  in  congregation  for 
some  purpose  or  other;  he  appeared  dancing  before 
them,  crowned  with  a  kind  of  high  crown  made  of  tall 
feathers  stuck  into  a  circlet  of  some  kind,  girt  with  a 
kind  of  petticoat  of  feathers,  and  having  his  flesh 
painted  black  and  red.  Thus  decorated,  he  was  called 
the  tobet.  Having  danced  some  time,  Chinigchinich 
called  out  the  medicine-men,  or  puplems,  as  they  were 
called,  among  whom  it  would  appear  the  chiefs  are 
always  numbered,  and  confirmed  their  power;  telling 
them  that  he  had  come  from  the  stars  to  instruct 
them  in  dancing  and  all  other  things,  and  commanding 
that  in  all  their  necessities  they  should  array  them- 
selves in  the  tobet,  and  so  dance  as  he  had  danced, 
supplicating  him  by  his  great  name,  that,  thus  they 
might  receive  of  their  petitions.  He  taught  them 
how  to  worship  him,  how  to  build  vanqueclis,  or  places 
of  worship,  and  how  to  direct  their  conduct  in  various 
affairs  of  life.  Then  he  prepared  to  die,  and  the  peo- 
ple asked  him  if  they  should  bury  him ;  but  he  warned 
them  against  attempting  such  a  thing :  If  ye  buried  me, 
he  said,  ye  would  tread  upon  my  grave,  and  for  that 
my  hand  would  be  heavy  upon  you ;  look  to  it,  and  to 
all  your  ways,  for  lo  1  I  go  up  where  the  high  stars 


SANCTUARIES  OF  REFUGE.  167 

are,  where  mine  eyes  shall  see  all  the  ways  of  men; 
and  whosoever  will  not  keep  my  commandments  nor 
observe  the  things  I  have  taught,  behold  disease  shall 
plague  all  his  body,  and  no  food  shall  come  near  his 
lips,  the  bear  shall  rend  his  flesh,  and  the  crooked 
tooth  of  the  serpent  shall  sting  him. 

The  vanquech,  or  place  of  worship,  seems  to  have 
been  an  unroofed  enclosure  of  stakes,  within  which, 
on  a  hurdle,  was  placed  the  image  of  the  god  Chinig- 
chinich.  This  image  was  the  skin  of  a  coyote  or  that 
of  a  mountain-cat  stuffed  with  the  feathers  of  certain 
birds,  and  with  various  other  things,  so  that  it  looked 
like  a  live  animal;  a  bow  and  some  arrows  were  at- 
tached to  it  on  the  outside,  and  other  arrows  were 
thrust  down  its  throat,  so  that  the  feathers  of  them 
appeared  at  the  mouth  as  out  of  a  quiver.  The  whole 
place  of  the  enclosure  was  sacred,  and  not  to  be  ap- 
proached without  reverence;  it  does  not  seem  that 
sacrifices  formed  any  part  of  the  worship  there  offered, 
but  only  prayer,  and  sometimes  a  kind  of  pantomime 
connected  with  the  undertaking  desired  to  be  fur- 
thered ;  thus,  desiring  success  in  hunting,  one  mimicked 
the  actions  of  the  chase,  leaping  and  twanging  one's 
bow.  Each  vanquech  was  a  city  of  refuge,  with  rights 
of  sanctuary  exceeding  any  ever  granted  in  Jewish  or 
Christian  countries.  Not  only  was  every  criminal 
safe  there,  whatever  his  crime,  but  the  crime  was,  as  it 
were,  blotted  out  from  that  moment,  and  the  offender 
was  at  liberty  to  leave  the  sanctuary  and  walk  about 
as  before ;  it  was  not  lawful  even  to  mention  his  crime ; 
all  that  the  avenger  could  do  was  to  point  at  him  and 
deride  him,  saying : .  Lo,  a  coward,  who-  has  been  forced 
to  flee  to  Chinigchinich !  This  flight  was  rendered  so 
much  a  meaner  thing  in  that  it  only  turned  the  pun- 
ishment from  the  head  of  him  that  fled  upon  that  of 
some  of  his  relatives;  life  went  for  life,  eye  for  eye, 
arid  tooth  for  tooth,  even  to  the  third  and  fourth  gen- 
eration, for  justice'  sake. 

Besides  Chinigchinich,  they  worshipped,  or  at  any 
rate  feared,  a  god  called   Touch;  who  inhabited  the 


16$          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

mountains  and  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  appearing,  how 
ever,  from  time  to  time  in  the  form  of  various  animals 
of  a  terrifying  kind.  Every  child  at  the  age  of  six  or 
seven  received,  sent  to  him  from  this  god,  some  ani- 
mal as  a  protector.  To  find  out  what  this  animal  or 
spirit  in  the  shape  of  animal  was,  narcotic  drinks  were 
swallowed,  or  the  subject  fasted  and  watched  in  the 
vanquech  for  a  given  time,  generally  three  days.  He 
whose  rank  entitled  him  to  wait  for  his  guardian  appa- 
rition in  the  sacred  enclosure  was  set  there  by  the  side 
of  the  god's  image,  and  on  the  ground  before  him  was 
sketched  by  one  of  the  wise  men  an  uncouth  figure  of 
some  animal.  The  child  was  then  left  to  complete  his 
vigil,  being  warned  at  the  same  time  to  endure  its 
hardships  with  patience,  in  that  any  attempt  to  in- 
fringe upon  its  rules,  by  eating,  or  drinking,  or  other- 
wise, would  be  reported  to  the  god  by  the  sprawling 
figure  the  enchanter  had  drawn  in  the  clay,  and  that 
in  such  a  case  the  punishment  of  Chinigchinich  would 
be  terrible.  After  all  this  was  over,  a  scar  was  made 
on  the  child's  right  arm,  and  sometimes  on  the  thick 
part  of  the  leg  also,  by  covering  the  part,  "  according 
to  the  figure  required,"  with  a  peculiar  herb  dried  and 
powdered,  and  setting  fire  to  it.  This  was  a  brand  or 
seal  required  by  Chinigchinich,  and  was  besides  sup- 
posed to  strengthen  the  nerves  and  give  "a  better 
pulse  for  the  management  of  the  bow." 23 

The  Acagchemems,  like  many  other  Californian 
tribes,24  regard  the  great  buzzard  with  sentiments  of 
veneration,  while  they  seem  to  have  had  connected  with 
it  several  rites  -and  ideas  peculiar  to  themselves.  They 
called  this  bird  the  panes,  and  once  every  year  they  had 
a  festival  of  the  same  name,  in  which  the  principal  cere- 
mony was  the  killing  of  a  buzzard  without  losing  a  drop 
of  its  blood.  It  was  next  skinned,  all  possible  care  be- 
ing taken  to  preserve  the  feathers  entire,  as  these  were 
used  in  making  the  feathered  petticoat  and  diadem,  al- 

23  See  p.  113  of  this  volume,  for  a  custom  among  the  Mexicans  not  with- 
out analogies  to  this. 

"See  p.  134  of  this  volume. 


AND  THERE  WAS  WAR  IN  HEAVEN.  109 

ready  described  as  part  of  the  tobet.  Last  of  all,  the 
body  was  buried  within  the  sacred  enclosure,  amid  great 
apparent  grief  from  the  old  women,  they  mourning  as 
over  the  loss  of  relative  or  friend.  Tradition  explained 
this :  the  panes  had  indeed  been  once  a  woman,  whom, 
wandering  in  the  mountain  ways,  the  great  god  Chi- 
nigchinich  had  come  suddenly  upon  and  changed  into  a 
bird.  How  this  was  connected  with  the  killing  of  her 
anew  every  year  by  the  people,  and  with  certain  ex- 
traordinary ideas  held  relative  to  that  killing,  is,  how- 
ever, by  no  means  clear;  for  it  was  believed  that  as 
often  as  the  bird  was  killed  it  was  made  alive  again, 
and  more,  and  faith  to  move  mountains — that  the  birds 
killed  in  one  same  yearly  feast  in  many  separate  vil- 
lages were  one  and  the  same  bird.  How  these  things 
were  or  why,  none  knew,  it  was  enough  that  they  v/ere 
a  commandment  and  ordinance  of  Chinigchinich,  whose 
ways  were  not  as  the  ways  of  men.25 

The  Pericues  of  Lower  California  were  divided 
into  two  sects,  worshipping  two  hostile  divinities  who 
made  a  war  of  extermination  upon  each  other.  The 
tradition  explains  that  there  was  a  great  lord  in 
heaven,  called  Niparaya,  who  made  earth  and  sea, 
and  was  almighty  and  invisible.  His  wife  was  Anay- 
icoyondi,  a  goddess  who,  though  possessing  no  body, 
bore  him  in  a  divinely  mysterious  manner  three 
children;  one  of  whom,  Quaayayp,  was  a  real  man 
and  born  on  earth,  on  the  Acaragui  mountains.  Very 
powerful  this  young  god  was,  and  a  long  time  he  lived 
with  the  ancestors  of  the  Pericues,  whom  it  is  almost 
to  be  inferred  that  he  created;  at  any  rate,  we  are 
told  that  he  was  able  to  make  men,  drawing  them  up 
out  of  the  earth.  The  men  at  last  killed  this  their 
great  hero  and  teacher,  and  put  a  crown  of  thorns 
upon  his  head.26  Somewhere  or  other  he  remains 
lying  dead  to  this  day,  and  he  remains  constantly 

^Boscana,  in  Robinsons  Life  in  Czl.,  pp.  242-301. 

2hThe  Christian  leaven,  whose  workings  are  evident  through  this  narra- 
tive, ferments  here  too  violently  to  nee;l  pointing  out. 


170          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  A1SD  WORSHIP 

beautiful,  neither  does  his  body  know  corruption. 
Blood  drips  constantly  from  his  wounds,  and  he  can 
speak  no  more,  being  dead;  yet  there  is  an  owl  that 
speaks  to  him.  And  besides  the  before-spoken-of  god 
Niparaya  in  heaven,  there  was  another  and  hostile 
god,  called  Y/ac  or  Tuparan.  According  to  the 
Niparaya  sect,  this  Y/ac  had  made  war  on  their  favor- 
ite god,  and  been  by  him  defeated  and  cast  forth  of 
heaven  into  a  cave  under  the  earth,  of  which  cave  the 
whales  of  the  sea  were  the  guardians.  With  a  per- 
verse though  not  unnatural  obstinacy,  the  sect  that 
held  Y/ac  or  Tuparan  to  be  their  great  god  persisted 
in  holding  ideas  peculiar  to  themselves  with  regard  to 
the  truth  of  the  foregoing  story;  and  their  account 
of  the  great  war  in  heaven  and  its  results  differed  from 
the  other,  as  differ  the  creeds  of  heterodox  and  ortho- 
dox every  where ;  they  ascribe,  for  example,  part  of 
the  creation  to  other  gods  besides  Niparaya. 2/  The 
Cochimis  and  remaining  natives  of  the  Californian 
peninsula  seem  to  have  held  in  the  main  much  the 
same  ideas  with  regard  to  the  gods  and  powers  above 
them  as  the  Pericues  held,  and  the  sorcerers  of  all 
had  the  common  blowings,  leapings,  fastings,  and 
other  mummeries  that  make  these  professors  of  the 
sinister  art  so  much  alike  everywhere  in  our  territory.28 

The  natives  of  Nevada  have  ideas  respecting  a 
great  kind  Spirit  of  some  kind,  as  well  as  a  myth  con- 
cerning an  evil  one;  but  they  have  no  special  class  set 
r,part  as  medicine-men.29  The  Utah  belief  seems  to 
be  as  nearly  as  possible  identical  with  that  of  Nevada.30 

The  Comanches  acknowledge  more  or  less  vaguely  a 
Supreme  Spirit,  but  seem  to  use  the  Sun  and  the  Earth 
as  mediators  with,  and  in  some  sort  as  embodiments 
of  him.  They  have  a  recognized  body  of  sorcerers 
called  puyacantes,  and  various  religious  ceremonies 

27  See  pp.  83-4,  this  volume. 

28  Veneyas,    Uotlcias   da   la  Col.,    torn,  i.,    pp.    102-24;    Clavigero,    Storia 
della  CW.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  135-il;  Humboldt,  Essai  Pol,  torn,  i.,  p.  314. 

29  Virginia    City   CJiromcle,  quoted  in  S.  F.  Daily  Evg  Post,  of  Oct.   12, 
1872;  Browne  s  Lower  Cai,  p.  100. 

30  De  Smet's  Letters,  p.  41. 


MONTEZUMA  OF  THE  PUEBLOS.  171 

and  chants;  for  the  most  part;  of  a  simple  kind,  and 
directed  to  the  Sun  as  the  great  source  of  life,  and  to 
the  Earth  as  the  producer  and  receptacle  of  all  that 
sustains  life.  According  to  the  Abbd  Domenech, 
every  Comanche  wears  a  little  figure  of  the  sun 
attached  to  his  neck,  or  has  a  picture  of  it  painted  on 
his  shield;  from  the  ears  of  each  hang  also  two  cres- 
cents, which  may  possibly  represent  the  moon.31 

The  Apaches  recognize  a  supreme  power  in  heaven, 
under  the  name  Yaxtaxitaxitanne,  the  creator  and 
master  of  all  things;  but  they  render  him  no  open 
service  nor  worship.  To  any  taciturn,  cunning  man 
they  are  accustomed  to  credit  intercourse  with  a  pre- 
ternatural power  of  some  kind,  and  to  look  to  him  as 
a  sort  of  oracle  in  various  emergencies.  This  is,  in 
fact,  their  medicine-man,  and  in  cases  of  illness  he  pre- 
tends to  perform  cures  by  the  aid  of  herbs  and  cere- 
monies of  various  kinds.32 

The  Navajos,  having  the  usual  class  of  sorcerers, 
call  their  good  deity  Whaillahay,  and  their  evil  one 
Chinday ;  the  principal  use  of  their  good  god  seems  to  be 
to  protect  them  from  their  evil  one.  In  smoking,  they 
sometimes  puff  their  tobacco-smoke  toward  heaven 
with  great  formality :  this  is  said  to  bring  rain ;  to  the 
same  end,  certain  long  round  stones,  thought  to  be  cast 
down  by  the  clouds  in  a  thunder-storm,  are  used  with 
various  ceremonies. 

The  sun,  moon,  and  stars  are  thought  to  be  powers 
connected  with  rain  and  fine  weather;  while  the  god 
Montezuma  of  their  Pueblo  neighbors  is  unknown 
among  them."" 


33 


All  the   Pueblo  cities,   though  speaking   different 

zl  Parker,  in  SchoolcrajVs  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  684;  Wfilpple,  Ewbank,  and 
Turner's  Rept.,  pp.  35-6,  in  Pac.  7?.  ft.  Kept.,  vol.  iii.;  Barreiro,  Ojeada  sobre 
N.  Nex.,  ap.  p.  8;  Filley's  Life  and  Adven.,  p.  82;  Marcy's  Army  Life,  pp.  58, 
G-l;  Domenech,  Jour,  d'un  Miss.,  pp.  13,  131,  4G9,. 

32  Barreiro,   Ojeada  sobre  N.  Mex.,   ap.   pp.  2-3;  Henry,  in  ScJioolcraft's 
Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  212. 

33  Crof utt's   Western  World,  Aug.  1872,  p.  27;   Whipple,  Ewbank,  and  Tur- 
ners Kept.,  p.  42,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.;  Ten  Broeck,  in  SchoolcrafCs 
Arch.,  vol.  iv.,'p.  91;  Bristol,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Rept.,  Special  Com,,  1807,  p.  358; 
Brinton's  Myths,  p.  158;  DvrnmccK*  Deserts,  vol.  ii.   p.  402. 


172          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

languages,  hold  substantially  the  same  faith.  They 
seem  to  assent  to  the  statement  of  the  existence  of  a 
great  and  good  spirit  whose  name  is  too  sacred  to  be 
mentioned ;  but  most  say  that  Montezuma  is  his  equal; 
and  some,  again,  that  the  Sun  is  the  same  as  or  equal 
to  Montezuma.  There  are,  besides,  the  lesser  divini- 
ties of  water — Montezuma  being  considered  in  one 
aspect  as  the  great  rain-god,  and  as  such  often  men- 
tioned as  being  aided  by  or  being  in  connection  with 
a  serpent.  Over  and  above  all  these,  the  existence  of  a 
general  class  or  body  of  evil  spirits  is  taken  for  granted. 

At  Acoma,  it  is  said  by  some,  was  established  the 
first  Pueblo,  and  thence  the  people  marched  south- 
ward, forming  others.  Acoma  was  one,  and  Pecos 
another.  At  this  last,  Montezema  planted  a  tree  up- 
side down,  and  said  that,  on  his  leaving  them,  a  strange 
nation  should  oppress  them  for  many  years,  years  also 
in  which  there  should  be  no  rain,  but  that  they  were 
to  persist  in  watching  the  sacred  fire  until  the  tree 
fell,  when  he  would  return,  with  a  white  race  which 
should  destroy  their  enemies;  and  then  rain  should 
fall  again.  It  is  said  that  this  tree  fell  from  its  abnormal 
position  as  the  American  army  entered  Santa  Fe. 

The  watching  of  the  fire,  kept  up  in  subterranean 
estufas,  under  a  covering  of  ashes  generally,  and  in 
the  basin  of  a  small  altar,  was  no  light  task.  The 
warriors  took  the  post  by  turns,  some  said,  for  two 
successive  days  and  nights,  sans  food,  sans  drink,  sans 
sleep,  sans  everything.  Others  affirm  that  this  watch- 
ing was  kept  up  till  exhaustion  and  even  death 
relieved  the  guard — the  last  not  to  be  wondered  at, 
seeing  the  insufferable  closeness  of  the  place  and  the 
accumulation  of  carbonic  acid.  The  remains  of  the 
dead  were,  it  was  sometimes  supposed,  carried  off  by 
a  monstrous  serpent.  This  holy  fire  was  believed  to 
be  the  palladium  of  the  city,  and  the  watchers  by  it 
could  well  dream  of  that  day,  when,  coming  with  the 
sun,  Montezuma  should  descend  by  the  column  of 
smoke  whose  roots  they  fed,  and  should  fill  the  shabby 
little  estufa  with  a  glory  like  that  in  a  wilderness  tab- 


HE  13  NOT  DEAD,  BUT   SLEEPETH.  173 

ernacle  they  knew  not  of,  where  a  more  awful  pillar 
of  smoke  shadowed  the  mystic  cherubim.  Hope  dies 
hard,  and  the  dim  memories  of  a  great  past  never 
quite  fade  away  from  among  any  people.  No  true- 
born  British  bard  ever  doubted  of  Arthur's  return 
from  his  kingly  rest  in  Avalon,  nor  that  the  flash  of 
Excalibar  should  be  one  day  again  as  the  lightning  of 
death  in  the  eyes  of  the  hated  Saxon.  The  herders 
on  the  shore  of  Lucerne  know  that  were  Switzerland 
in  peril,  the  Tell  would  spring  from  his  sleep  as  at  the 
crack  of  doom.  "When  Germany  is  at  her  lowest, 
then  is  her  greatness  nearest,"  say  the  weird  old  ballads 
of  that  land ;  for  then  shall  the  Great  Kaiser  rise  from 
the  vault  in  the  Kyffhauser — Barbarossa  shall  rise, 
though  his  beard  be  grown  through  the  long  stone 
table.  Neither  is  the  Frank  without  his  savior :  Sing, 
0  troubadours,  sing  and  strike  the  chords  proudly! 
Who  shall  prevail  while  Charlemagne  but  sleeps  in 
the  shadow  of  the  Untersberg?  And  so  our  Pueblo 
sentinel  climbing  the  house-top  at  Pecos,  looking  ever 
eastward  from  Santo  Domingo  on  the  Rio  Grande; 
he  too  waits  for  the  beautiful  feet  upon  the  mountains, 
and  the  plumes  of  him 

*  Who  dwelt  up  in  the  yellow  sun, 
And  sorrowing  for  man's  despair, 
Slid  by  his  trailing  yellow  hair 
To  earth,  to  rule  with  love  and  bring 
The  blessedness  of  peace. ' 34 

The  Pueblo  chiefs  seem  to  be  at  the  same  time 
priests ;  they  perform  the  various  simple  rites  by  which 
the  power  of  the  sun  and  of  Montezuma  is  recognized 
as  well  as  the  power — according  to  some  accounts — 
of  "the  Great  Snake,  to  whom  by  order  of  Montezuma 
they  are  to  look  for  life ; "  they  also  officiate  in  certain 
ceremonies  with  which  they  pray  for  rain.  There  are 
painted  representations  of  the  Great  Snake,  together 
with  that  of  a  misshapen  red-haired  man  declared  to 
stand  for  Montezuma.  Of  this  last,  there  was  also  in 
1845,  in  the  pueblo  of  Laguna,  a  rude  effigy  or  idol, 

34  Joaquin  Milter's  Californian. 


174          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

intended,  apparently,  to  represent  only  the  head  of  the 
deity;  it  was  made  of  tanned  skin  in  the  form  of  a 
brimless  hat,  or  cylinder  open  at  the  bottom.  Half- 
way round  it  was  painted  red;  the  other  half  was 
green.  The  green  side  was  rudely  marked  to  suggest 
a  face;  two  triangles  were  cut  for  eyes;  there  was  no 
nose ;  a  circular  leather  patch  served  for  a  mouth,  and 
two  other  patches  in  an  appropriate  situation  suggested 
ears.  Crowning  the  head  was  a  small  tuft  of  leather, 
said  to  be  supplemented  by  feathers  on  festal  occasions. 
A  sorry  image,  one  would  say,  yet  one  looked  upon  by 
its  exhibitors  with  apparently  the  greatest  veneration ; 
they  kneeling  in  a  most  devoted  manner,  going  through 
a  form  of  prayer,  and  sprinkling  it  with  a  white  pow- 
der. One  of  the  worshippers  said  it  was  God  and  the 
brother  of  God;  and  the  people  bring  it  out  in  dry 
seasons,  and  with  various  rites,  invoke  it  for  rain. 

Christianity  has  now  effaced  the  memory  of  most  of 
the  rites  of  the  Pueblo  religion,  but  Dr  Ten  Broeck 
noticed  that  many  of  the  worshippers  at  the  Christian 
church  in  Laguna  carried  little  baskets  in  their  hands 
containing  images  of  domestic  animals,  or  of  beasts  of 
the  chase,  moulded  in  mud  or  dough ;  it  being  the  cus- 

'  O        *  *3 

torn,  as  it  had  been  there  from  time  immemorial,  for 
those  that  had  been  successful  in  the  chase,  or  in  accu- 
mulating cattle,  to  bring  such  simulachres  of  their 
prosperity  before  the  altar  of  God — probably  a  modi- 
fication produced  by  the  poverty  of  the  people  of  a 
rite  as  old  as  the  altar  of  Abel,  to  wit,  the  offering  of 
the  firstlings  and  first-fruits  to  that  Deity  whose  bless- 
ing had  given  the  increase. 

It  has  been  affirmed,  without  much  foundation  or 
probability  of  truth,  that  the  Pueblos  worshipped  fire 
and  water.35 

K  Gregg's  Com.  Prairies,  vol.  i.,  pp.  271-3;  Daw?  El  Gringo,  pp.  142,  396; 
8 impsons  Overland  Jour n.,  pp.  21-3;  Domeneclis  Deserts,  vol.  i.,  pp.  164-5,  418, 
vol.  ii.,  pp.  62-3,  401;  MoWuiusen,  Tagebuch,  pp.  170,  219,  284;  Mehnes  Two 
Thousand  Miles  on  Horseback,  pp.  202,  226;  Riixtvtis  Adven.  in  Mc-x.,  p.  193; 
Ten  Broeck,  in  Schooler  aft's  Arch.*  vol.  iv.,  p.  73;  Ward,  in  2nd.  Aff.  Rept., 
1864,  pp.  192-3;  Emory's  fieconnoissance,  p.  30;  Tylors  Prim.  Cult.,  vol.  ii., 
p.  384;  Brintons  Mytlis,  p.  190;  Coronado,  in  ffakluyt's  Voy.,  vol.  iii.,  p. 
379.  Fremont  gives  an  account  cf  the  birth  of  Montezuma.  His  mother  was, 


MOJAVE  DEITIES.  175 

The  Moquis  know  nothing  of  Montezuma;  they 
believe  in  a  Great  Father,  living  where  the  sun  rises, 
and  in  a  Great  Mother,  whose  home  is  where  the  sun 
goes  down.  This  Father  is  the  father  of  evil,  war, 
pestilence,  and  famine;  but  from  the  Mother  are  all 
their  joy,  peace,  plenty,  and  health.36 

The  Mojaves  tell  of  a  certain  Matevil,  creator  01 
heaven  and  earth,  who  was  wont  in  time  past  to  re- 
main among  them  in  a  certain  grand  casa.  This  hab- 
itation was,  however,  by  some  untoward  event,  broken 
down;  the  nations  were  destroyed;  and  Matevil  de- 
parted eastward.  Whence,  in  the  latter  days,  he  will 
again  return  to  consolidate,  prosper,  and  live  with  his 
people  forever.  This  Matevil,  or  Mathowelia,  has  a 
son  called  Mastamho,  who  made  the  water  and  planted 
trees.  There  is  also  an  Evil  Spirit,  Newathie/ 


37 


From  a  letter  just  received  from  Judge  Hosebor- 
ough,  I  am  enabled  to  close  this  chapter  with  some 
new  and  valuable  facts  regarding  the  religious  ideas 
of  certain  tribes — not  accurately  specified — of  the 
north-west  portion  of  Upper  California.  The  learned 
judge  has  given  unusual  attention  to  the  subject  of 
which  he  writes,  and  his  opportunities  for  procuring 
information  must  have  been  frequent  during  ten  years 
of  travel  and  residence  in  the  districts  of  the  northern 
counties  of  California. 

Among  the  tribes  in  the  neighborhood  of  Trinity 
River  is  found  a  legend  relating  to  a  certain  Wappeck- 
quemow,  who  was  a  giant,  and  apparently  the  father 
and  leader  of  a  pre-human  race  like  himself.  He  was 

it  is  said,  a  woman  of  exquisite  beauty,  admired  and  sought  after  by  all  men, 
they  making  her  presents  of  corn  and  skins  and  all  that  they  had;  but  the 
fastidious  beauty  would  accept  nothing  of  them  but  their  gifts.  In  process 
of  time  a  season  of  drought  brought  on  a  famine  and  much  distress;  then  it 
was  that  the  rich  lady  showed  her  charity  to  be  as  great  in  one  direction  as 
it  had  been  wanting  in  another.  She  opened  her  granaries,  and  the  gifts  of 
the  lovers  she  had  not  loved  went  to  relieve  the  hungry  she  pitied.  At  last 
with  rain  fertility  returned  to  the  earth;  and  on  the  chaste  Artemis  of  the 
Pueblos  its  touch  fell  too.  She  bore  a  son  to  the  thick  summer  shower,  and 
that  son  was  Montezuma. 

36  Ten  Broeck,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  85-6. 

3r  Whipple,  Ewbanlc,  and  Turners  Rept.,  pp.  42-3,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept., 
vol.  in.;  Dodt,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Rept.,  1870,  p.  129. 


176          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

expelled  from  the  country  that  he  inhabited — near  the 
mouth  of  the  Klamath — for  disobeying  or  offending 
some  great  god,  and  a  curse  was  pronounced  against 
him,  so  that  not  even  his  descendants  should  ever 
return  to  that  land.  On  the  expulsion  of  these  Ana- 
kim,  the  ancestors  of  the  people  to  whom  this  legend 
belongs  came  down  from  the  north-west,  a  direction 
of  migration,  according  to  Judge  Roseborough,  uni- 
formly adhered  to  in  the  legends  of  all  the  tribes  of 
north-west  California.  These  new  settlers,  however, 
like  their  predecessors  of  the  giant  race,  quarrelled 
with  the  great  god,  and  were  abandoned  by  him  to 
their  own  devices,  being  given  over  into  the  hands  of 
certain  evil  powers  or  devils.  Of  these  the  first  is 
Omahd,  who,  possessing  the  shape  of  a  grizzly  bear, 
is  invisible,  and  goes  about  everywhere  bringing  sick- 
ness and  misfortune  on  mankind.  Next  there  is  Maka- 
lay,  a  fiend  with  a  horn  like  a  unicorn;  he  is  swift  as 
the  wind,  and  moves  by  great  leaps  like  a  kangaroo. 
The  sight  of  him  is  usually  death  to  mortals.  There 
is,  thirdly,  a  dreadful  being  called  Kalicknateck,  who 
seems  a  faithful  reproduction  of  the  great  thunder- 
bird  of  the  north;  thus  Kalicknateck  "is  a  huge  bird 
that  sits  on  the  mountain-peak,  and  broods  in  silence 
over  his  thoughts  until  hungry;  when  he  will  sweep 
down  over  the  ocean,  snatch  up  a  large  whale,  and 
carry  it  to  his  mountain-throne,  for  a  single  meal." 

Besides  the  before-mentioned  powers  of  evil,  these 
Trinity  people  have  legends  connected  with  other  per- 
sonages of  the  same  nature,  among  whom  are  Wanus- 
wegock,  Surgelp,  Napousney,  and  Nequiteh. 

When  white  miners  first  came  to  work  on  the  Trin- 
ity River,  their  advent  caused,  as  may  be  imagined, 
much  unsatisfactory  speculation  among  the  aborigines ; 
some  saying  one  thing  of  the  whites  and  some  another. 
At  last  an  old  seer  of  the  Hoopah  Valley  settled  the 
question  by  declaring  thai  the  new-comers  were  de- 
scendants of  that  banished  Wappeckquemow,  from 
whose  heads  the  already-mentioned  curse,  forbidding 
their  return,  had  been  by  some  means  lifted. 


THE  KITCHEN-MIDDEN  OF  THE  HOHGATES.  177 

The  coast  people  in  northern  California  have  a  story 
about  a  mysterious  people  called  Hohgates,  to  whom 
is  ascribed  an  immense  bed  of  mussel-shells  and  bones 
of  animals  still  existing  on  the  table-land  of  Point  St 
George,  near  Crescent  City.  These  Hohgates,  seven 
in  number,  are  said  to  have  come  to  the  place  in  a 
boat,  to  have  built  themselves  "  houses  above  ground, 
after  the  style  of  white  men" — all  this  about  the  time 
that  the  first  natives  came  down  the  coast  from  the 
north.  These  Hohgates,  living  at  the  point  mentioned, 
killed  many  elk  on  land,  and  many  seals  and  sea-lions 
in  fishing  excursions  from  their  boats;  using  for  the 
latter  purpose  a  kind  of  harpoon  made  of  a  knife 
attached  to  a  stick,  and  the  whole  fastened  to  the  boat 
with  a  long  line.  They  also  sailed  frequently  to  cer- 
tain rocks,  and  loaded  their  little  vessels  with  mussels. 
By  all  this  they  secured  plenty  of  food,  and  the  refuse 
of  it,  the  bones  and  shells,  and  so  on,  rapidly  accumu- 
lated into  the  great  kjoJcken  modding  still  to  be  seen. 
One  day,  however,  all  the  Hohgates  being  out  at  sea 
in  their  boat,  they  struck  a  huge  sea-lion  with  their 
rude  harpoon,  and,  unable  or  unwilling  to  cut  or  throw 
off  their  line,  were  dragged  with  fearful  speed  toward 
a  great  whirlpool,  called  Chareckquin,  that  lay  far 
toward  the  north-west.  It  is  the  place  where  souls 
go,  where  in  darkness  and  cold  the  spirits  shiver  for- 
ever ;  living  men  suffer  even  from  its  winds — from  the 
north-west  wind,  the  bleak  and  bitter  Charreck-rawek. 
And  just  as  the  boat  reached  the  edge  of  this  fearful 
place,  behold,  a  marvellous  thing :  the"rope  broke  and 
the  sea-monster  was  swept  down  alone  into  the  whirl 
of  wind  and  water,  while  the  Hohgates  were  caught 
up  into  the  air;  swinging  round  and  round,  their  boat 
floated  steadily  up  into  the  vast  of  heaven.  Never- 
more on  earth  were  the  Hohgates  seen ;  but  there  are 
seven  stars  in  heaven  that  all  men  know  of,  and  these 
stars  are  the  seven  Hohgates  that  once  lived  where 
the  great  shell-bed  near  Crescent  City  now  is. 

VOL.  III.    12 


CHAPTER  VI. 

GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

GODS  AND  RELIGIOUS  RITES  OF  CHIHUAHUA,  SONORA,  DURANGO,  AND  SIN- 
ALOA — THE  MEXICAN  RELIGION  RECEIVED  WITH  DIFFERENT  DEGREES 
OF  CREDULITY  BY  DIFFERENT  CLASSES  OF  THE  PEOPLE— OPINIONS  OF 
DIFFERENT  WRITERS  AS  TO  ITS  NATURE — MONOTHEISM  OF  NEZAHUAL- 
COYOTL — PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  STUDY  OF  MEXICAN  MYTHOLOGY — 
TEZCATLIPOCA— PRAYERS  TO  HIM  IN  TIME  OF  PESTILENCE,  OF  WAR,  FOR 
THOSE  IN  AUTHORITY — PRAYER  USED  BY  AN  ABSOLVING  PRIEST — GENU- 
INENESS OF  THE  FOREGOING  PRAYERS — CHARACTER  AND  WORKS  OF 
SAHAGUN. 

FROM  the  Pueblo  cities  let  us  now  pass  down  into 
Mexico,  glancing  first  at  the  northern  and  north-west- 
ern neighbors  of  this  great  people  that  ruled  on  the 
plateau  of  Analiuac.  The  Chihuahuans  worshipped  a 
great  god  called  by  them  the  '  captain  of  heaven,'  and 
recognized  a  lesser  divinity  as  abiding  in  and  inspiring 
their  priests  and  medicine-men.  They  rendered  hom- 
age to  the  sun;  and  when  any  comet  or  other  phenom- 
enon appeared  in  the  heavens,  they  offered  sacrifice 
thereto;  their  sacrifice  being  much  after  the  Mexican 
fashion — fruits,  herbs,  and  such  things  as  they  had, 
together  with  blood  drawn  from  their  bodies  by  the 
pricks  of  a  thorn.1 

In  Sonora — the  great  central  heart  of  Mexico  mak- 
ing its  beatings  more  and  more  clearly  felt  as  we 
approach  it  nearer — the  vague  feelings  of  awe  and 
reverence  with  which  the  savage  regards  the  unseen, 
unknown,  and  unknowable  powers  begin  at  last  to 
somewhat  lose  their  vagueness  and  to  crystallize  into 

1  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  Boletin,  torn,  iii.,  p.  22  j  Doc.  Hist.  Hex.,  sSrie  iv.,  torn, 
iii.,  p.  86. 

(178) 


GODS  OF  SONORA  AND  DURANGO.  179 

the  recognition  of  a  power  to  be  represented  and  sym- 
bolized by  a  god  made  with  hands.  The  offerings 
thereto  begin,  also,  more  and  more  to  lose  their  primi- 
tive simple  shape,  and  the  blood,  without  which  is  no 
remission  of  sins,  stains  the  rude  altar  that  a  more 
Arcadian  race  had  only  heaped  with  flowers  and  fruit. 
The  natives  of  Sonora  bring,  says  Las  Casas,  "  many 
deer,  wolves,  hares,  and  birds  before  a  large  idol,  with 
music  of  many  flutes  and  other  instruments  of  theirs; 
then  cutting  open  the  animals  through  the  middle, 
they  take  out  their  hearts  and  hang  them  round  the 
neck  of  the  image,  wetting  it  with  the  flowing  blood. 
It  is  certain  that  the  only  offering  made  in  all  this 
province  of  Sonora  was  the  hearts  of  brutes."2  All 
this  they  did  more  especially  in  two  great  festivals 
they  had,  the  one  at  seed-time,  the  other  at  harvest; 
and  we  have  reason  to  rejoice  that  the  thing  was  no 
worse,  reason  to  be  glad  that  the  hearts  of  brave  men 
and  fair  women,  and  soft  children  not  knowing  their 
right  hand  from  their  left,  were  not  called  for,  as  in 
the  land  of  the  eagle  and  cactus  banner,  to  feed  that 
devil  Minotaur's  superstition. 

The  people  of  Durango  called  the  principal  power 
in  which  they  believed  Meyuncame,  that  is  to  say, 
Maker  of  All  Things ;  they  had  another  god,  Cachi- 
ripa,  whose  name  is  all  we  know  of  him.  They  had 
besides  innumerable  private  idols,  penates  of  all  possi- 
ble and  impossible  figures;  some  being  stone,  shaped 
by  nature  only.  In  one  village  they  worshipped  a  great 
flint  knife  that  their  flint  implements  of  every  kind 
might  be  good  and  sure.  They  had  gods  of  storm 
and  gods  of  sunshine,  gods  of  good  and  gods  of  evil, 
gods  of  everything  in  heaven  above  or  in  the  earth 
beneath  or  in  the  waters  under  the  earth.  Their  idols 
received  bloody  sacrifices,  not  always  of  beasts;  a  bowl 
containing  beans  and  the  cooked  human  flesh  of  an 
enemy  was  offered  to  them  for  success  in  war.3 

2 Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apologttica,  MS.,  torn,  iii.,  cap.  168>  Smith's  Relation  of 
Cdbeza  de  Vaca,  p.  177. 

3j£$<:,s,  Hist,  de  los  TriumpJios,  pp.  473-5j  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iv.,  torn, 
iii.,  p.  48. 


180          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Much  of  the  preceding  paragraph  belongs  also  to 
Sinai  oa,  or  cannot  be  exactly  located  more  in  the  one 
province  than  in  the  other.  The  Sinaloas  are  said  to 
have  venerated  above  all  the  other  gods  one  called 
Cocohuame,  which  is,  being  interpreted,  Death.  They 
worshipped  also  a  certain  Ouraba,*  which  is  Valor, 
offering  him  bows,  arrows,  and  all  kinds  of  instruments 
of  ware  To  Sehuatoba,  that  is  to  say,  Pleasure,  they 
sacrificed  feathers,' raiment,  beads  of  glass,  and  women's 
ornaments.  Bamusehua  was  the  god  of  water.  In 
some  parts,  it  is  said,  there  was  recognized  a  divine 
Clement  in  common  herbs  and  birds.  One  deity— 
or  devil,  as  Ribas  calls  him  with  the  exquisite  courtesy 
that  distinguishes  the  theosophic  historian — was  the 
especial  patron  of  a  class  of  wizards  closely  resembling 
the  shamdns  and  medicine-men  of  the  north.  No  one 
seemed  to  know  exactly  the  powers  of  this  deity,  but 
every  one  admitted  their  extent  by  recognizing  with 
a  respectful  awe  their  effects — effects  brought  about 
through  the  agency  of  the  wizards,  by  the  use  of  bags, 
rattles,  magic  stones,  blowings,  suckings,  and  all  that 
routine  of  sorcery  with  which  we  are  already  familiar. 
This  deity  was  called  Grandfather  or  Ancestor.5 

One  Sinaloa  nation,  the  Tahus,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Culiacan,  reared  great  serpents,  for  which  they  had 
a  good  deal  of  veneration.  They  propitiated  their 
gods  with  offerings  of  precious  stones  and  rich  stuffs, 
but  they  did  not  sacrifice  men.  \Vith  an  altogether 
characteristic  insinuation,  the  Abbd  Domenech  says 
that  though  highly  immoral  in  the  main,  they  so 
highly  respected  women  who  devoted  themselves  to  a 
life  of  celibacy,  that  they  held  great  festivals  in  their 

*  Apparently  the  same  as  that  Vairubi  spoken  of  on  p.  83  of  this  volume. 

5  Ribas,  Hist,  de  fas  Triumphos,  pp.  16, 18,  40,  '  Auno  de  sus  dioses  llama- 
ban  Ouraba,  que  quiere  decir  f  ortaleza.  Era  como  Marte,  dios  de  la  guerra. 
Ofrecianle  arcos,  flechas  y  todo  genero  de  armas  para  el  feliz  exito^de  sus 
batallas.  A  otro  llamaban  Sehuatoba,  que  quiere  decir,  deleite,  a  quicn 
ofrecian  plumas,  mantas,  cueiitecillas  de  vidrio  y  adornos  mugeriles.  A.1  dios 
de  las  aguas  llamaban  Bamusehua.  El  mas  venerado  de  todos  era  Cocohuame, 
que  significa  muerte.*  Akgre^  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  ii.,  p.  45.  'They 
worship  for  their  gods  such  things  as  they  haue  in  their  houses,  as  namely, 
hearbes,  and  birdes,  and  sing  songs  vnto  them  in  their  language.'  Coronado,  in 
Hakluyt's  Voy.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  363. 


THE  MEXICAN  RELIGION  AND  ITS   HISTORIANS.          181 

honor — leaving  the  reader  to  suppose  that  the  Tahus 
had  a  class  of  female  religious  who  devoted  themselves 
to  a  life  of  chastity,  and  were  respected  for  that  rea- 
son; the  truth  is  found  to  be,  on  referring  to  the 
author  Castaneda — from  whom  apparently  the  abbe 
has  taken  this  half  truth  and  whole  falsehood — that 
these  estimable  celibate  women  were  the  public  prosti- 
tutes of  the  nation.6 

The  Mexican  religion,  as  transmitted  to  us,  is  a  con- 
fused and  clashing  chaos  of  fragments.  If  ever  the 
great  nation  of  Andhuac  had  its  Hesiod  or  its  Homer, 
no  ray  of  his  light  has  reached  the  stumbling  feet  of 
research  in  that  direction ;  no  echo  of  his  harmony  has 
been  ever  heard  by  any  ear  less  dull  than  that  of  a 
Zumdrraga.  It  is  given  to  few  men  to  rise  above 
their  age,  and  it  is  folly  to  expect  grapes  of  thorns,  or 
figs  of  thistles ;  yet  it  is  hard  to  suppress  wholly  some 
feelings  of  regret,  in  poring  upon  those  ponderous 
tomes  of  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  century  history 
that  touch  upon  Mexican  religion;  one  pities  far  less 
the  inevitable  superstition  and  childish  ignorance  of 
the  barbarian  than  the  senility  of  his  Christian  histo- 
rian and  critic — there  was  some  element  of  hope  and 
evidence  of  attainment  in  what  the  half-civilized  bar- 
barian knew ;  but  from  what  heights  of  Athenian, 
Roman,  and  Alexandrian  philosophy  and  eloquence 
had  civilization  fallen  into  the  dull  and  arrogant 
nescience  of  the  chronicles  of  the  clergy  of  Spain. 

We  have  already  noticed7  the  existence  of  at  least 

6  '  Us  celebraient  de  grandes  f  6tes  en  1'honneur  des  femmes  qui  voulaient 
vivre  dans  le  celibat.     Les  caciques  d'un  canton  se  reunissaient  et  dansaient 
tens  nus,  1'un  apres  1'autre,  avec  la  femme  qui  avait  pris  cette  determination. 
Quand  la  danse  etait  terminee,  ils  la  conduisaient  dans  une  petite  maison 
qu'on  avait  decoree  a  cet  effet,  et  ils  jouissaient  de  sa  personne,  les  caciques 
d'abord  et  ensuite  tous  ceux  qui  le  voulaient.     A  dater  de  ce  moment,  elles 
ne  pouvaient  rien  refuser  a  quiconque  leur   offrait  le  prix  fixe  pour  cela. 
Elles  n'etaient  jamais  dispensees  de  cette  obligation,  m£me  quand  plus  tard 
elles  se  marfeient.'  Castaneda,  in  Ternaux-Compans,   Vay.t  serie  i.,  torn,  ix., 
pp.  150-1.     'Although  these  men  were  very  immoral,  yet  such  was  their  re- 
spect for  all  women  who  led  a  life  of  celibacy,  that  they  celebrated  grand 
festivals  in  their  honour. '     And  there  he  makes  an  end.  DomenecJis  Deserts, 
vol.  i.>  p.  170. 

7  This  volume,  pp.  55-6. 


182          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

two  schools  of  religious  philosophy  in  Mexico,  two 
average  levels  of  thought,  the  one  that  of  the  vulgar 
and  credulous,  the  other  that  of  the  more  enlightened 
and  reflective.  It  has  resulted  from  this  that  different 
writers  differ  somewhat  in  their  opinions  with  regard 
to  the  precise  nature  and  essence  of  that  religion, 
some  saying  one  thing  and  some  another.  I  cannot 
show  this  more  shortly  and — what  is  much  more  im- 
portant in  a  subject  like  this — more  exactly,  than  by 
quoting  a  number  of  these  opinions. 

"Turning  from  the  simple  faiths  of  savage  tribes  of 
America  to  the  complex  religion  of  the  half-civilized 
Mexican  nation,  we  find  what  we  might  naturally  ex- 
pect, a  cumbrous  polytheism  complicated  by  mixture 
of  several  national  pantheons,  and  beside  and  beyond 
this,  certain  appearances  of  a  doctrine  of  divine  su- 
premacy. But  these  doctrines  seem  to  have  been 
spoken  of  more  definitely  than  the  evidence  warrants. 
A  remarkable  native  development  of  Mexican  theism 
must  be  admitted,  in  so  far  as  we  may  receive  the 
native  historian  Ixtlilxochitl's  account  of  the  worship 
paid  by  Nezahualcoyotl,  the  poet-king  of  Tezcuco,  to 
the  invisible  supreme  Tloque-Nahuaque,  he  who  has 
all  in  him,  the  cause  of  causes,  in  whose  star-roofed 
pyramid  stood  an  idol,  and  who  there  received  no 
bloody  sacrifice,  but  only  flowers  and  incense.  Yet  it 
would  have  been  more  satisfactory,  were  the  stories 
told  by  this  Aztec  panegyrist  of  his  royal  ancestors 
confirmed  by  other  records.  Traces  of  divine  su- 
premacy in  Mexican  religion  are  especially  associated 
with  Tezcatlipoca,  '  Shining  Mirror,'  a  deity  who  seems 
in  his  original  nature  the  sun-god,  and  thence  by  ex- 
pansion to  have  become  the  soul  of  the  world,  creator 
of  heaven  and  earth,  lord  of  all  things,  Supreme  Deity. 
Such  conceptions  may,  in  more  or  less  measure,  have 
arisen  in  native  thought,  but  it  should  be  pointed  out 
that  the  remarkable  Aztec  religious  formulas»collected 
by  Sahagun,  in  which  the  deity  Tezcatlipoca  is  so 
prominent  a  figure,  show  traces  of  Christian  admixture 
in  their  material,  as  well  as  of  Christian  influence  in 


COMPLEXITY   OF  AZTEC  THEOLOGY.  183 

their  style.  In  distinct  and  absolute  personality,  the 
divine  Sun  in  Aztec  theology  was  Tonatiuh,8  whose 
huge  pyramid-mound  stands  on  the  plain  of  Teotihua- 
can,  a  witness  of  his  worship  for  future  ages.  Beyond 
this  the  religion  of  Mexico,  in  its  complex  system,  or 
congeries  of  great  gods,  such  as  results  from  the  mix- 
ture and  alliance  of  the  deities  of  several  nations, 
shows  the  solar  element  rooted  deeply  and  widely  in 
other  personages  of  its  divine  mythology,  and  attrib- 
utes especially  to  the  sun  the  title  of  Teotl,  God."£ 

"It  is  remarkable,"  says  Professor  J.  G.  Mtiller, 
"  that  the  well-instructed  Acosta  should  have  known 
nothing  about  the  adoration  of  a  highest  invisible  God, 
under  the  name  of  Teotl.  And  yet  this  adoration  has 
been  reported  in  the  most  certain  manner  by  others, 
and  made  evident  from  more  exact  statements  regard- 
ing the  nature  of  this  deity.  He  has  been  surnamed 
Ipalnemoan,  that  is,  He  through  whom  we  live;  and 
Tloquenahuaque,  that  is,  He  who  is  all  things  through 
himself.  He  has  been  looked  upon  as  the  originator 
and  essence  of  all  things,  and  as  especially  throned  in 
the  high  cloud-surrounded  mountains.  Rightly  does 
Wuttke  contend  against  any  conception  of  this  deity 
as  a  monotheistic  one,  the  polytheism  of  the  people 
being  considered — for  polytheism  and  monotheism  will 
not  be  yoked  together ;  even  if  a  logical  concordance 
were  found,  the  inner  spirits  of  the  principles  of  the 
two  would  still  be  opposed  to  each  other.  Another 
argument  stands  also  clearly  out,  in  the  total  absence 
of  any  prayers,  offerings,  feasts,  or  temples  to  or  in  the 
honor  of  this  god.  From  this  it  is  evident  that  Teotl 
was  not  a  god  of  the  common  people.  Yet  this,  on 
the  other  hand,  cannot  justify  us — the  so  frequently 
occurring  statements  of  well-informed  authorities  being- 
taken  into  account — in  denying  in  toto  all  traces  of  a 

8 1  would  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  Alvarado,  the  ruddy  handsome 
Spanish  captain,  was  called  Tonatiuh  by  the  Mexicans,  just  as  Barnabas  was 
called  Jupiter,  and  Paul,  Mercurius,  by  the  people  of  Lystra — going  to  show 
how  unfetish  and  anthropomorphic  were  the  ideas  connected  with  the  sun- 
god  by  the  Mexicans. 

9  Tylor's  Prim.  Cult.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  311. 


184          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

pantheistic  monotheism,  as  this  latter  may  easily 
spring  up  among  cultivated  polytheists  as  a  logical  re- 
sult and  outcome  of  their  natural  religion.  Nezahual- 
coyotl,  the  enlightened  king  of  Tezcuco,  adored  as  the 
cause  of  causes,  a  god  without  an  image.  The  chief 
of  the  Totonac  aborigines  of  Cempoallan,  had,  if  we 
may  credit  the  speech  put  in  his  mouth  by  Las  Casas 
and  Herrera,  an  idea  of  a  highest  god  and  creator. 
This  abstract  idea  has  also  here,  as  in  other  parts  of 
America,  intertwined  itself  with  the  conception  of  a 
sun-god.  Hence  the  Mexicans  named  the  sun-god 
preeminently  Teotl;  and  that  enlightened  king  of 
Tezcuco,  who  built  a  temple  of  nine  stories — symboliz- 
ing the  nine  heavens — in  honor  of  the  stars,  called  the 
sun-god  his  father." : 

"To  the  most  ancient  gods,"  says  Klemm,  " be- 
longed the  divinities  of  nature,  as  well  as  a  highest 
being  called  Teotl,  God.  He  was  perfect,  independent, 
and  invisible,  and  consequently  not  represented  by  any 
image.  His  qualities  were  represented  by  expressions 
like  these:  He  through  whom  we  live,  He  who  is  all 
in  himself.  This  god  coincides  very  nearly  with  the 
Master  of  Life  of  the  North  Americans.  In  opposi- 
tion to  him  is  the  evil  spirit,  the  enemy  of  mankind, 
who  often  appears  to  and  terrifies  them.  He  is  called 
Tlacatecololotl,  that  is  to  say,  Rational  Owl,  and  may 
possibly,  like  the  Lame-foot  of  the  Peruvians,  be  a 
survival  from  the  times  when  the  old  hunter-nations 

10  Miiller,  AmerikaniscJie  Urreligionen,  pp.  473-4.  The  so-often  discussed 
resemblance  in  form  and  signification  between  the  two  Mexican  words  teotl 
and  calli  (see  Molina,  Vocabulario]  and  the  two  Greek  words  tkeos  and  kalia, 
is  completely  enough  noticed  by  Miiller.  '  Die  Mexikanischen  Vb'lker  haben 
einen  Appellativnamen  fur  Gott,  Teotl,  welcher,  da  die  Buchstaben  tl  blosse 
aztekische  Endung  sind,  merkwiirdiger  Weise  mit  dem  Indogermanischen 
theos,  Deus,  Deva,  Dew,  zusammenstimmt.  Dieses  Wort  wird  zur  Bildung 
mancher  Gotternamen  oder  Kultusgegenstande  gebraucht.  Richer  gehoren 
die  Gotternamen  Tcotlacozanqui,  Teocipactli,  Teotetl,  Teoyamiqui,  Tlozolt- 
eotl.  Der  Tempel  heisst  Teocalli  (vgl.  Kalia,  Hiitte,  Kalias  Capelle)  oder 
wortlich  Haus  Gottes — das  gottliche  Buch,  Teoamoxtli,  Priester  Teopuixqui, 
oder  auch  Teoteuktli,  eine  Prozession  Teonenemi,  Gottermarsch.  Dazu 
kommen  noch  manche  Namen  von  Stadten,  die  als  Kultussitze  ausgezeicb.net 
waren,  wie  das  uns  schon  friiher  bekannt  gewordene  Teotihuacan.  Im  Plural 
wurden  die  Gotter  Teules  genannt  und  eben  so,  wie  uns  Bernal  Diaz  so  oft 
erzahlt,  die  Gefahrten  des  Cortes  welche  das  gemeine  Volk  als  Gotter  bezeich- 
nen  wollte.'  Id.,  p.  472. 


TLOQUE-NAHUAQUE.  185 

inhabited  the  forests  and  mountains.  Next  to  Teotl 
was  Tezcatlipoca,  that  is  to  say,  Shining  Mirror;  he 
was  the  god  of  providence,  the  soul  of  the  world,  and 
the  creator  of  heaven  and  earth.  Teotl  was  not 
represented  by  any  image,  and  was  probably  not 
worshipped  with  offerings  nor  in  any  special  temples; 
Tezcatlipoca  was,  however,  so  represented,  and  that 
as  a  youth,  because  time  could  have  no  power  over  his 
beauty  and  his  splendor.  He  rewarded  the  righteous, 
and  punished  the  ungodly  with  sickness  and  misfor- 
tune. He  created  the  world,  and  mankind,  and  the 
sun,  and  the  water,  and  he  was  himself  in  a  certain 
degree  the  overseer  thereof." 

The  Abbe  Brasseur  believes  in  the  knowledge  by 
the  Mexicans  and  certain  neighboring  or  related  na- 
tions^ of  a  Supreme  God ;  but  he  thinks  also  that  the 
names  of  great  priests  and  legislators  have  often  been 
used  for  or  confounded  with  the  one  Name  above 
every  name.  Thus  he  says:  "In  the  traditions  that 
have  reached  us  the  name  of  the  legislator  is  often 
confused  with  that  of  the  divinity;  and  behind  the 
symbolic  veil  that  covers  primitive  history,  he  who 
civilized  and  brought  to  light  in  the  Americans  a  new 
life,  is  designedly  identified  with  the  Father  of  the  uni- 
versal creation.  The  writers  who  treat  of  the  history 
of  the  ancient  American  nations  avow  that,  at  the 
time  of  the  landing  of  the  Spaniards  on  the  soil  of 
the  wrestern  continent,  there  was  not  one  that  did  not 
recognize  the  existence  of  a  supreme  deity  and  arbi- 
ter of  the  universe.  In  that  confusion  of  religious 
ideas,  which  is  the  inevitable  result  of  ignorance  and 
superstition,  the  notion  of  a  unique  immaterial  being, 
of  an  invisible  power,  had  survived  the  shipwreck  of 
pure  primitive  creeds.  Under  the  name  Tloque-Na- 
huaque,  the  Mexicans  adored  Him  who  is  the  first 
cause  of  all  things,  who  preserves  and  sustains  all  by 
his  providence ;  calling  him  again,  for  the  same  reason, 
Ipalnemoaloni,  He  in  whom  and  by  whom  wTe  are  and 

nKlemm,  Cuhur-Geschiclde,  torn,  v.,  pp.  114-15. 


186          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

live.  This  god  was  the  same  as  that  Kunab-Ku,  the 
Alone  Holy,  who  was  adored  in  Yucatan;  the  same 
again  as  that  Hurakan,  the  Voice  that  Cries,  the 
Heart  of  Heaven,  found  with  the  Guatemalan  nations 
of  Central  America;  and  the  same  lastly  as  that 
Teotl,  God,  whom  we  find  named  in  the  Tzendal  and 
Mexican  books.  This  "  God  of  all  purity,"  as  he  was 
styled  in  a  Mexican  prayer,  was,  however,  too  elevated 
for  the  thoughts  of  the  vulgar.  His  existence  was 
recognized,  and  sages  invoked  him ;  but  he  had  neither 
temples  nor  altars — perhaps  because  no  one  knew  how 
lie  should  be  represented — and  it  was  only  in  the  last 
times  of  the  Aztec  monarchy  that  Nezahualcoyotl, 
king  of  Tezcuco,  dedicated  to  him  a  teocalli  of  nine 
terraces,  without  statues,  under  the  title  of  the  Un- 
known God."12 

Mr  Gallatin  says  of  the  Mexicans:  " Their  mythol- 
ogy, as  far  as  we  know  it,  presents  a  great  number 
of  unconnected  gods,  without  apparent  system  or 
unity  of  design.  It  exhibits  no  evidence  of  metaphysi- 
cal research  or  imaginative  powers.  Viewed  only  as 
a  development  of  the  intellectual  faculties  of  man,  it 
is,  in  every  respect,  vastly  inferior  to  the  religious 
systems  of  Egypt,  India,  Greece,  or  Scandinavia. 
If  imported,  it  must  have  been  from  some  barbarous 
country,  and  brought  directly  from  such  country  to 
Mexico,  since  no  traces  of  a  similar  worship  are  found 
in  the  more  northern  parts  of  America."13 

"The  Aztecs,"  writes  Prescott,  " recognized  the 
existence  of  a  Supreme  Creator  and  Lord  of  the  Uni- 
verse. But  the  idea  of  unity — of  a  being  with  whom 
volition  is  action,  who  has  no  need  of  inferior  ministers 
to  execute  his  purposes — was  too  simple,  or  too  vast, 
for  their  understandings;  and  they  sought  relief  as 
usual,  in  a  plurality  of  deities,  who  presided  over  the 
elements,  the  changes  of  the  seasons,  and  the  various 
occupations  of  man.  Of  these,  there  were  thirteen 
principal  deities,  and  more  than  two  hundred  inferior; 

l'2Brasseur  de  Sourbourg,  Hist,  des  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  45-6. 
13  Gallatin,  in  Amer.  Antiq.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  p.  352. 


PRIMITIVE  WORSHIP.  187 

to  each  of  whom  some  special  day,  or  appropriate  fes- 
tival, was  consecrated."1 

According  to  Mr  Squier:  "The  original  deities  of 
the  Mexican  pantheon  are  few  in  number.  Thus,  when 
the  Mexicans  engaged  in  a  war,  in  defence  of  the  lib- 
erty or  sovereignty  of  their  country,  they  invoked  the 
War  God,  under  his  aspect  and  name  HuitzlipochtlL 
When  suddenly  attacked  by  enemies,  they  called  upon 
the  same  god,  under  his  aspect  and  name  of  Paynal- 
ton,  which  implied  God  of  Emergencies,  etc.  In  fact, 
as  already  elsewhere  observed,  all  the  divinities  of  the 
Mexican,  as  of  every  other  mythology,  resolve  them- 
selves into  the  primeval  God  and  Goddess."15 

"The  population  of  Central  America,"  says  the  Vi- 
comte  de  Bussierre,  "although  they  had  preserved  the 
vague  notion  of  a  superior  eternal  God  and  creator, 
known  by  the  name  Teotl,  had  an  Olympus  as  numer- 
ous as  that  of  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans.  It  would 
appear — the  most  ancient,  though  unfortunately  also 
the  most  obscure,  legends  being  followed — that  during 
the  civilized  period  which  preceded  the  successive  in- 
vasions of  the  barbarous  hordes  of  the  north,  the  in- 
habitants of  Analmac  joined  to  the  idea  of  a  supreme 
being  the  worship  of  the  sun  and  the  moon,  offering 
them  flowers,  fruits,  and  the  first-fruits  of  their  fields. 
The  most  ancient  monuments  of  the  country,  such  as 
the  pyramids  of  Teotihuacan,  were  incontestably  con- 
secrated to  these  luminaries.  Let  us  now  trace  some 
of  the  most  striking  features  of  these  people.  Among 
the  number  of  their  gods  is  found  one  represented 
under  the  figure  of  a  man  eternally  young,  and  consid- 
ered as  the  symbol  of  the  supreme  and  mysterious 
God.  Two  other  gods  there  were,  watching  over 
mortals  from  the  height  of  a  celestial  city,  and  charged 
with  the  accomplishment  of  their  prayers.  Air,  earth, 
fire,  and  water  had  their  particular  divinities.  The 
woman  of  the  serpent,  the  prolific  woman,  she  who 
never  gave  birth  but  to  twins,  was  adored  as  the 

11  Prescott's  Cong,  of  Mex.,  vol.  i.,  p.  57. 
15  Squier  s  Serpent  Symbol,  p.  47. 


188          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP 

mother  of  the  human  race.  The  sun  and  the  moon 
had  their  altars.  Various  divinities  presided  over  the 
phenomena  of  nature,  over  the  day,  the  night,  the 
mist,  the  thunder,  the  harvest,  the  mountains,  and  so 
on.  Souls,  the  place  of  the  dead,  warriors,  hunters, 
merchants,  fishing,  love,  drunkenness,  medicine,  flow- 
ers, and  many  other  things  had  their  special  gods.  A 
multitude  of  heroes  and  of  illustrious  kings,  whose 
apotheosis  had  been  decreed,  took  their  place  in  this 
vast  pantheon,  where  were  besides  seated  two  hundred 
and  sixty  divinities  of  inferior  rank,  to  each  of  whom, 
nevertheless,  one  of  the  days  of  the  year  was  conse- 
crated. Lastly,  every  city,  every  family,  every  indi- 
vidual, had  its  or  his  celestial  protector,  to  whom 
worship  was  rendered.  The  number  of  the  temples 
corresponded  to  that  of  the  gods;  these  temples  were 
found  everywhere,  in  the  cities,  in  the  fields,  in  the 
woods,  along  the  roads,  and  all  of  them  had  priests 
charged  with  their  service.  This  complicated  mythol- 
ogy was  common  to  all  the  nations  of  Andhuac,  even 
to  those  that  the  empire  had  been  unable  to  subjugate, 
and  with  which  it  was  at  war;  but  each  country  had 
its  favorite  god,  such  god  being  to  it  what  Huitzilo- 
pochtli,  the  god  of  war,  was  to  the  Aztecs."16 

The  Mexican  religion,  as  summed  up  by  Mr  Brantz 
Mayer,17  "was  a  compound  of  spiritualism  and  gross 
idolatry;  for  the  Aztecs  believed  in  a  Supreme  Deity, 
whom  they  called  Teotl,  God;  or  Ipalnemoani,  He  by 
whom  we  live ;  or  Tloque-Nahuaque,  He  who  has  all 
in  himself;  while  their  evil  spirit  bore  the  name  of 
Tlaleatcololotl,  the  Rational  Owl.  These  spiritual 
beings  are  surrounded  by  a  number  of  lesser  divinities, 
who  were  probably  the  ministerial  agents  of  Teotl. 
These  were  Huitzilopochtli,  the  god  of  war,  and  Teo- 
yaomiqui,  his  spouse,  whose  duty  it  was  to  conduct 
the  souls  of  warriors  who  perished  in  defence  of  their 
homes  and  religion  to  the  'house  of  the  sun/  the  Az- 

lGBu8sierre,  V Empire  Mexicain,  pp.  131-3. 

17  Brantz  Mayer,  in  Sduoolcrafis  Arch.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  585;  see  also  Brantz 
Mayer's  Mexico  as  It  was,  p.  110. 


MEXICAN  RELIGION,  GREEK  AND  ROMAN.  189 

tec  heaven.  Huitzilopochtli,  or  Mextli,  the  god  of 
war,  was  the  special  protector  of  the  Aztecs ;  and  de- 
voted as  they  were  to  war,  this  deity  was  always  in- 
voked before  battle,  and  recompensed  after  it  by  the 
offering  of  numerous  captives  taken  in  conflict." 

"The  religion  of  the  Mexicans,"  writes  Senor  Car- 
bajal  Espinosa,18  plagiarizing  as  literally  as  possible 
from  Clavigero,  "was  a  tissue  of  errors  and  of  cruel 
and  superstitious  rites.  Similar  infirmities  of  the  hu- 
man mind  are  inseparable  from  a  religious  system  origi- 
nating in  caprice  and  fear,  as  we  see  even  in  the  most 
cultured  nations  of  antiquity.  If  the  religion  of  the 
Mexicans  be  compared  with  that  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  it  will  be  found  that  the  latter  is  the  more 
superstitious  and  ridiculous  and  the  former  the  more 
barbarous  and  sanguinary.  These  celebrated  nations 
of  ancient  Europe  multiplied  excessively  their  gods  be- 
cause of  the  mean  idea  that  they  had  of  their  power; 
restricting  their  rule  within  narrow  limits,  attributing 
to  them  the  most  atrocious  crimes,  and  solemnizing 
their  worship,  with  such  execrable  impurities,  as  were 
so  justly  condemned  by  the  fathers  of  Christianity. 
The  gods  of  the  Mexicans  were  less  imperfect,  and 
their  worship  although  superstitious  contained  noth- 
ing repugnant  to  decency.  They  had  some  idea, 
although  imperfect,  of  a  Supreme  Being,  absolute, 
independent,  believing  that  they  owed  him  tribute, 
adoration,  and  fear.  They  had  no  figure  whereby  to 
represent  him,  believing  him  to  be  invisible,  neither 
did  they  give  him  any  other  name,  save  the  generic  one 
God,  which  is  in  the  Mexican  tongue  Teotl,  resembling 
even  more  in  sense  than  in  pronunciation  the  Theos 
of  the  Greeks;  they  used,  however,  epithets,  in  the 
highest  degree  expressive,  to  signify  the  grandeur  and 
the  power  which  they  believed  him  endowed  with,  call- 
ing him  Ipalnemoani,  that  is  to  say,  He  by  whom  we 
live,  and  Tloque-Nahuaque,  which  means,  He  that  is 
all  things  in  himself.  But  the  knowledge  and  the  wor- 

l*Carbajal  Espinosa,  Hist,  de  Mexico,  torn,  i.,  pp.  468-9;  Clavigero,  Stories, 
Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  3-4. 


190          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  \\ORSHIF, 

ship  of  this  Supreme  Essence  were  obscured  by  the 
multitude  of  gods  invented  by  superstition.  The  peo- 
ple believed,  furthermore,  in  an  evil  spirit,  inimical  to 
mankind,  calling  him  Tlacatecololotl,  or  Rational  Owl, 
and  saying  that  oftentimes  he  revealed  himself  to  men, 
to  hurt  or  to  terrify  them." 

"The  Mexicans  and  the  Tezcucans,"  following  Senor 
Pimentel,  "  recognized  the  existence  of  a  Supreme 
Being,  of  a  First  Cause,  and  gave  him  that  generic  title 
Teotl,  God,  the  analogy  of  which  with  the  Theos  of  the 
Greeks,  has  been  already  noted  by  various  authors.  The 
idea  of  God  is  one  of  those  that  appear  radical  to  our 

very  existence With  the  Mexicans  and  Tezcucans 

this  idea  was  darkened  by  the  adoration  of  a  thousand 
gods,  invoked  in  all  emergencies;  of  these  gods  there 
were  thirteen  principal,  the  most  notable  being  the  god 
of  providence,  that  of  war,  and  that  of  the  wind  and 
waters.  The  god  of  providence  had  his  seat  in  the  sky, 
and  had  in  his  care  all  human  affairs.  The  god  of  the 
waters  was  considered  as  the  fertilizer  of  earth,  and  his 
dwelling  was  in  the  highest  of  the  mountains,  where 
he  arranged  the  clouds.  The  god  of  war  was  the  prin- 
cipal protector  of  the  Mexicans,  their  guide  in  their 
wanderings  from  the  mysterious  country  of  Aztlan,  the 
god  to  whose  favor  they  owed  those  great  victories 
that  elevated  them  from  the  lowly  estate  of  lake-fisher- 
men up  to  the  lordship  of  Andhuac.  The  god  of  the 

wind    had  an  aspect  more   benign The  Mexicans 

also  worshipped  the  sun  and  the  moon,  and  even,  it 
would  appear,  certain  animals  considered  as  sacred. 
There  figured  also  in  the  Aztec  mythology  an  evil 
genius  called  the  Owl-man,19  since  in  some  manner  the 
good  and  the  bad,  mixed  up  here  on  earth,  have  to  be 
explained.  So  the  Persians  had  their  Oromasdes  and 
Arimanes,  the  first  the  genius  of  good,  and  the  second 
of  evil,  and  so,  later,  Manicheism  presents  us  with 
analogous  explanations."20 

Solis,  writing  of  Mexico  and  the  Mexicans,  says: 

19  Hombre  Bulio. 

™Pimentel,  Mem.  sobre  la  Raza  Indiyena,  pp.  11-13. 


THE  NAMELESS  GOD.  191 

"There  was  hardly  a  street  without  its  tutelary  god; 
neither  was  there  any  calamity  of  nature  without  its 
altar,  to  which  they  had  recourse  for  remedy.  They 
imagined  and  made  their  gods  out  of  their  own  fear; 
not  understanding  that  they  lessened  the  power  of  some 

by  what  they  attributed  to  others But  for  all  so 

many  as  were  their  gods,  and  so  complete  as  was  the 
blindness  of  their  idolatry,  they  were  not  without  the 
knowledge  of  a  Superior  Deity,  to  whom  they  attrib- 
uted the  creation  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  This 
original  of  things  was  among  the  Mexicans  a  god  with- 
out name ;  they  had  no  word  in  their  language  with 
which  to  express  him,  only  they  gave  it  to  be  under- 
stood that  they  knew  him,  pointing  reverently  towards 
heaven,  and  giving  to  him  after  their  fashion  the 
attribute  of  ineffable,  with  that  sort  of  religious  uncer- 
tainty with  which  the  Athenians  venerated  the  Un- 
known God."21 

The  interpreter  of  the  Codex  Telleriano-Remensis 
calls  the  Supreme  God  of  the  Mexicans  by  the  name 
Tonacateotle.22  The  interpreter  says:  "God,  Lord, 
Creator,  Governor  of  all,  Tloque,  Nauaq,  Tlaltic- 
paque,  Teotlalale-Matlava-Tepeva — all  these  epithets 
they  bestowed  on  their  god  Tonacateotle,  who,  they 
said,  was  the  god  that  created  the  world;  and  him 
alone  they  painted  with  a  crown  as  lord  of  all.  They 
never  offered  sacrifices  to  this  god,  for  they  said  he 
cared  not  for  such  things.  All  the  others  to  whom 
they  sacrificed  were  men  once  on  a  time,  or  demons." 23 

We   have   already  seen  from   Herrera  that  "the 

21  Solis,  Hist,  de  la  Conq.  de  Mex.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  398-9,  431. 

22Gallatin,  in  Amer.  Ethnol.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  p.  350,  identifies  this 
god  with  Tszcatlipoca  of  whom 'he  writes  in  the  following  terms:  'Tezcatli- 
poca.  A  true  invisible  god,  dwells  in  heaven,  earth  and  hell;  alone  attends 
to  the  government  of  the  world,  gives  and  takes  away  wealth  and  prosperity. 
Called  also  Titlacoa  (whence  his  star  T^tlaca/luan).  Under  the  name  of 
Necocyaotl,  the  author  of  wars  and  discords.  According  to  Boturini,  he  is 
the  god  of  providence.  He  seems  to  be  the  only  equivalent  for  the  Tonacat- 
lecottle  of  the  interpreters  of  the  Codices.' 

23Explic.  del  Codex  TellerMno-Remensts,  in  Kingsbor&ugtis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol. 
v.,  p.  135.  I  take  this  opportunity  of  cautioning  the  reader  against  Kings- 
borough's  translation  of  the  above  codex,  as  well  as  against  his  translation  of 
the  Spiegazione  delle  Tavote  del  Codtce  Mexzcano.  every  error  that  could  vitiate 
a  translation  seems  to  have  crept  into  these  two. 


192          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Mexicans  confessed  to  a  Supreme  God,  Lord,  and 
maker  of  all  things,  and  the  said  God  was  the  princi- 
pal that  they  venerated,  looking  toward  heaven,  and 
calling  him  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth."24  In 
contradistinction  to  this,  it  may  be  well  to  consider 
the  following  extract  from  the  same  author:  "Such 
was  the  blindness  of  the  Mexicans,  even  to  the  natural 
light,  that  they  did  not  think  like  men  of  good  judg- 
ment that  all  created  things  were  the  work  and  effect 
of  some  immense  and  infinite  cause,  the  which  only 

the  First  Cause  and  true  God  is And  in  Mexico 

alone  (according  to  the  common  opinion)  they  had  and 
adored  two  thousand  gods,  of  whom  the  principal  were 
Vizilipuztli  and  Tezcatlipucatl,  who  as  supreme  were 
set  up  in  the  height  of  the  great  temple,  over  two 
altars. . . .  Tezcatlipucatl  was  the  god  of  providence, 
and  Vizilipuztli  the  god  of  war." 25 

Speaking  of  Mexican  temples26  and  gods,  Oviedo 
says:  "But  Montezuma  had  the  chief  [temple],  to- 
gether with  three  other  prayer-houses,  in  which  he 
sacrificed  in  honor  of  four  gods,  or  idols,  that  he  had; 
of  these  they  had  one  for  god  of  war,  as  the  Gentiles 
had  Mars;  to  another  they  gave  honor  and  sacrifice 
as  god  of  the  waters,  even  as  the  ancients  gave  to 
Neptune ;  another  they  adored  for  god  of  the  wind, 
as  the  lost  heathen  adored  .^Eolus;  and  another  still 
they  revered  as  their  sovereign  god,  and  this  was  the 
sun. .  . .  They  had  further  other  gods ;  making  one  of 
them  god  of  the  maize-fields,  attributing  to  him  the 
power  of  guarding  and  multiplying  the  same,  as  the 
fable-writing  poets  and  ancients  of  antiquity  did  to 
Ceres.  They  had  gods  for  everything,  giving  at- 
tributes to  each  according  to  their  surmises,  investing 

24  See  this  vol.,  p.  57,  note  13.     On  pages  55  and  56,  and  in  the  note  per- 
taining thereto,  will  also  be  found  many  references  bearing  on  the  matter 
under  present  discussion. 

25  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  ii,,  lib.  vii.,  cap.  xviii.,  p.  253. 

26  Qiies,  Oviedo  calls  them  (spelled  cues  by  most  writers),  the  following  ex- 
planation being  given  in  glossary  of  Voces  Americanos  Empleadas  por  Oviedo, 
appended  to  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Hist.  Gen.:  'Qii:  templo,  casa  de  oraci- 
on.     Esta  voz  era  muy  general  en  casi  toda  America,  y  muy  principalmente 
en  las  comarcas  de  Yucatan  y  Mechuacan. ' 


ACOSTA  AND  TEOTL.  193 

them  with  that  godhead  which  they  had  not,  and  with 
which  it  was  not  right  to  invest  any  save  only  the 
true  God."27 

Speaking  in  general  terms  of  probably  a  large  part 
of  New  Spain,  Torquemada  says:  " These  idolaters 
did  not  deny  that  they  had  a  god  called  Ypalnemoa- 
loni,  that  is  to  say,  Lord  by  whom  wTe  live,  and  his 
nature  is  that  his  existence  is  in  himself:28  the  which 
is  most  proper  to  God,  who  is  in  his  essence  life.  But 
that  in  which  these  people  erred  was  in  distributing 
this  divinity  and  attributing  it  to  many  gods;  yet  in 
reality  and  verily,  they  recognized  a  Supreme  God,  to 
whom  all  the  others  were  inferior.  But  for  the  great- 
ness of  their  sins,  they  lacked  faith  and  ran  into  this 
error  like  the  other  nations  that  have  done  so." 

Acosta,  as  has  been  already  noticed  by  Professor  J. 
G.  Miiller,  either  never  heard  of  or  disbelieved  in  the 
existence  of  the  name  Teotl  and  of  the  ideas  connected 
therewith  by  so  many  historians.29  The  said  Acosta 
says:  "If  wee  shall  seeke  into  the  Indian  tongue  for 
a  word  to  answer  to  this  name  of  God,  as  in  Latin, 
Deus ;  in  Greeke,  Theos ;  in  Hebrew,  El ;  in  Arabike, 
Alia;  but  wee  shall  not  finde  any  in  the  Cuscan  or 
Mexicaine  tongues.  So  as  such  as  preach  or  write  to 
the  Indians,  vse  our  Spanish  name  Dios,  fitting  it  to 
the  accent  or  pronunciation  of  the  Indian  tongues,  the 
which  differ  much,  whereby  appeares  the  small  knowl- 
edge they  had  of  God,  seeing  they  cannot  so  much 
as  name  him,  if  it  be  not  by  our  very  name:  yet 
in  trueth  they  had  some  little  knowledge ....  The 
Mexicaines  almost  in  the  same  manner  [as  the  Peru- 

27  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  503. 

26  Ypalnemoaloni,  que  quiere  decir,  Senor  por  quien  se  vive,  y  ai  ser  en 
el  de  Naturale^a.'  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  30. 

29  See  this  vol.,  p.  183.  Not,  be  it  remarked,  that  Acosta  denies  the  knowl- 
edge by  the  Mexicans  of  a  Supreme  God;  he  only  denies  the  existence  of  any 
name  by  which  the  said  deity  was  generally  known.  This  is  clear  from  the 
following  extract  from  the  Hist.  Nat.  2nd.,  p.  333:  '  First,  although  the  darke- 
nesse  of  iiitidelitie  holdeth  these  nations  in  blindenesse,  yet  in  many  thinges 
the  light  of  truth  and  reason  works  somewhat  in  them.  And  they  commonly 
acknowledge  a  supreame  Lorde  and  Author  of  all  things,  which  they  of  Peru 

called  Viracocha Him  they  did  worship,  as  the  chiefest  of  all,  whom  they 

did  honor  in  beholding  the  heaven.  The  like  wee  see  amongest  them  of 
Mexico." 

VOL.  III.    13 


194          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

vians]  after  the  supreame  God,  worshipped  the  Sunne : 
And  therefore  they  called  Hernando  Cortez,  Sonne  of 
the  Sunne,  for  his  care  and  courage  to  compasse  the 
earth.  But  they  made  their  greatest  adoration  to  an 
Idol  called  Vitzilipuztli,  the  which  in  all  this  region  they 
called  the  most  puissant  and  Lord  of  all  things:  for 
this  cause  the  Mexicaines  built  him  a  Temple,  the 
greatest,  the  fairest,  the  highest,  and  the  most  sump- 
tuous of  all  others. . .' .  But  heere  the  Mexicaines 
Idolatrie  hath  bin  more  pernicious  and  hurtfull  than 
that  of  the  Inguas,  as  wee  shall  see  plainer  heereafter, 
for  that  the  greatest  part  of  their  adoration  and  idol- 
atrie  was  employed  to  Idols,  and  not  to  naturall  things, 
although  they  did  attribute  naturall  effects  to  these 
Idolls,  as  raine,  multiplication  of  cattell,  warre  and  gen- 
eration, even  as  the  Greekes  and  Latins  have  forged 
Idolls  of  Phoebus,  Mercurie,  Jupiter,  Minerva,  and  of 
Mars.  To  conclude,  who  so  shall  neerely  looke  into  it 
shall  finde  this  manner  which  the  Divell  hath  vsed  to 
deceive  the  Indians,  to  be  the  same  wherewith  hee 
hath  deceived  the  Greekes  and  Romans,  and  other 
ancient  Gentiles,  giving  them  to  vnderstand  that  these 
notable  creatures,  the  Sunne,  Moone,  Starres,  and 
Elements  had  power  and  authoritie  to  doe  good  or 
harme  to  men."30 

Mendieta  says :  "  It  is  to  be  noted  for  a  general  rule 
that,  though  these  people,  in  all  the  continent  of  these 
Indias,  from  the  farthest  parts  of  New  Spain  to  the 
parts  of  Florida,  and  farther  still  to  the  kingdoms  of 
Peru,  had,  as  has  been  said,  an  infinity  of  idols  that  they 
reverenced  as  gods,  nevertheless,  above  all,  they  still 
held  the  sun  as  chiefest  and  most  powerful.  And  they 
dedicated  to  the  sun  the  greatest,  richest,  and  most 
sumptuous  of  their  temples.  This  should  be  the  power 
the  Mexicans  called  Ipalnemohuani,  that  is  to  say,  'by 
whom  all  live/  and  Moyucuyatzin  ayac  oquiyocux 
ayac  oquipic,  that  is  to  say,  'he  that  no  one  created 
or  formed,  but  who,  on  the  contrary,  made  all  things 
by  his  own  power  and  will/. ...  So  many  are  the  fic- 

^Acosta,  Hist.  Nat.  Ind.,  pp.  334,  337-8. 


MENDIETA'S  EUHEMERISTIC  THEORY.  195 

tions  and  fables  that  the  Indians  invented  about  their 
gods,  and  so  differently  are  these  related  in  the  dif- 
ferent towns,  that  neither  can  they  agree  among  them- 
selves in  recounting  them,  nor  shall  there  be  found  any 
one  who  shall  understand  them.  In  the  principal 
provinces  of  this  New  Spain,  they  had — after  the  sun, 
which  was  the  common  god  of  them  all — each  province, 
its  particular  and  principal  god,  to  which  god  above 
all  others  they  offered  their  sacrifices;  as  the  Mexi- 
cans to  Uzilopuchtli — a  name  that  the  Spaniards,  not 
being  able  to  pronounce  called  Ocholobos,  'eight 
wolves,'  or  Uchilobos;  as  the  Tezcucans  to  Tezcatli- 
puca;  as  the  Tlaxcalans  to  Camaxtli,  and  as  the  Cho- 
lulans  to  Quetzalcoatl ;  doubtless  all  these  were  famous 
men  that  performed  some  notable  feats,  or  invented 
some  new  thing,  to  the  honor  and  benefit  of  the  state ; 
or  perhaps  again  these  gave  the  people  laws  and  a 
rule  of  life,  or  taught  them  trades,  or  to  offer  up  sacri- 
fices, or  some  other  thing  that  appeared  good  and 
worthy  to  be  rewarded  with  grateful  acknowledg- 
ments. . . .  ,  The  demon,  the  old  enemy,  did  not  con- 
tent himself  with  the  service  that  these  people  did 
him  in  the  adoration  of  almost  every  visible  creature, 
in  making  idols  of  them,  both  carven  and  painted,  but 
he  also  kept  them  blinded  with  a  thousand  fashions  of 
witchcrafts,  parodies  of  sacraments,  and  superstitions."31 
"It  is  well  to  remark,"  writes  Camargo,  "that 
although  the  Indians  had  a  divinity  for  each  thing, 
they  were  aware  of  the  existence  of  a  Supreme  God 
that  they  named  Tloque-Nahuaque,  or  He  who  con- 
tains all,  regarding  the  same  as  superior  to  all  the  other 
gods."  This  Tlascaltec  author  has  also  preserved  us 
a  native  prayer  couched  in  the  following  terms :  "  O, 
all-powerful  gods,  that  inhabit  the  heavens,  even  as  far 
as  the  ninth,  where  abides  your  master  and  ours,  the 
great  Tloque-Nahuaque  (this  name  means,  He  that 
accompanies  the  other  gods 32) — you  that  have  all  power 

3lMendieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  pp.  88,  91,  107. 

3'2  The  interpretation  of  the  title  Tloque-Nahuaque  is  not  only  irreconcil- 
able with  another  given  by  the  same  author  a  few  lines  above  in  our  text, 
but  it  is  also  at  utter  variance  with  those  of  all  other  authors  with  which  I 


196          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

over  men  forsake  us  not  in  danger.  We  invoke  you, 
as  well  also  as  the  sun  Nauholin,  and  the  moon,  spouse 
of  that  brilliant  luminary,  the  stars  of  heaven  also,  and 
the  wind  of  the  night  and  of  the  day."33 

According  to  the  somewhat  vague  and  incomplete 
account  of  Fray  Toribio  de  Benavente,  or  Motolinia— 
the  latter  his  adopted  name  and  that  by  which  he  is 
best  known — another  of  the  original  and  early  authori- 
ties in  matter  concerning  the  gentile  Mexicans,  "Tez- 
catlipoca  was  the  god  or  demon  that  they  held  for 
greatest  and  to  whom  most  dignity  was  attributed.  .  . 
They  had  idols  of  stone,  and  of  wood,  and  of  baked 
clay;  they  also  made  them  of  dough  and  of  seeds 
kneaded  into  the  dough.  .  .  Some  of  them  were  shaped 
like  men,  .  .  .  some  were  like  women; .  .  .  some  were  like 
wild  beasts,  as  lions,  tigers,  dogs,  deer,  and  such  other 
animals  as  frequented  the  mountains  and  plains ; .  .  . 
some  like  snakes  of  many  fashions,  large  and  coiling.  .  . 
Of  the  owl  and  other  night-birds,  and  of  others  as  the 
kite,  and  of  every  large  bird,  or  beautiful,  or  fierce, 
or  preciously  feathered,  they  had  an  idol.  But  the 
principal  of  all  was  the  sun.  Likewise  had  they  idols 
of  the  moon  and  stars,  and  of  the  great  fishes,  and  of 
the  water-lizards,  and  of  toads  and  frogs,  and  of  other 
fishes;  and  these  they  said  were  the  gods  of  the  fishes. 
.  .  .They  had  for  gods  fire,  water,  and  earth;  and  of  all 
these  they  had  painted  figures.  .  .  Of  many  other 
things  they  had  figures  and  idols,  carved  or  painted, 
even  of  butterflies,  fleas,  and  locusts."34 

Nezahualcoyotl,  king  of  Tezcuco,  was  he  who-- 
according  to  the  no  doubt  somewhat  partial  account 
of  his  descendant  Ixtlilxochitl — pushed  the  farthest 
into  overt  speech  and  act  his  contempt  of  the  vulgar 

am  acquainted.  It  may  not  be  amiss  here  to  turn  to  the  best  authority  ac- 
cessible in  matters  of  Mexican  idiom.  Molina,  Vocabulario,  describes  the 
title  to  mean,  '  He  upon  whom  depends  the  existence  of  all  things,  preserv- 
ing and  sustaining  them '-  -a  word  used  also  to  mean  God,  or  Lord.  '  Tloque 
nauaque,  cabe  quien  esta  el  ser  de  todas  las  cosas,  conseruandolas  y  sustentan- 
dolas:  y  dizese  de  nro  senor  dios.' 

3*Camargo,  Htst.  de  Tlax.,  in Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn,  xcviii., 
p.  191,  torn,  xcix.,  p.  168. 

Hist.  Indios,  in  Icazbalceta,  Col,  torn,  i.,  pp.  4,  33-4. 


THE  CREED  OF  NEZAHUALGOYOTL.  197 

idolatry  and  his  recognition  of  a  high,  holy,  and  to 
a  great  extent  unknowable  supreme  power.  This 
thoughtful  monarch  "  found  for  false  all  the  gods  adored 
by  the  people  of  this  land,  saying  that  they  were 
statues  and  demons  hostile  to  the  human  race;  for  he 
was  very  learned  in  moral  things,  and  he  went  to  and 
fro  more  than  any  other,  seeking  if  haply  he  might 
find  light  to  affirm  the  true  God  and  creator  of  all 
things,  as  has  been  seen  in  the  discourse  of  his  history, 
and  as  bear  witness  the  songs  that  he  composed  on 
this  theme.  He  said  that  there  was  only  One,  that 
this  One  was  the  maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  that  he 
sustained  all  he  had  made  and  created,  and  that  he  was 
where  was  no  second,  above  the  nine  heavens ;  that  no 
eye  had  ever  seen  this  One  in  a  human  shape,  nor  in 
any  shape  whatever;  that  the  souls  of  the  virtuous 
went  to  him  after  death,  while  the  souls  of  the  bad 
went  to  another  place,  some  most  infamous  spot  of 
earth,  filled  with  horrible  hardships  and  sufferings. 
Never — though  there  were  many  gods  representing 
many  idols — did  the  king  neglect  an  opportunity  of 
saying  when  divinity  was  discussed,  'yntloque  in  nau- 
haque  y  palne  moalani,'  which  sentence  sums  up  his 
convictions  as  above  expressed.  Nevertheless  he 
recognized  the  sun  as  his  father  and  the  earth  as  his 
mother."35 

Now,  it  is  in  the  face  of  much  that  has  been  said 
denying  or  doubting  Ixtlilxochitl's  account  of  the  creed 

30 Ixtlilxochitl,  Hist.  Chickimeca,  in  KingsborougJis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  ix.,  p. 
231.  'Tuvo  por  fabos  a  todos  los  dioses  que  adoraban  los  de  e.sta  tier'ra, 
diciendo  que  eran  estatuas  6  demonios  enemigos  del  ge"nero  humano;  por 
que  fue  muy  sabio  en  las  cosas  morales,  y  el  que  masvacild  buscando  de 
donde  toinar  lumbre  para  certificarse  del  verdadero  Dios  y  criador  de  todas 
las  cosas,  como  se  ha  visto  en  el  discurso  de  su  historia,  y  dan  testimonio 
sus  cantos  que  compuso  en  razon  de  esto  como  es  el  decir  que  habia  uno 
solo,  y  que  este  era  el  hacedor  del  cielo  y  de  la  tierra,  y  sustentaba  todo  lo 
hecho  y  criado  por  el,  y  que  estaba  donde  no  tenia  segundo,  sobre  los  nueve 
cielos,  que  el  alcanzaba,  que  jamas  se  habia  visto  en  forma  humana,  ni  otra 
iigura,  que  con  61  iban  a  parar  las  almas  de  los  virtuosos  despues  de  muertos, 
y  que  las  de  los  malos  iban  a  otro  lugar,  que  era  el  mas  infimo  de  la  tierra, 
de  trebajos  y  penas  horribles.  Nunca  jamas  (aunque  habia  muchos  idolos 
que  representaban  muchos  dioses)  cuando  se  ofrecia  tratar  de  deidad,  ni  en 
general  ni  en  particular,  sino  que  decia  yntloque  in  nauhaque  y  palne  moa- 
lani, que  significa  lo  que  est&  atras  declarado.  Solo  decia  que  reconocia  al 
sol  por  padre;  y  a  la  tierra  por  madre.'  See  also  the  Rdadones  of  the  same 
author,  in  the  same  volume,  p.  454. 


198          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

of  Nezahualcoyotl  that  I  have  selected  the  passage 
above  translated,  from  among  other  passages  touch- 
ing the  same  subject  in  the  Historic*,  Chichimeca  and 
in  the  Relaciones.  I  have  selected  it,  not  because  it 
is  the  most  clearly  worded,  or  the  most  eloquent, 
or  the  most  complete ;  but  solely  on  account  of  the 
sentence  with  which  it  concludes:  Nezahualcoyotl 
"  recognized  the  sun  as  his  father  and  the  earth  as  his 
mother."  These  few  words  occurring  at  the  end  of  a 
eulogy  of  the  great  Tezcucan  by  a  confessed  admirer — 
these  few  words  that  have  passed  unnoticed  amid  the 
din  and  hubbub  raised  over  the  lofty  creed  to  which 
they  form  the  last  article — these  few  words,  so  insig- 
nificant apparently,  and  yet  so  significant  in  their 
connection,  should  go  far  to  prove  the  faithfulness  of 
Ixtlilxochitl's  record,  and  the  greater  or  less  complete- 
ness of  his  portrait  of  his  great  ancestor.  Were 
Ixtlilxochitl  dishonest,  would  he  ever  have  allowed 
such  a  pagan  chord  as  this  to  come  jangling  into  the 
otherwise  perfect  music  of  his  description  of  a  perfect 
sage  and  Christian — who  believed  in  a  God  alone  and 
all-sufficient,  who  believed  in  a  creator  of  all  things 
without  any  help  at  all,  much  less  the  help  of  his 
dead  material  creatures,  the  sun  and  the  earth  ?  Let 
us  admit  the  honesty  of  Ixtlilxochitl,  and  admit  with 
him  a  knowledge  of  that  Unknown  God,  whom,  as 
did  the  Athenians,  Nezahualcoyotl  ignorantly  wor- 
shipped; but  let  us  not  be  blinded  by  a  glitter  of 
words — which  we  may  be  sure  lose  nothing  in  the 
repetition — as  to  the  significance  of  that  'ignorantly;' 
let  us  never  lose  sight  across  the  shadow  of  that 
obscure  Athenian  altar  to  the  Unknown  God,  of  the 
mighty  columns  of  the  Acropolis  and  the  crest  of  the 
Athena  Promachos.  Nezahualcoyotl  seems  a  fair 
type  of  a  thoughtful,  somewhat  sceptical  Mexican  of 
that  better  instructed  class  which  is  ever  and  every- 
where the  horror  of  hypocrites  and  fanatics — of  that 
class  never  without  its  witnesses  in  all  countries  and 
at  all  times — of  that  class  two  steps  above  the  ignorant 
laity,  and  one  step  above  the  learned  priesthood,  yet 


AMERICAN  MYTHOLOGY.  199 

far   still    from  that  simple    and  perfect  truth  which 
shall  one  day  be  patent  enough  to  all. 

Turning  from  the  discussion  of  a  point  so  obscure 
and  intangible  as  the  monotheism  of  Nezahualcoyotl, 
and  the  school  of  which  he  was  the  type,  let  us  review 
the  very  palpable  and  indubitable  polytheism  of  the 
Mexicans.  It  seems  radically  to  differ  little  from 
other  polytheisms  better  known,  such  as  those  of 
Greece,  Rome,  and  Scandinavia;  it  seems  to  have 
been  a  jumble  of  personified  powers,  causes,  and  qual- 
ities, developed  in  the  ordinary  way  from  the  myth- 
ical corruption  of  that  florid  hyperbolical  style  of 
speech  natural  to  all  peoples  in  days  before  the  exact 
definition  of  words  was  either  possible  or  necessary; 
just  such  a  jumble  as  the  Aryan  polytheisms  were  in 
the  days  of  the  Euhemerists,  and  for  too  long  after, 
unfortunately;  such  a  jumble  as  Aryan  mythology 
was  till  the  brothers  Grimm  led  the  van  of  the  ripest 
talent  and  scholarship  of  the  nineteenth  century  into 
the  paths  of  '  word-shunting/  which  led  again  into 
god  or  hero  shunting,  if  the  term  may  be  invented. 
Unfortunately  the  philologic  and  mythologic  material 
for  such  an  exhaustive  synthesis  of  the  origin  and 
relations  of  the  American  creeds  as  Mr  Cox,  for 
example,  has  given  to  the  world  on  the  Aryan  le- 

fends,  in  his  Mythology  of  the  Aryan  Nations,  is  yet 
ir  from  complete;  which  fact  indeed  makes  the 
raison  d'etre  of  works  like  the  present.  There  is 
nothing  for  me  at  present  but  to  gather,  sift,  and 
arrange,  with  such  sifting  and  arrangement  as  may  be 
possible,  all  accessible  materials  relating  to  the  subject 
in  hand;  that  done,  let  more  skilled  workmen  find  and 
give  them  their  place  in  the  wall  of  science.  For 
they  have  a  place  there,  whether  or  no  it  be  found 
to-day  or  to-morrow — a  breach  is  there  that  shall  be 
empty  until  they  fit  and  fill  it. 

Tezcatlipoca  seems  to  have  been  considered  on  the 
whole,  and  the  patron-gods  of  different  cities  aside,  as 
the  most  important  of  the  Mexican  gods.  We  have 


200          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

seen  him  identified  in  several  of  the  preceding  quota- 
tions with  a  supreme  invisible  god,  and  I  now  proceed, 
illustrating  this  phase  of  his  character,  to  translate  as 
closely  as  possible  the  various  prayers  given  by  Saha- 
gun  as  addressed  to  this  great  deity  under  his  various 
names,  Titlacaoan,  Yautl,  Telpuchtli,  Tlamatzincatl, 
Moiocoiatzin,  laotzin,  Necociautl,  Necaoalpilli,  and 
others. 

O  thou  almighty  God,  that  givest  life  to  men,  and 
art  called  Titlacaoan,  grant  me  in  thy  mercy  every- 
thing needful  to  eat  and  to  drink,  and  to  enjoy  of  thy 
soft  and  delicate  things;  for  in  grievous  toil  and 
straitness  I  live  in  the  world.  Have  mercy  on  me,  so 
poor  I  am  and  naked,  I  that  labor  in  thy  service,  and 
for  thy  service  sweep,  and  clean,  and  put  light  in  this 
poor  house,  where  I  await  thine  orders ;  otherwise  let 
me  die  soon  and  end  this  toilful  and  miserable  life,  so 
that  my  body  may  find  rest  and  a  breathing-time. 

In  illness  the  people  prayed  to  this  deity  as  follows : 
O  God,  whose  name  is  Titlacaoan,  be  merciful  and 
send  away  this  sickness  which  is  killing  me,  and  I  will 
reform  my  life.  Let  me  be  once  healed  of  this  infirm- 
ity, and  I  swear  to  serve  thee  and  to  earn  the  right  to 
live;  should  I  by  hard  toil  gain  something,  I  will  not 
eat  it  nor  employ  it  in  anything  save  only  to  thine 
honor ;  I  will  give  a  feast  and  a  banquet  of  dancing  in 
this  poor  house. 

But  the  sick  man  that  could  not  recover,  and  that 
felt  it  so,  used  to  grow  desperate  and  blaspheme,  say- 
ing :  0  Titlacaoan,  since  thou  tnockest  me,  why  dost 
thou  not  kill  me  f6 

Then  following  is  a  prayer  to  Tezcatlipoca,  used  by 
the  priest  in  time  of  pestilence :  0  mighty  Lord,  under 
whose  wing  we  find  defence  and  shelter,  thou  art  in- 
visible and  impalpable  even  as  night  and  the  air.  How 
can  I  that  am  so  mean  and  worthless  dare  to  appear 
before  thy  majesty  ?  Stuttering  and  with  rude  lips  I 
speak;  ungainly  is  the  manner  of  my  speech  as  one 
leaping  among  furrows,  as  one  advancing  unevenly; 

9*Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  pp,  241-2. 


PRAYER  IN  TIME  OF  PESTILENCE.  201 

for  all  this  I  fear  to  raise  thine  anger,  and  to  provoke 
instead  of  appeasing  thee ;  nevertheless  thou  wilt  do 
unto  me  as  may  please  thee.  0  Lord,  that  hast  held 
it  good  to  forsake  us  in  these  days,  according  to  the 
counsel  thou  hast  as  well  in  heaven  as  in  hades — alas 
for  us,  in  that  thine  anger  and  indignation  has  de- 
scended in  these  days  upon  us ;  alas,  in  that  the  many 
and  grievous  afflictions  of  thy  wrath  have  overgone 
and  swallowed  us  up,  coming  down  even  as  stones, 
spears,  and  arrows  upon  the  wretches  that  inhabit  the 
earth — this  is  the  sore  pestilence  with  which  we  are 
afflicted  and  almost  destroyed.  Alas,  O  valiant  and 
all-powerful  Lord,  the  common  people  are  almost  made 
an  end  of  and  destroyed ;  a  great  destruction  and  ruin 
the  pestilence  already  makes  in  this  nation ;  and,  what 
is  most  pitiful  of  all,  the  little  children  that  are  inno- 
cent and  understand  nothing,  only  to  play  with  peb- 
bles and  to  heap  up  little  mounds  of  earth,  they  too 
die,  broken  and  dashed  to  pieces  as  against  stones  and 
a  wall — a  thing  very  pitiful  and  grievous  to  be  seen, 
for  there  remain  of  them  not  even  those  in  the  cradles, 
nor  those  that  could  not  walk  nor  speak.  Ah,  Lord, 
how  all  things  become  confounded;  of  young  and  old 
and  of  men  and  women  there  remains  neither  branch 
nor  root ;  thy  nation  and  thy  people  and  thy  wealth  are 
levelled  down  and  destroyed.  0  our  Lord,  protector 
of  all,  most  valiant  and  most  kind,  what  is  this  1  Thine 
anger  and  thine  indignation,  does  it  glory  or  delight  in 
hurling  the  stone  and  arrow  and  spear  ?  The  fire  of 
the  pestilence,  made  exceeding  hot,  is  upon  thy  nation, 
as  a  fire  in  a  hut,  burning  and  smoking,  leaving  noth- 
ing upright  or  sound.  The  grinders  of  thy  teeth  are 
employed,  and  thy  bitter  whips  upon  the  miserable  of 
thy  people,  who  have  become  lean  and  of  little  sub- 
stance, even  as  a  hollow  green  cane.  Yea,  what  doest 
thou  now,  O  Lord,  most  strong,  compassionate,  invisi- 
ble, and  impalpable,  whose  will  all  things  obey,  upon 
whose  disposal  depends  the  rule  of  the  world,  to  whom 
all  is  subject — what  in  thy  divine  breast  hast  thou  de- 
creed? Peradventure  hast  thou  altogether  forsaken 


202          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

thy  nation  and  thy  people  ?  Hast  thou  verily  deter- 
mined that  it  utterly  perish,  and  that  there  be  no  more 
memory  of  it  in  the  world,  that  the  peopled  place  be- 
come a  wooded  hill  and  a  wilderness  of  stones  ?  Per- 
ad venture  wilt  thou  permit  that  the  temples,  and  the 
places  of  prayer,  and  the  altars,  built  for  thy  service, 
be  razed  and  destroyed  and  no  memory  of  them  be 
left?  Is  it  indeed  possible  that  thy  wrath  and  punish- 
ment, and  vexed  indignation  are  altogether  implacable 
and  will  go  on  to  the  end  to  our  destruction  ?  Is  it 
already  fixed  in  thy  divine  counsel  that  there  is  to  be 
no  mercy  nor  pity  for  us,  until  the  arrows  of  thy  fury 
are  spent  to  our  utter  perdition  and  destruction  ?  Is 
it  possible  that  this  lash  and  chastisement  is  not  given 
for  our  correction  and  amendment,  but  only  for  our 
total  destruction  and  obliteration;  that  the  sun  shall 
nevermore  shine  upon  us,  but  that  we  must  remain  in 
perpetual  darkness  and  silence ;  that  nevermore  thou 
wilt  look  upon  us  with  eyes  of  mercy,  neither  little 
nor  much  ?  Wilt  thou  after  this  fashion  destroy  the 
wretched  sick  that  cannot  find  rest  nor  turn  from  side 
to  side,  whose  mouth  and  teeth  are  filled  with  earth 
and  scurf?  It  is  a  sore  thing  to  tell  how  we  are  all  in 
darkness,  having  none  understanding  nor  sense  to 
watch  for  or  aid  one  another.  We  are  all  as  drunken 
and  without  understanding,  without  hope  of  any  aid; 
already  the  little  children  perish  of  hunger,  for  there 
is  none  to  give  them  food,  nor  drink,  nor  consolation, 
nor  caress — none  to  give  the  breast  to  them  that  suck; 
for  their  fathers  and  mothers  have  died  and  left  them 
orphans,  suffering  for  the  sins  of  their  fathers.  0  our 
Lord,  all-powerful,  full  of  mercy,  our  refuge,  though 
indeed  thine  anger  and  indignation,  thine  arrows  and 
stones,  have  sorely  hurt  this  poor  people,  let  it  be  as  a 
father  or  a  mother  that  rebukes  children,  pulling  their 
ears,  pinching  their  arms,  whipping  them  with  nettles, 
pouring  chill  water  upon  them;  all  being  done  that 
they  may  amend  their  puerility  and  childishness.  Thy 
chastisement  and  indignation  have  lorded  and  prevailed 
over  these  thy  servants,  over  this  poor  people,  even  as 


SPARE  THE  GREEN  AND  TAKE  THE  RIPE.  203 

rain  falling  upon  the  trees  and  the  green  canes,  being 
touched  of  the  wind,  drops  also  upon  those  that  are  be- 
low. 0  most  compassionate  Lord,  thou  knowest  that 
the  common  folk  are  as  children,  that  being  whipped 
they  cry,  and  sob,  and  repent  of  what  they  have  done. 
Peradventure,  already  these  poor  people  by  reason 
of  thy  chastisement  weep,  sigh,  blame,  and  murmur 
against  themselves;  in  thy  presence  they  blame  and 
bear  witness  against  their  bad  deeds  and  punish  them- 
selves therefor.  Our  Lord  most  compassionate,  piti- 
ful, noble,  and  precious,  let  a  time  be  given  the  people 
to  repent;  let  the  past  chastisement  suffice,  let  it  end 
here,  to  begin  again  if  the  reform  endure  not.  Pardon 
and  overlook  the  sins  of  the  people ;  cause  thine  anger 
and  thy  resentment  to  cease ;  repress  it  again  within 
thy  breast  that  it  destroy  no  further,  let  it  rest  there ; 
let  it  cease,  for  of  a  surety  none  can  avoid  death  nor 
escape  to  any  place.  We  owe  tribute  to  death;  and 
all  that  live  in  the  world  are  the  vassals  thereof;  this 
tribute  shall  every  man  pay  with  his  life.  None  shall 
avoid  from  following  death,  for  it  is  thy  messenger 
what  hour  soever  it  may  be  sent,  hungering  and  thirst- 
ing always  to  devour  all  that  are  in  the  world,  and  so 
powerful  that  none  shall  escape:  then  indeed  shall 
every  man  be  punished  according  to  his  deeds.  O 
most  pitiful  Lord,  at  least  take  pity  and  have  mercy 
upon  the  children  that  are  in  the  cradles,  upon  those 
that  cannot  walk.  Have  mercy  also,  0  Lord,  upon  the 
poor  and  very  miserable,  who  have  nothing  to  eat,  nor 
to  cover  themselves  withal,  nor  a  place  to  sleep,  who 
do  not  know  what  thing  a  happy  day  is,  whose  days 
pass  altogether  in  pain,  affliction,  and  sadness.  Than 
this,  were  it  not  better,  0  Lord,  if  thou  should  forget 
to  have  mercy  upon  the  soldiers  and  upon  the  men  of 
war,  whom  thou  wilt  have  need  of  some  time;  behold, 
it  is  better  to  die  in  war  and  go  to  serve  food  and  drink 
in  the  house  of  the  sun,  than  to  die  in  this  pestilence 
and  descend  to  hades.  0  most  strong  Lord,  protector 
of  all,  lord  of  the  earth,  governor  of  the  world,  and 
universal  master,  let  the  sport  and  satisfaction  thou 


204          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

hast   already  taken  in  this  past  punishment    suffice; 
make  an  end  of  this  smoke  and  fog  of  thy  resentment ; 
quench  also  the  burning  and  destroying  fire  of  thine 
anger;  let  serenity  come  and  clearness;  let  the  small 
birds  of  thy  people  begin  to  sing  and  to  approach  the 
sun;  give  them  quiet  weather  so  that  they  may  cause 
their  voices  to  reach  thy  highness  and  thou  mayest 
know  them.     O  our  Lord,  most  strong,  most  compas- 
sionate, and  most  noble,  this  little  have  I  said  before 
thee,  and  I  have  nothing  more  to  say,  only  to  prostrate 
and  throw  myself  at  thy  feet,  seeking  pardon  for  the 
faults  of  this  my  prayer ;  certainly  I  would  not  remain 
in  thy  displeasure,  and  I  have  no  other  thing  to  say. 
The  following  is  a  prayer  to  the  same  deity,  under 
his  names  Tezcatlipuca  and  Yoalliehecatl,  for  succor 
against  poverty:  0  our  Lord,  protector  most  strong 
and  compassionate,  invisible,  and  impalpable,  thou  art 
the  giver  of  life;  lord  of  all,  and  lord  of  battles,  I  pre- 
sent myself  here  before  thee  to  say  some  few  words 
concerning  the  need  of  the  poor  people,  the  people  of 
none  estate  nor  intelligence.     When  they  lie  down  at 
night  they  have  nothing,  nor  when  they  rise  up  in  the 
morning;  the  darkness  and  the  light  pass  alike  in  great 
poverty.     Know,  0  Lord,  that  thy  subjects  and  ser- 
vants, suffer  a  sore  poverty  that  cannot  be  told  of 
more  than  that  it  is  a  sore  poverty  and  desolateness. 
The  men  have  no  garments  nor  the  women  to  cover 
themselves  with,  but  only  certain  rags  rent  in  every 
part  that  allow  the  air  and  the  cold  to  pass  every- 
where.    With  great  toil   and  weariness  they  scrape 
together  enough  for  each  day,  going  by  mountain  and 
wilderness  seeking  their  food;  so  faint  and  enfeebled 
are  they  that  their  bowels  cleave  to  the  ribs,  and  all 
their  body  reechoes  with  hollowness ;  and  they  walk 
as  people  affrighted,  the  face  and  the  body  in  Lkeness 
of  death.     It  they  be  merchants,  they  now  sell  only 
cakes  of  salt  and  broken  pepper ;  the  people  that  have 
something  despise  their  wares,  so  that  they  go  out  to 
sell  from  door  to  door  and  from  house  to  house ;  and 
when  they  sell  nothing,  they  sit  down  sadly  by  some 


PRAYER  FOR  AID  AGAINST  POVERTY  205 

fence,  or  wall,  or  in  some  corner,  licking  their  lips  and 
gnawing  the  nails  of  their  hands  for  the  hunger  that 
is  in  them  ;  they  look  on  the  one  side  and  on  the  other 
at  the  mouths  of  those  that  pass  by,  hoping  preadven- 
ture  that  one  may  speak  some  word  to  them.  0  com- 
passionate God,  the  bed  on  which  they  lie  down  is  not 
a  thing  to  rest  upon,  but  to  endure  torment  in ;  they 
draw  a  rag  over  them  at  night,  and  so  sleep;  there 
they  throw  down  their  bodies  and  the  bodies  of  chil- 
dren that  thou  hast  gi^en  them.  For  the  misery  they 
grow  up  in,  for  the  filth37  of  their  food,  for  the  lack 
of  covering,  their  faces  are  yellow,  and  all  their  bodies 
of  the  color  of  earth.  They  tremble  with  cold,  and 
for  leanness  they  stagger  in  walking.  They  go  weep- 
ing, and  sighing,  and  full  of  sadness,  and  all  misfor- 
tunes are  joined  to  them;  though  they  stay  by  a  fire, 
they  find  little  heat.  0  our  Lord,  most  clement, 
invisible,  and  impalpable,  I  supplicate  th.ee  to  see  good 
to  have  pity  upon  them  as  they  move  in  thy  presence 
wailing  and  clamoring  and  seeking  mercy  with  anguish 
of  heart.  O  our  Lord,  in  whose  power  it  is  to  give 
all  content,  consolation,  sweetness,  softness,  prosperity, 
and  riches,  for  thou  alone  art  lord  of  all  good — have 
mercy  upon  them,  for  they  are  thy  servants.  I  sup- 
plicate thee,  O  Lord,  that  thou  prove  them  a  little 
with  tenderness,  indulgence,  sweetness,  and  softness, 
which  indeed  they  sorely  lack  and  require.  I  suppli- 
cate thee  that  thou  will  lift  up  their  heads  with  thy 
favor  and  aid,  that  thou  will  see  good  that  they  enjoy 
some  days  of  prosperity  and  tranquillity,  so  they  may 
sleep  and  know  repose,  having  prosperous  and  peace- 
able days  of  life.  Should  they  still  refuse  to  serve 
thee,  thou  afterwards  canst  take  away  what  thou  hast 
given;  they  having  enjoyed  it  but  a  few  days,  as  those 
that  enjoy  a  fragrant  and  beautiful  flower,  and  find  it 
wither  presently.  Should  this  nation,  for  whom  I 
pray  and  entreat  thee  to  do  them  good,  not  understand 
what  thou  hast  given,  thou  canst  take  away  the  good 
and  pour  out  cursing ;  so  that  all  evil  may  come  upon 

7  'Por  la  freza  de  la  comida.'  SaJiagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  39, 


206          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

them,  and  they  become  poor,  in  need,  maimed,  lame, 
blind,  and  deaf;  then  indeed  they  shall  waken  and 
know  the  good  that  they  had  and  have  not,  and  they 
shall  call  upon  thee  and  lean  toward  thee;  but  thou 
wilt  not  listen,  for  in  the  day  of  abundance  they  would 
not  understand  thy  goodness  toward  them.  In  con- 
clusion, I  supplicate  thee,  0  most  kind  and  beneficent 
Lord,  that  thou  will  see  good  to  give  this  people  to 
taste  of  the  goods  and  riches  that  thou  art  wont  to 
give,  and  that  proceed  from  tliee,  things  sweet  and 
soft  and  bringing  content  and  joy,  although  it  be  but 
for  a  little  while,  and  as  a  dream  that  passes.  For  it 
is  certain  that  for  a  long  time  the  people  go  sadly 
before  thee,  weeping  and  thoughtful,  because  of  the 
anguish,  hardship,  and  anxiety  that  fill  their  bodies 
and  hearts,  taking  away  all  ease  and  rest.  Verily,  it 
is  not  doubtful  that  to  this  poor  nation,  needy  and 
shelterless,  happens  all  I  have  said.  If  thou  answer- 
est  my  petition,  it  will  be  only  of  thy  liberality  and 
magnificence,  for  no  one  is  worthy  to  receive  thy 
bounty  for  any  merit  of  his,  but  only  through  thy 
grace.  Search  below  the  dunghills  and  in  the  moun- 
tains for  thy  servants,  friends,  and  acquaintance,  and 
raise  them  to  riches  and  dignities.  0  our  Lord,  most 
clement,  let  thy  will  be  done  as  it  is  ordained  in  thy 
heart,  and  we  shall  have  nothing  to  say.  I,  a  rude 
man  and  common,  would  not  by  importunity  and  pro- 
lixity disgust  and  annoy  thee,  detailing  my  sickness, 
destruction,  and  punishment.  Whom  do  I  speak  to  ? 
Where  am  I?  Lo,  I  speak  with  thee,  0  King;  well 
do  I  know  that  I  stand  in  an  eminent  place,  and  that 
I  talk  with  one  of  great  majesty,  before  whose  pres- 
ence flows  a  river  through  a  chasm,  a  gulf  sheer  down 
of  awful  depth;  this  also  is  a  slippery  place,  whence 
many  precipitate  themselves,  for  there  shall  not  be 
found  one  without  error  before  thy  majesty.  I  myself, 
a  man  of  little  understanding  and  lacking  speech,  dare 
to  address  my  words  to  thee ;  I  put  myself  in  peril  of 
falling  into  the  gorge  and  cavern  of  this  river.  I, 
Lord,  have  come  to  take  with  my  hands  blindness  to 


PRAYER  IN  TIME  OF  WAR.  207 

mine  eyes,  rottenness  and  shrivelling  to  my  members, 
poverty  and  affliction  to  my  body;  for  my  meanness 
and  rudeness  this  it  is  that  I  merit  to  receive.  Live 
and  rule  forever  in  all  quietness  and  tranquillity,  O 
that  thou  art  our  lord,  our  shelter,  our  protector,  most 
compassionate,  most  pitiful,  invisible,  impalpable. 

The  following  is  a  petition  in  time  of  war  to  the 
same  principal  god,  under  his  name  of  Tezcatlipoca 
Yautlnecociautlmonenequi,  praying  favor  against  the 
enemy:  0  our  Lord, -most  compassionate,  protector, 
defender,  invisible,  impalpable,  by  whose  will  and  wis- 
dom we  are  directed  and  governed,  beneath  whose  rule 
we  live — 0  Lord  of  battles,  it  is  a  thing  very  certain 
and  settled  that  war  begins  to  be  arranged  and  prepared 
for.  The  god  of  the  earth  opens  his  mouth,  thirsty 
to  drink  the  blood  of  them  that  shall  die  in  this  strife. 
It  seems  that  they  wish  to  be  merry,  the  sun  and  the 
god  of  the  earth  called  Tlaltecutli;  they  wish  to  give 
to  eat  and  drink  to  the  gods  of  heaven  and  hades, 
making  them  a  banquet  with  the  blood  and  flesh  of 
the  men  that  have  to  die  in  this  war.  Already  do 
they  look,  the  gods  of  heaven  and  hades,  to  see  who 
they  are  that  have  to  conquer,  and  who  to  be  con- 
quered; who  they  are  that  have  to  slay,  and  who  to 
be  slain ;  whose  blood  it  is  that  has  to  be  drunken, 
and  whose  flesh  it  is  that  has  to  be  eaten — which 
things  the  noble  fathers  and  mothers  whose  sons  have 
to  die  are  ignorant  of.  Even  so  are  ignorant  all  their 
kith  and  kin.  and  the  nurses  that  gave  them  suck — 
ignorant  also  are  the  fathers  that  toiled  for  them, 
seeking  things  needful  for  their  food  and  drink  and 
raiment  until  they  reached  the  age  they  now  have. 
Certainly  they  could  not  foretell  how  those  sons  should 
end  whom  they  reared  so  anxiously,  or  that  they 
should  be  one  day  left  captives  or  dead  upon  the  field. 
See  good,  0  our  Lord,  that  the  nobles  who  die  in  the 
shock  of  war  be  peacefully  and  agreeably  received, 
and  with  bowels  of  love,  by  the  sun  and  the  earth 
that  are  father  and  mother  of  all.  For  verily  thou 
dost  not  deceive  thyself  in  what  thou  doest,  to  wit, 


208          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

in  wishing  them  to  die  in  war;88  for  certainly  for  this 
didst  thou  send  them  into  the  world,  so  that  with  their 
flesh  and  their  blood  they  might  be  for  meat  and  drink 
to  the  sun  and  the  earth.  Be  not  wroth,  O  Lord, 
anew  against  those  of  the  profession  of  war,  for  in  the 
same  place  where  they  will  die  have  died  many  gen- 
erous39 and  noble  lords  and  captains,  and  valiant  men. 
The  nobility  and  generosity  of  the  nobles  and  the 
great-heartedness  of  the  warriors  is  made  apparent, 
and  thou  makest  manifest,  0  Lord,  how  estimable  and 
precious  is  each  one,  so  that  as  such  he  may  be  held 
and  honored,  even  as  a  stone  of  price  or  a  rich  feather. 
O  Lord,  most  clement,  lord  of  battles,  emperor  of  all, 
whose  name  is  Tezcatlipoca,  invisible  and  impalpable, 
we  supplicate  thee  that  he  or  they  that  thou  wilt  per- 
mit to  die  in  this  war  may  be  received  into  the  house  of 
the  sun  in  heaven,  with  love  and  honor,  and  may  be 
placed  and  lodged  between  the  brave  and  famous 
warriors  already  dead  in  war,  to  wit,  the  lords  Quitzic- 
quaquatzin,  Maceuhcatzin,  Tlacahuepantzin,  Ixtlilcue- 
chavac,  Ihuitltemuc,  Chavacuetzin,  and  all  the  other 
valiant  and  renowned  men  that  died  in  former  times — 
who  are  rejoicing  with  and  praising  our  lord  the  sun, 
who  are  glad  and  eternally  rich  through  him,  and 
shall  be  forever;  they  go  about  sucking  the  sweetness 
of  all  flowers  delectable  and  pleasant  to  the  taste. 
This  is  a  great  dignity  for  the  stout  and  valiant  ones 
that  died  in  war;  for  this  they  are  drunken  with  de- 
light, keeping  no  account  of  night,  nor  day,  nor  years, 
nor  times;  their  joy  and  their  wealth  is  without  end; 
the  nectarous  flowers  they  sip  never  fade,  and  for  the 
desire  thereof  men  of  high  descent  strengthen  them- 
selves to  die.  In  conclusion,  I  entreat  thee,  O  Lord, 
that  art  our  lord  most  clement,  our  emperor  most  in- 

38 '  Porque  &  la  verdad  no  os  enganais  con  lo  que  haceis. '  See  Sahagun,  in 
Kinf/shoroinjh  s  Mex.  Anttq,,  vol.  v.,  p.  356,  as  the  substitution  of  '  enganeis 
for  *  engauais    destroys  the  sense  of  the  passage  in  Bustamante's  ed.  of  the 
same.   Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  43. 

°- By  an  error  and  a  solecism  of  Bustamante's  ed.  the  words  'gentea 
rojos  are  substituted  for  the  adjective  'generosos.'  See,  as  in  the  preceding 
note,  Sattagun,  in  Kingsborouytis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  357,  and  Sahagun, 
Hist  Gen  ,  torn,  ii ,  lib.  vi.,  p.  43. 


PRAYER  TO  THE  GOB  OF  BATTLES.  239 

vincible,  to  see  good  that  those  that  die  in  this  war  be 
received  with  bowels  of  pity  and  love  by  our  father 
the  sun,  and  our  mother  the  earth ;  for  thou  only  livest 
and  rulest,  and  art  our  most  compassionate  lord.  Nor 
do  I  supplicate  alone  for  the  illustrious  and  noble,  but 
also  for  the  other  soldiers,  who  are  troubled  and  tor- 
mented in  heart,  who  clamor,  calling  upon  thee,  hold- 
ing their  lives  as  nothing,  and  who  fling  themselves 
without  fear  upon  the  enemy,  seeking  death.  Grant 
them  at  least  some  small  part  of  their  desire,  some  rest 
and  repose  in  this  life ;  or  if  here,  in  this  world,  they 
are  not  destined  to  prosperity,  appoint  them  for  ser- 
vants and  officers  of  the  sun,  to  give  food  and  drink 
to  those  in  hades  and  to  those  in  heaven.  As  for 
those  whose  charge  it  is  to  rule  the  state  and  to  be 
tlacateccatl  or  tlacochcalatl,40  make  them  to  be  fathers 
and  mothers  to  the  men  of  war  that  wander  by  field 
and  mountain,  by  height  and  ravine — in  their  hand  is 
the  sentence  of  death  for  enemies  and  criminals,  as  also 
the  distribution  of  dignities,  the  offices  and  the  arms 
of  war,  the  badges,  the  granting  privileges  to  those 
that  wear  visors  and  tassels41  on  the  head,  and  ear- 
rings, pendants,  and  bracelets,  and  have  yellow  skins 
tied  to  their  ankles — with  them  is  the  privilege  of 
appointing  the  fashion  of  the  raiment  that  every  one 
shall  wear.  It  is  to  these  also  to  give  permission  to 
certain  to  use  and  wear  precious  stones,  as  chalchivetes, 
turquoises,  and  rich  feathers  in  the  dances,  and  to  wear 
necklaces  and  jewels  of  gold:  all  of  which  things  are 
delicate  and  precious  gifts  proceeding  from  thy  riches, 
and  which  thou  givest  to  those  that  perform  feats  and 
valiant  deeds  in  war.  I  entreat  thee  also,  0  Lord, 
to  make  grace  of  thy  largess  to  the.  common  soldiers, 
give  them  some  shelter  and  good  lodging  in  this  world, 
make  them  stout  and  brave,  and  take  away  all  coward- 
ice from  their  heart,  so  that  not  only  shall  they  meet 

MEsdecir  Comandantes  6  Capitanes  generales  de  ejercito.'  Bmtamantc, 
in  Sakayun,  Hist,  Oeii..,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  44. 

41'Borlas,'see  Sahar/wi,  in  KinysborougTi '3  Hex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.    358, 
given  '  bollas '  in  Bustamante's  Sahacjun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  45. 
VOL.  III.    14 


210          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

death  with  cheerfulness,  but  even  desire  it  as  a  sweet 
thing,  as  flowers  and  damty  food,  nor  dread  at  all  the 
hoots  and  shouts  of  their  enemies:  this  do  to  them  as 
to  thy  friend.  Forasmuch  as  thou  art  lord  of  battles, 
on  whose  will  depends  the  victory,  aiding  whom  thou 
wilt,  needing  not  that  any  counsel  thee — I  entreat  thee, 
0  Lord,  to  make  mad  and  drunken  our  enemies,  so  that 
without  hurt  to  us  they  may  cast  themselves  into  our 
hands,  into  the  hands  of  our  men  of  war  enduring  so 
much  hardship  and  poverty.  0  our  Lord,  since  thou 
art  God,  all-powerful,  all-knowing,  disposer  of  all  things, 
able  to  make  this  land  rich,  prosperous,  praised,  hon- 
ored, famed  in  the  art  and  feats  of  war,  able  to  make 
the  warriors  now  in  the  field  to  live  and  be  prosperous,  if 
in  the  days  at  hand,  thou  see  good  that  they  die  in  war, 
let  it  be  to  go  to  the  house  of  the  sun,  among  all  the 
heroes  that  are  there  and  that  died  upon  the  battle-field. 
The  following  prayer  is  one  addressed  to  the  prin- 
cipal deity,  under  his  name  Tezcatlipoca  Teiocoiani 
Tehimatini,  asking  favor  for  a  newly  elected  ruler : 
To-day,  a  fortunate  day,  the  sun  has  risen  upon  us, 
warming  us,  so  that  in  it  a  precious  stone  may  be 
wrought,  and  a  handsome  sapphire.  To  us  has  ap- 
peared a  new  light,  has  arrived  a  new  brightness,  to 
us  has  been  given  a  glittering  axe  to  rule  and  govern 
our  nation — -has  been  given  a  man  to  take  upon  his 
shoulders  the  affairs  and  troubles  of  the  state.  He  is 
to  be  tne  image  and  substitute  of  the  lords  and  gov- 
ernors that  have  already  passed  away  from  this  life, 
who  for  some  days  labored,  bearing  the  burden  of  thy 
people,  possessing  thy  throne  and  seat,  which  is  the 
principal  dignity42  of  this  thy  nation,  province,  and 
kingdom ;  having  and  holding  the  same  in  thy  name 
and  person  some  few  days.  These  have  now  departed 
from  this  life,  put  off  their  shoulders  the  great  load 
and  burden  that  so  few  are  able  to  suffer.  Now, 
O  Lord,  we  marvel  that  thou  hast  indeed  set  thine 

42  *  Dignidad, '  SaJiagun,  in  Kingsborougfto  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  359, 
misprinted  'diligencia'  in  Bustamante's  Sakayun,  Hist.  Gen.,  toiu.  ii.,  lib.  vi., 
p.  4G. 


PRAYER  THAT  A  RULER  MAY  RULE  WELL.  211 

eyes  on  this  man,  rude  and  of  little  knowledge,  to 
make  him  for  some   days,  for  some  little  time,  the 

governor  of  this  state,  nation,  province,  and  kingdom, 
our  Lord,  most  clement,  art  thou  peradventure  in 
want  of  persons  and  friends? — nay,  verily,  thou  that 
hast  thereof  more  than  can  be  counted !  Is  it,  perad- 
venture, by  error,  or  that  thou  dost  not  know  him  ?  or 
is  it  that  thou  hast  taken  him  for  the  nonce,  while 
thou  seekest  among  many  for  another  and  a  better 
than  he,  unwise,  indiscrete,  unprofitable,  a  superfluous 
man  in  the  world?  Finally,  we  give  thanks  to  thy 
majesty  for  the  favor  thou  hast  done  us.  What  thy 
designs  therein  are  thou  alone  knowest;  perhaps  be- 
forehand this  office  has  been  provided  for:  thy  will  be 
done  as  it  is  determined  in  thy  heart;  let  this  man 
serve  for  some  days  and  times.  It  may  be  that  he 
will  fill  this  office  defectively,  giving  unrest  and  fear 
to  his  subjects,  doing  things  without  counsel  or  con- 
sideration, deeming  himself  worthy  of  the  dignity  he 
has,  thinking  that  he  will  remain  in  it  for  a  long  time, 
making  a  sad  dream  of  it,  making  the  occupation  and 
dignity  thou  hast  given  him  an  occasion  of  pride  and 
presumption,  making  little  of  everybody  and  going 
about  with  pomp  and  pageantry.  Within  a  few  days, 
thou  wilt  know  the  event  of  all,  for  all  men  are  thy 
spectacle  and  theatre,  at  which  thou  laughest  and 
makest  thyself  merry.  Perha,ps  this  ruler  will  lose 
his  office  through  his  childishness,  or  it  will'  happen 
through  his  carelessness  and  laziness;  for  verily  noth- 
ing is  hidden  from  thee,  thy  sight  makes  way 
through  stone  and  wood,  and  thine  hearing.  Or  per- 
haps his  arrogance  and  the  secret  boasting  of  his 
thoughts  will  destroy  him.  Then  thou  wilt  throw 
him  among  the  filth  and  upon  the  dunghills,  and  his 
reward  will  be  blindness,  and  shrivellings,  and  extreme 
poverty  till  the  hour  of  his  death,  when  thou  wilt  put 
him  under  thy  feet.  Since  this  poor  man  is  put  in 
this  risk  and  peril,  we  supplicate  thee,  who  art  our 
Lord,  our  invisible  and  impalpable  protector,  under 
whose  will  and  pleasure  we  are,  who  alone  disposes  of 


212          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

and  provides  for  all — we  supplicate  thee  that  thou  see 
good  to  deal  mercifully  with  him;  inasmuch  as  he  is 
needy,  thy  subject  and  servant,  and  blind;  deign  to 
provide  him  with  thy  light,  that  he  may  know  what 
he  has  to  think,  what  he  has  to  do,  and  the  road  he 
has  to  follow,  so  as  to  commit  no  error  in  his  office, 
contrary  to  thy  disposition  and  will.  Thou  knowest 
what  is  to  happen  to  him  in  this  office  both  by  day 
and  night;  we  know,  0  our  Lord,  most  clement,  that 
our  ways  and  deeds  are  not  so  much  in  our  hands  as 
in  the  hands  of  our  ruler.  If  this  ruler  after  an  evil 
and  perverse  fashion,  in  the  place  to  which  thou  hast 
elevated  him,  and  in  the  seat  in  which  thou  has  put 
him — which  is  thine — where  he  manages  the  affairs 
of  the  people,  as  one  that  washes  filthy  things  with 
clean  and  clear  water  (yea  in  the  same  seat  holds  a 
similar  cleansing  office  the  ancient  god,  who  is  father 
and  mother  to  thyself,  and  is  god  of  fire,  who  stands 
in  the  midst  of  flowers,  in  the  midst  of  the  place 
bounded  by  four  walls,  who  is  covered  with  shining 
feathers  that  are  as  wings) — if  this  ruler-elect  of  ours 
do  evil  with  which  to  provoke  thine  ire  and  indigna- 
tion, and  to  awaken  thy  chastisement  against  himself, 
it  will  not  be  of  his  own  will  or  seeking,  but  by  thy 
permission  or  by  some  impulse  from  without;  for 
which  I  entreat  thee  to  see  good  to  open  his  eyes  to 
give  him  light;  open  also  his  ears  and  guide  him,  not 
so  much  for  his  own  sake  as  for  that  of  those  whom 
he  has  to  rule  over  and  carry  on  his  shoulders.43  I 

43  This  doubtful  and  involved  sentence  with  the  contained  clause  touching' 
the  nature  of  the  fire-god,  runs  exactly  as  follows  in  the  two  varying  edition.* 
of  the  original:  *  Si  alguna  cosa  aviesa  6  mal  heche  hiciera  en  la  dignidad  quo 
le  habeis  dado,  y  en  la  silla  en  que  le  habeis  puesto,  que  es  vuestra,  donde 
esta  tratando  los  negocios  populares,  como  quien  lava  cosas  sucias  con  a^ua 
muy  clara  y  muy  limpia;  en  la  qual  silla  y  dignidad  tiene  el  mismo  olicio  do 
lavar  vuestro  padre  y  madre  de  todos  los  Dioses,  el  Dios  antiguo  que  es  el 
Dios  del  fuego,  que  esti  en  inedio  del  albergue  cerca  de  quatro  parcdes,  y 
esta  cubierto  con  plumas  resplandecicntes  que  son  como  alas,  lo  que  este 
electo  hiciese  mal  hecho,  con  que  provoque  vuestra  ira  e  indignacion,  y  des- 
pierte  vuestro  castigo  contra  si,  no  sera  de  su  albedrio  6  de  su  querer,  sino  de 
vuestra  permision,  6  de  algun  otra  sugestion  vuestra,  6  de  otro;  por  lo  cual  os 
suplico  tengais  por  bien  de  abrirle  los  ojos  y  darle  lumbre  y  abrirle  las  orejas, 
y  guiadle  d,  este  pobre  electo,  no  tanto  por  lo  que  el  es,  sino  principalmento 
por  aquellos  a  quienes  ha  de  regir  y  llevar  £  cuestas.'  Sahayun,  in  Kings- 
borouyh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  360-1.  'Si  alguna  cosa  aviesa  6  mal 


THAT  A  RULER  MAY  NOT  ABUSE  HIS  POWER.          213 

supplicate  thee  that  now,  from  the  beginning  thou  in- 
spire him  with  what  he  is  to  conceive  in  his  heart,  and 
the  road  he  is  to  follow,  inasmuch  as  thou  hast  made  of 
him  a  seat  on  which  to  seat  thyself,  and  also  as  it  were 
a  flute  that,  being  played  upon,  may  signify  thy  will. 
Make  him,  O  Lord,  a  faithful  image  of  thyself,  and 
permit  not  that  in  thy  throne  and  hall  he  make  him- 
self proud  and  haughty;  but  rather  see  good,  O  Lord, 
that  quietly  and  prudently  he  rule  and  govern  those 
in  his  charge  who  are  common  people;  do  not  permit 
him  to  insult  and  oppress  his  subjects,  nor  to  give  over 
without  reason  any  of  them  to  destruction.  Neither 
permit,  O  Lord,  that  he  spot  and  defile  thy  throne 
and  hall  with  any  injustice  or  oppression,  for  in  so 
doing  he  will  stain  also  thine  honor  and  fame.  Al- 
ready, O  Lord,  has  this  poor  man  accepted  and 
received  the  honor  and  lordship  that  thou  hast  given 
him ;  already  he  possesses  the  glory  and  riches  thereof; 
already  thou  hast  adorned  his  hands,  feet,  head,  ears, 
and  lips,  with  visor,  ear-rings,  and  bracelets,  and  put 
yellow  leather  upon  his  ankles.  Permit  it  not,  O 
Lord,  that  these  decorations,  badges,  and  ornaments 

'  O         ' 

be  to  him  a  cause  of  pride  and  presumption;  but 
rather  that  he  serve  thee  with  humility  and  plainness. 
May  it  please  thee,  0  our  Lord,  most  clement,  that 
he  rule  and  govern  this,  thy  seignory,  that  thou  hast 
committed  to  him,  with  all  prudence  and  wisdom. 
May  it  please  thee  that  he  do  nothing  wrong  or  to 
thine  offence;  deign  to  walk  with  him  and  direct  him  in 
all  his  ways.  But  if  thou  wilt  not  do  this,  ordain  that 

hecha  hiciere,  en  la  digiiidad  que  le  habeis  dado,  y  en  la  silla  en  que  lo 
habeis  puesto  que  es  vuestra,  donde  est&  tratando  los  negocios  populares, 
como  quien  laba  cosas  sucias,  con  agua  muy  clara  y  muy  limpia,  en  la  cual 
silla  y  dignidad  tieae  el  mismo  oficio  de  labar  vuestro  padre  y  madre,  do 
todos  los  dioses,  el  dios  antiguo,  que  es  el  dios  del  fuego  que  esta  en  medio 
tie  las  Sores,  y  en  medio  del  albergue  cercado  de  cuatro  paredes,  y  esta 
cubierto  con  plumas  resplandecientes  que  son  somo  alas;  lo  que  este  electo 
hiciere  mal  hecho  con  que  provoque  vuestra  ira  e  indignacion,  y  despierte 
vuestro  castigo  contra  si,  no  sera  de  su  alvedrio  de  6  su  querer,  sino  de  vues- 
tra permision,  6  de  alguna  otra  sugestion  vuestra,  6  de  otro;  por  lo  cual  os 
suplico  tengais  por  bien  de  abirle  los  ojos,  y  darle  luz,  y  abridle  tambien  las 
orejas,  y  guiad  £  este  pobre  electo;  no  tanto  por  lo  que  es  el,  sino  principal- 
mente  por  aquellos  a  quien  ha  de  regir  y  llevar  acuestas.'  Bustamante'a 
SaJtagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  48. 


214  GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

from  this  day  henceforth  he  be  abhorred  and  disliked, 
and  that  he  die  in  war  at  the  hands  of  his  enemies, 
that  he  depart  to  the  house  of  the  sun;  where  he  will 
be  taken  care  of  as  a  precious  stone,  and  his  heart 
esteemed  by  the  sun-lord;  he  dying  in  the  war  like  a 
stout  and  valiant  man.  This  would  be  much  better 
than  to  be  dishonored  in  the  world,  to  be  disliked  and 
abhorred  of  his  people  for  his  faults  or  defects.  0 
our  Lord,  thou  that  providest  to  all  the  things  need- 
ful for  them,  let  this  thing  be  done  as  I  have  en- 
treated and  supplicated  thee. 

The  next  prayer,  directed  to  the  god  under  his  name 
Tezcatlipoca  Titlacaoamoquequeloa,  is  to  ask,  after  the 
death  of  a  ruler,  that  another  may  be  given:  0,  our 
Lord,  already  thou  knowest  how  our  ruler  is  dead, 
already  thou  hast  put  him  under  thy  feet ;  he  is  gath- 
ered to  his  place;  he  is  gone  by  the  road  that  all 
have  to  go  by,  and  to  the  house  where  all  have  to 
lodge ;  house  of  perpetual  darkness,  where  there  is  no 
window,  nor  any  light  at  all;  he  is  now  where  none 
shall  trouble  his  rest.  He  served  thee  here  in  his 
office  during  some  few  days  and  years,  not  indeed 
without  fault  and  offence.  Thou  gavest  him  to  taste 
in  this  world  somewhat  of  thy  kindness  and  favor, 
passing  it  before  his  face  as  a  thing  that  passes  quickly. 
This  is  the  dignity  and  office  that  thou  placedst  him 
in,  that  he  served  thee  in  for  some  days,  as  has  been 
said,  with  sighs,  tears,  and  devout  prayers  before  thy 
majesty.  Alas,  he  is  gone  now  where  our  father  and 
mother  the  god  of  hades  is,  the  god  that  descended 
head  foremost  below  the  fire,4*  the  god  that  desires  to 
carry  us  all  to  his  place,  with  a  very  importunate  de- 
sire, with  such  a  desire  as  one  has  that  dies  of  hunger 
and  thirst;  the  god  that  is  moved  exceedingly,  both 
by  day  and  night,  crying  and  demanding  that  all  go  to 
him.  There,  with  this  god,  is  now  our  late-departed 
ruler;  he  is  there  with  all  his  ancestors  that  were  in 
the  first  times,  that  governed  this  kingdom,  with 
Acamapichtli,  with  Tyzoc,  with  Avitzotl,  with  the 

**  See  this  volume,  p.  60. 


THAT  A  RULER  BE  SET  OVER  THE  NATION.  ,  215 

first  Mocthecuzoma,  with  Axayacatl,  and  with  those 
that  came  last,  as  the  second  Mocthecuzoma  and  also 
Mocthecuzoma  Ilhuicamina.45  All  these  lords  and 
kings  ruled,  governed,  and  enjoyed  the  sovereignty 
and  royal  dignity,  and  throne  and  seat  of  this  empire; 
they  ordered  and  regulated  the  affairs  of  this  thy 
kingdom — thou  that  art  the  universal  lord  and  emperor, 
and  that  needest  not  to  take  counsel  with  another. 
Already  had  these  put  off  the  intolerable  load  that 
they  had  on  their  shoulders,  leaving  it  to  their  succes- 
sor, our  late  ruler,  so  that  for  some  days  he  bore  up 
this  lordship  and  kingdom;  but  now  he  has  passed  on 
after  his  predecessors  to  the  other  world.  For  thou 
didst  ordain  him  to  go,  and  didst  call  him  to  give 
thanks  for  being  unloaded  of  so  great  a  burden,  quit 
of  so  sore  a  toil,  and  left  in  peace  and  rest.  Some  few 
days  we  have  enjoyed  him,  but  now  forever  he  is 
absent  from  us,  never  more  to  return  to  the  world. 
Peradventure  has  he  gone  to  any  place  whence  he  can 
return  here,  so  that  his  subjects  may  see  his  face  again  ? 
Will  he  come  again  to  tell  us  to  do  this  or  that?  Will 
he  come  again  to  look  to  the  consuls  or  governors  of 
the  state  ?  Peradventure  will  they  see  him  any  more, 
or  hear  his  decree  and  commandment?  Will  he  come 
any  more  to  give  consolation  and  comfort  to  his  prin- 
cipal men  and  his  consuls?  Alas!  there  is  an  end 
to  his  presence,  he  is  gone  forever.  Alas,  that  our 
candle  has  been  quenched,  and  our  light,  that  the  axe 
that  shone  with  us  is  lost  altogether  1  All  his  subjects 
and  inferiors  he  has  left  in  orphanage  and  without 
shelter.  Peradventure  will  he  take  care  henceforward 
of  this  city,  province,  and  kingdom,  though  this  city 
be  destroyed  and  levelled  to  the  ground,  with  this 
seignory  and  kingdom  ?  0  our  Lord,  most  clement,  is 
it  a  fit  thing  that  by  the  absence  of  him  that  died  shall 
come  to  the  city,  seignory,  and  kingdom  some  misfor- 
tune, in  which  will  be  destroyed,  undone,  and  affrighted 

*5  Some  of  these  names  are  differently  spelled  in  Kingsborough's  ed.  Mex. 
Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  362.  'Uno  de  los  quales  fue  Camapichtli,  otro  fue  Tizocic, 
otro  Avitzotl,  otro  el  primero  Motezuzoma,  otro  Axayaca,  y  los  que  ahora  a 
la  parte  han  muerto,  como  el  segundo  Motezuzoma,  y  tambien  Ylhiycamina. ' 


216.         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP, 

the  vassals  that  live  therein?     For  while  living,  he 
who  has  died  gave  shelter  under  his  wings,  and  kept 
his  feathers  spread  over  the  people.     Great  danger 
runs  this  your  city,  seignory,  and  kingdom,  if  another 
ruler  be  not  elected  immediately  to  be  a  shelter  thereto. 
What  is  it  that  thou  art  resolved  to  do  ?     Is  it  good 
that  thy  people  be  in  darkness  ?     Is  it  good  that  they 
be  without  head  or  shelter  ?     It  it  thy  will  that  they 
be  levelled  down  and  destroyed?     Woe  for  the  poor 
and  the  little  ones,  thy  servants,  that  go   seeking  a 
father  and  mother,  some  one   to  shelter  and  govern 
them,  even  as  little  children  that  go  weeping,  seeking 
.an  absent  father  and  mother,  and  that  grieve,  not  find- 
ing them.     Woe  for  the  merchants,  petty  and  poor, 
that  go  about  by  the  mountains,  deserts,  and  meadows ; 
woe  also  to  the  sad  toilers  that  go  about  seeking  herbs 
to  eat,  roots  and  wood  to  burn,  or  to  sell,  to  eke  out 
an  existence  withal.     Woe  for  the  poor  soldiers,  for 
the   men  of  war,  that  go  about  seeking  death,  that 
abhor  life,  that  think  of  nothing  but  the  field  and  the 
line  where  battle  is  given — upon  whom  shall  they  call  ? 
who  shall  take  a  captive?  to  whom  shall  they  present 
.the  same?     And  if  they  themselves  be  taken  captive, 
to  whom  shall  they  give  notice  that  it  may  be  known 
in  their  land?     Whom  shall  they  take  for  father  and 
mother,  so  that  in  such  a  case  favor  may  be  granted 
them  ?     Since  he  whose  duty  it  was  to   see  to  this, 
who  was  as  father  and  mother  to  all,  is  already  dead. 
There  will  be  none  to  weep,  to  sigh  for  the  captives, 
to  tell  their  relatives  about  them.     Woe  for  the  poor 
of  the  litigants,  for  those  that  have  lawsuits  with  those 
that  would  take  their  estates.     Who  will  judge,  make 
peace  among,  and  clear  them  of  their  disputes  and 
quarrels?     Behold  when  a  child  becomes  dirty,  if  his 
mother  clean  him  not,  he  must  remain  filthy.     And 
those  that  make  strife  between  themselves,  that  beat, 
that  knock  down,  who  will  keep  peace  between  them? 
Those  that  for  all  this  go  weeping  and  shedding  tears, 
who   shall  wipe   away  their  tears  and  put  a  stop  to 
their  laments  ?     Peradventure  can  they  apply  a  remedy 


PRAYER  TO  BE  RID   OF  A  BAD   RULER.  217 

to  themselves  ?  Those  deserving  death,  will  they  per- 
adventure  pass  sentence  upon  themselves?  Who  shall 
set  up  the  throne  of  justice?  Who  shall  possess  the 
hall  of  the  judge,  since  there  is  no  judge?  Who  will 
ordain  the  things  that  are  necessary  for  the  good  of 
this  city,  seignory,  and  kingdom  ?  Who  will  elect  the 
special  judges  that  have  charge  of  the  lower  people, 
district  by  district?  Who  will  look  to  the  sounding  of 
the  drum  and  fife  to  gather  the  people  for  war?  who 
will  collect  and  lead  the  soldiers  and  dexterous  men  to 
battle  ?  O  our  Lord  and  protector,  see  good  to  elect 
and  decide  upon  some  person  sufficient  to  fill  your 
throne  and  bear  upon  his  shoulders  the  sore  burden  of 
the  ruling  of  the  state,  to  gladden  and  cheer  the  com- 
mon people,  even  as  the  mother  caresses  the  child, 
taking  it  in  her  lap:  who  will  make  music  to  the 
troubled  bees46  so  that  they  may  be  at  rest?  0  our 
Lord,  most  clement,  favor  our  ruler-elect,  whom  we 
deem  fit  for  this  office,  elect  and  choose  him  so  that  he 
may  hold  this  your  lordship  and  government;  give 
him  as  a  loan  your  throne  and  seat,  so  that  he  may  rule 
over  this  seignory  and  kingdom  as  long  as  he  lives; 
lift  him  from  the  lowliness  and  humility  in  which  he 
is,  and  put  on  him  this  honor  and  dignity  that  we 
think  him  worthy  of;  0  our  Lord,  most  clement,  give 
light  and  splendor  with  your  hand  to  this  state  and 
kingdom.  What  has  been  said  I  only  come  to  propose  to 
thy  majesty;  although  very  defectively,  as  one  that  is 
drunken,  and  that  staggers,  almost  ready  to  fall.  Do 
that  which  may  best  serve  thee,  in  all  and  through  all. 
What  follows  is  a  kind  of  greater  excommunication, 
or  prayer  to  get  rid  of  a  ruler  that  abused  and  misused 
his  power  and  dignity:  O  our  Lord,  most  clement, 
that  givest  shelter  to  every  one  that  approaches,  even 
as  a  tree  of  great  height  and  breadth,  thou  that  art 
invisible  and  impalpable;  that  art,  as  we  understand, 
able  to  penetrate  the  stones  and  the  trees,  seeing 
what  is  contained  therein.  For  this  same  reason  thou 

46 '  Obejas,'  in  Bustamante's  ed.  Sakagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p. 
63;  'abejas,'  in  KingsborougK 's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  364. 


218  GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

seest  and  knowest  what  is  within  our  hearts  and  read- 
est  our  thoughts.  Our  soul  in  thy  presence  is  as  a 
little  smoke  or  fog  that  rises  from  the  earth.  It  can- 
not at  all  be  hidden  from  thee,  the  deed  and  the  man- 
ner of  living  of  any  one;  for  thou  seest  and  knowest 
his  secrets  and  the  sources  of  his  pride  and  ambition. 
Thou  knowest  that  our  ruler  has  a  cruel  and  hard 
heart,  and  abuses  the  dignity  that  thou  hast  given 
him,  as  the  drunkard  abuses  his  wine,  as  one  drunken 
with  a  soporific;47  that  is  to  say,  that  the  riches,  dig- 
nity, and  abundance  that  for  a  little  while  thou  hast 
given  him,  fill  him  with  error,  haughtiness,  and  unrest, 
and  that  he  becomes  a  fool,  intoxicated  with  the  poison 
that  makes  him  mad.  His  prosperity  causes  him  to 
despise  and  make  little  of  every  one;  it  seems  that 
his  heart  is  covered  with  sharp  thorns  and  also  his 
face:  all  of  which  is  made  apparent  by  his  manner  of 
living,  and  by  his  manner  of  talking;  never  saying 
nor  doing  anything  that  gives  pleasure  to  any  one, 
never  caring  for  any  one,  never  taking  counsel  of  any 
one;  he  ever  lives  as  seems  good  to  him  and  as  the 
whim  directs.  O  our  Lord,  most  clement,  protector 
of  all,  creator  and  maker  of  all,  it  is  too  certain  that 
this  man  has  destroyed  himself,  has  acted  like  a  child 
ungrateful  to  his  father,  like  a  drunkard  without 
reason.  The  favors  thou  hast  accorded  him,  the 
dignity  thou  hast  set  him  in,  have  occasioned  his  per- 
dition. Besides  these,  there  is  another  thing,  exceed- 
ingly hurtful  and  reprehensible:  he  is  irreligious, 
never  praying  to  the  gods,  never  weeping  before  them, 
nor  grieving  for  his  sins,  nor  sighing;  from  this  it 
comes  about  that  he  is  as  headstrong  as  a  drunkard 
in  his  vices,  going  about  like  a  hollow  and  empty  per- 
son, wholly  senseless;  he  stays  not  to  consider  what 
he  is  nor  the  office  that  he  fills.  Of  a  verity  he  dis- 
honors and  affronts  the  dignity  and  throne  that  he 
holds,  which  is  thine,  and  which  ought  to  be  much 
honored  and  reverenced ;  for  from  it  depends  the  jus- 

47 '  Y  como  el  loco  de  los  belenos.'  Saliagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi., 
p.  54. 


THAT  A  BAD  RULER  BE  REMOVED.  219 

tice  and  Tightness  of  the  judicature  that  he  holds,  for 
the  sustaining  and  worthily  directing  of  thy  nation, 
thou  being  emperor  of  all.  He  should  so  hold  his  power 
that  the  lower  people  be  not  injured  and  oppressed  by 
the  great;  from  him  should  fall  punishment  and  hu- 
miliation on  those  that  respect  not  thy  power  and  dig- 
nity. But  all  things  and  people  suffer  loss  in  that  he 
fills  not  his  office  as  he  ought.  The  merchants  suffer 
also,  who  are  those  to  whom  thou  givest  the  most  of 
thy  riches,  who  overrun  all  the  world,  yea,  the  moun- 
tains and  the  unpeopled  places,  seeking  through  much 
sorrow  thy  gifts,  favors,  and  dainties,  the  which  thou 
givest  sparingly  and  to  thy  friends.  Ah,  Lord,  not 
only  does  he  dishonor  thee  as  aforesaid,  but  also  when 
we  are  gathered  together  to  intone  thy  songs,  gathered 
in  the  place  where  we  solicit  thy  mercies  and  gifts,  in 
the  place  where  thou  art  praised  and  prayed  to,  where 
the  sad  afflicted  ones  and  the  poor  gather  comfort  and 
strength,  where  very  cowards  find  spirit  to  die  in  war, 
—in  this  so  holy  and  reverend  place  this  man  exhib- 
its his  dissoluteness  and  hurts  devotion;  he  troubles 
those  that  serve  and  praise  thee  in  the  place  where 
thou  gatherest  and  markest  thy  friends,  as  a  shepherd 
marks  his  flock.48  Since  thou.  Lord,  hearest  and 
knowest  to  be  true  all  that  I  have  now  said  in  thy 
presence,  there  remains  no  more  but  that  thy  will  be 
done,  and  the  good  pleasure  of  thy  heart  to  the  rem- 
edy of  this  affair.  At  least,  O  Lord,  punish  this  man 
in  such  wrise  that  he  become  a  warning  to  others,  so 
that  they  may  not  imitate  his  evil  life.  Let  the  pun- 
ishment fall  on  him  from  thy  hand  that  to  thee  seems 
most  meet,  be  it  sickness  or  any  other  affliction;  or 
deprive  him  of  the  lordship,  so  that  thou  mayest  give 
it  to  another,  to  one  of  thy  friends,  to  one  humble, 
devoted,  and  penitent;  for  many  such  thou  hast,  thou 
that  lackest  not  persons  such  as  are  necessary  for  this 
office,  friends  that  hope,  crying  to  thee :  thou  knowest 

48  Both  editors  of  Sahagun  agree  here  in  using  the  word  'obejas.'  As 
sheep  were  unknown  in  Mexico,  it  is  too  evident  that  other  hands  than  Mexi« 
can  have  beeu  employed  in  the  construction  of  this  simile. 


220          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

those  for  friends  and  servants  that  weep  and  sigh  in 
thy  presence  every  day.  Elect  some  one  of  these 
that  he  may  hold  the  dignity  of  this  thy  kingdom  and 
seignory;  make  trial  of  some  of  these.  And  now,  O 
Lord,  of  all  the  aforesaid  things,  which  is  it  that  thou 
wilt  grant  ?  Wilt  thou  take  from  this  ruler  the  lord- 
ship, dignity,  and  riches  on  which  he  prides  himself, 
and  give  them  to  another  who  may  be  devout,  peni- 
tent, humble,  obedient,  capable,  and  of  good  under- 
standing? Or,  peradventure,  wilt  thou  be  served  by 
the  falling  of  this  proud  one  into  poverty  and  misery, 
as  one  of  the  poor  rustics  that  can  hardly  gather  the 
wherewithal  to  eat,  drink,  and  clothe  himself?  Or, 
peradventure,  will  it  please  thee  to  smite  him  with  a 
sore  punishment  so  that  all  his  body  may  shrivel  up, 
or  his  eyes  be  made  blind,  or  his  members  rotten?  Or 
wilt  thou  be  pleased  to  withdraw  him  from  the  world 
through  death,  and  send  him  to  hades,  to  the  house 
of  darkness  and  obscurity,  where  his  ancestors  are, 
whither  we  have  all  to  go,  where  our  father  is,  and 
our  mother,  the  god  and  the  goddess  of  hell.  0  our 
Lord,  most  clement,  what  is  it  that  thy  heart  desires 
the  most  ?  Let  thy  will  be  done.  And  in  this  mat- 
ter in  which  I  supplicate  thee,  I  am  not  moved  by 
envy  nor  hate;  nor  with  any  such  motives  have  I 
come  into  thy  presence.  I  am  moved  only  by  the 
robbery  and  ill  treatment  that  the  people  suffer,  only 
by  a  desire  for  their  peace  and  prosperity.  I  would 
not  desire,  O  Lord,  to  provoke  against  myself  thy 
wrath  and  indignation,  I  that  am  a  mean  man  and 
rude;  for  it  is  to  thee,  O  Lord,  to  penetrate  the  heart 
and  to  know  the  thoughts  of  all  mortals. 

The  following  is  a  form  of  Mexican  prayer  to  Tez- 
catlipoca,  used  by  the  officiating  confessor  after  having 
heard  a  confession  of  sins  from  some  one.  The  pecu- 
liarity of  a  Mexican  confession  was  that  it  could  not 
lawfully  have  place  in  a  man's  life  more  than  once;  a 
man's  first  absolution  and  remission  of  sins  was  also 
the  last  and  the  only  one  he  had  to  hope  for :  O  our 
most  compassionate  Lord,  protector  and  favorer  of  all, 


PRAYER  USEE   BY  A  CONFESSOR  OF  SINS.  221 

thou  hast  now  heard  the  confession  of  this  poor  sin- 
ner, with  which  he  has  published  in  thy  presence  his 
rottenness  and  unsavoriness.  Perhaps  he  has  hidden 
some  of  his  sins  before  thee,  and  if  it  be  so,  he  has 
irreverently  and  offensively  mocked  thy  majesty,  and 
thrown  himself  into  a  dark  cavern  and  into  a  deep 
ravine;49  he  has  snared  and  entangled  himself;  he  has 
made  himself  worthy  of  blindness,  shrivelling  and  rot- 
ting of  the  members,  poverty,  and  misery.  Alas,  if 
this  poor  sinner  have  attempted  any  such  audacity  as 
to  offend  thus  before  thy  majesty,  before  thee  that  art 
lord  and  emperor  of  all,  that  keepest  a  reckoning  with 
all,  he  has  tied  himself  up,  he  has  made  himself  vile, 
he  has  mocked  himself,  Thou  thoroughly  seest  him, 
for  thou  seest  all  things,  being  invisible  and  without 
bodily  parts.  If  he  have  done  this  thing,  he  has,  of 
his  own  will,  put  himself  in  this  peril  and  risk;  for 
this  is  a  place  of  very  strict  justice  and  very  strait 
judgment.  This  rite  is  like  very  clear  water  with 
which  thou  washest  away  the  faults  of  him  that  wholly 
confesses,  even  if  he  have  incurred  destruction  and 
shortening  of  days;  if  indeed  he  have  told  all  the  truth, 
and  have  freed  and  untied  himself  from  his  sins  and 
faults,  he  has  received  the  pardon  of  them  and  of  what 
they  have  incurred.  This  poor  man  is  even  as  a  man 
that  has  slipped  and  fallen  in  thy  presence,  offending 
thee  in  divers  ways,  dirting  himself  also  and  casting 
himself  into  a  deep  cavern  and  a  bottomless  well.50  He 
fell  like  a  poor  and  lean  man,  and  now  he  is  grieved 
and  discontented  with  all  the  past;  his  heart  and  body 
are  pained  and  ill  at  ease;  he  is  now  filled  with  heavi- 
ness for  having  done  what  he  did;  he  is  now  wholly 
determined  never  to  offend  thee  again.  In  thy  pres- 
ence, 0  Lord,  I  speak,  that  knowest  all  things,  that 

49  'Si  es  asi  ha  hecho  burla  de  V.  M.,  y  con  desacato  y  grande  ofensa,  se 
ha  arrojado  a  una  cima,  y  en  una  profunda  barranca.'  Bustamante's  ed.  of 
Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  58.  The  same  passage  runs  as  fol- 
lows in  Kingsborough's  ed. :  '  Si  es  asi  ha  hecho  burla  de  vuestra  magestad,  y 
con  desacato  y  grande  ofensa  de  vuestra  magestad  sera  arrojado  en  una  sima, 
y  en  una  prof unda  barranca. '  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  367. 

0 '  Poca '  is   misprinted   for   '  poza '  in   Bustamante's   ed.  Sahagun,  Hist. 
Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  v.,  p.  58. 


222  GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

knowest  also  that  this  poor  wretch  did  not  sin  with  an 
entire  liberty  of  free-will;  he  was  pushed  to  it  and 
inclined  by  the  nature  of  the  sign  under  which  he  was 
born.  And  since  this  is  so,  0  our  Lord,  most  clement, 
protector  and  helper  of  all,  since  also  this  poor  man 
lias  gravely  offended  thee,  wilt  thou  not  remove  thine 
anger  and  thine  indignation  from  him?  Give  him 
time,  O  Lord;  favor  and  pardon  him,  inasmuch  as  he 
weeps,  sighs,  and  sobs,  looking  before  him  on  the  evil 
he  has  done,  and  on  that  wherein  he  has  offended  thee. 
He  is  sorrowful,  he  sheds  many  tears,  the  sorrow  of 
his  sins  afflicts  his  heart;  he  is  not  sorry  only,  but 
terrified  also  at  thoughts  of  them.  This  being  so,  it 
is  also  a  just  thing  that  thy  fury  and  indignation 
against  him  be  appeased  and  that  his  sins  be  thrown 
on  one  side.  Since  thou  art  full  of  pity,  0  Lord,  see 
good  to  pardon  and  to  cleanse  him;  grant  him  the 
pardon  and  remission  of  his  sins,  a  thing  that  descends 
from  heaven,  as  water  very  clear  and  very  pure  to 
wash  away  sins,51  with  which  thou  washest  away  all 
the  stain  and  impurity  that  sin  causes  in  the  soul. 
See  good,  O  Lord,  that  this  man  go  in  peace,  and 
command  him  in  what  he  has  to  do;  let  him  go  to  do 
penance  for  and  to  weep  over  his  sins ;  give  him  the 
counsels  necessary  to  his  well  living. 

At  this  point  the  confessor  ceases  from  addressing 
the  god  and  turns  to  the  penitent,  saying:  O  my 
brother,  thou  has  come  into  a  place  of  much  peril,  a 
place  of  travail  and  fear;  thou  hast  come  to  a  steep 
chasm  and  a  sheer  rock,  where  if  any  one  fall  he  shall 
never  come  up  again;  thou  hast  conie  to  the  very 
place  where  the  snares  and  the  nets  touch  one  another, 
where  they  are  set  one  upon  another,  in  such  wise 
that  no  one  may  pass  thereby  without  falling  into 
some  of  them,  and  not  only  snares  and  nets,  but  also 

51 '  Cosa  que  desciende  del  cielo,  como  agua  clarisima  y  purisima  par  lavar 
los  pecados.  Sahagun,  in  Kinysboroug/i 's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  308.  See 
also  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  59. 

'  The  quality  of  mercy  is  not  strain'd, 
It  droppeth  as  the  gentle  rain  from  heaven 
Upon  the  place  beneath. ' — Merchant  oj  Venice,  act  iv. 


PERILS  OF  FALSE  CONFESSION.  223 

holes  like  wells.  Thou  hast  thrown  thyself  down  the 
banks  of  the  river  and  among  the  snares  and  nets, 
whence  without  aid  it  is  not  possible  that  thou  shouldst 
escape.  These  thy  sins  are  not  only  snares,  nets,  and 
wells,  into  which  thou  hast  fallen,  but  they  are  also 
wild  beasts  that  kill  and  rend  both  body  and  soul. 
Peradventure,  hast  thou  hidden  some  one  or  some  of 
thy  sins,  weighty,  huge,  filthy,  unsavory,  hidden  some- 
thing now  published  in  heaven,  earth,  and  hades, 
something  that  now  stinks  to  the  uttermost  part  of 
the  world?  Thou  hast  now  presented  thyself  before 
our  most  clement  Lord  and  protector  of  all,  whom 
thou  didst  irritate,  offend,  and  provoke  the  anger  of, 
who  to-morrow,  or  some  other  day,  will  take  thee  out 
of  this  world  and  put  thee  under  his  feet,  and  send 
thee  to  the  universal  house  of  hades,  where  thy  father 
is  and  thy  mother,  the  god  and  the  goddess  of  hell, 
whose  mouths  are  always  open  desiring  to  swallow 
thee,  and  as  many  as  may  be  in  the  world.  In  that 
place  shall  be  given  thee  whatsoever  thou  didst  merit 
in  this  world,  according  to  the  divine  justice,  and  to 
what  thou  hast  earned  with  thy  works  of  poverty, 
misery,  and  sickness.  In  divers  manners  thou  wilt  be 
tormented  and  afflicted  in  the  extreme,  and  wilt  be 
soaked  in  a  lake  of  intolerable  torments  and  miseries ; 
but  here,  at  this  time,  thou  hast  had  pity  upon  thyself 
in  speaking  and  communicating  with  our  Lord,  with 
him  that  sees  all  the  secrets  of  every  heart.  Tell 
therefore  wholly  all  that  thou  hast  done,  as  one  that 
flings  himself  into  a  deep  place,  into  a  well  without 
bottom.  When  thou  wast  created  and  sent  into  the 
world,  clean  and  good  thou  wast  created  and  sent;  thy 
father  and  thy  mother  Quetzalcoatl  formed  thee  like 
a  precious  stone,  and  like  a  bead  of  gold  of  much 
value;  when  thou  wast  born  thou  wast  like  a  rich 
stone  and  a  jewel  of  gold  very  shining  and  very  pol- 
ished. But  of  thine  own  will  and  volition  thou  hast 
defiled  and  stained  thyself,  and  rolled  in  filth,  and  in 
the  uncleanness  of  the  sins  and  evil  deeds  that  thou 
hast  committed  and  now  confessed.  Thou  hast  acted 


224          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS    AND  WORSHIP. 

as  a  child  without  judgment  or  understanding,  that 
playing  and  toying  defiles  himself  with  a  loathsome 
filth ;  so  hast  thou  acted  in  the  matter  of  the  sins  that 
thou  hast  taken  pleasure  in,  but  hast  now  confessed 
and  altogether  discovered  before  our  Lord,  who  is  the 
protector  and  purifier  of  all  sinners.  This  thou  shalt 
not  take  for  an  occasion  of  jesting,  for  verily  thou  hast 
come  to  the  fountain  of  mercy,  which  is  like  very 
clear  water,  with  which  filthinesses  of  the  soul  are 
washed  away  by  our  Lord  God,  the  protector  and 
favorer  of  all  that  turn  to  him.  Thou  hast  snatched 
thyself  from  hades,  and  hast  returned  again  to  come 
to  life  in  this  world,  as  one  that  comes  from  another. 
Now  thou  hast  been  born  anew,  thou  hast  begun  to  live 
anew,  and  our  Lord  God  gives  thee  light  and  a  new 
sun.  Now  once  more  thou  bep'innest  to  radiate  and 

O 

to  shine  anew  like  a  very  precious  and  clear  stone, 
issuing  from  the  belly  of  the  matrix  in  which  it  was 
created.  Since  this  is  thus,  see  that  thou  live  with 
much  circumspection  and  very  advisedly  now  and 
henceforward,  all  the  time  that  thou  inayst  live  in 
this  world  under  the  power  and  lordship  of  our  Lord 
God,  most  clement,  beneficent,  and  munificent.  Weep, 
be  sad,  walk  humbly,  with  submission,  with  the  head 
low  and  bowed  down,  praying  to  God.  Look  that 
pride  find  no  place  within  thee,  otherwise  thou  wilt 
displease  our  Lord,  who  sees  the  hearts  and  the 
thoughts  of  all  mortals.  In  what  dost  thou  esteem 
thyself?  At  how  much  dost  thou  hold  thyself?  What 
is  thy  foundation  and  root?  On  what  dost  thou  sup- 
port thyself?  It  is  clear  that  thou  art  nothing,  canst 
do  nothing,  and  art  worth  nothing;  for  our  Lord  will 
do  with  thee  all  he  may  desire,  and  none  shall  stay  his 
hand.  Peradventure,  must  he  show  thee  those  things 
with  which  he  torments  and  afflicts,  so  that  thou  may- 
est  see  them  with  thine  eyes  in  this  world?  Nay, 
verily,  for  the  torments  and  horrible  sufferings  of  his 
tortures  of  the  other  world  are  not  visible,  nor  able  to 
be  seen  by  those  that  live  here.  Perhaps  he  will 
condemn  thee  to  the  universal  house  of  hades;  and 


EXHORTATION  TO  THE  PENITENT.  225 

the  house  where  thou  now  livest  will  fall  down  and  be 
destroyed,  and  he  as  a  dunghill  of  filthiness  and  un- 
cleanness,  thou  having  been  accustomed  to  live  therein 
with  much  satisfaction,  waiting  to  know  how  he  would 
dispose  of  thee,  he  our  Lord  and  helper,  the  invisible, 
incorporeal,  and  alone  one.  Therefore  I  entreat  thee 
to  stand  up  and  strengthen  thyself  and  to  be  no  more 
henceforth  as  thou  hast  been  in  the  past.  Take  to 
thyself  a  new  heart  and  a  new  manner  of  living,  and 
take  good  care  not  to  turn  again  to  thine  old  sins. 
Consider  that  thou  canst  not  see  with  thine  eyes  our 
Lord  God,  for  he  is  invisible  and  impalpable,  he  is 
Tezcatlipoca,  he  is  Titlacaoa,  he  is  a  youth  of  perfect 
perfection  and  without  spot.  Strengthen  thyself  to 
sweep,  to  clean,  and  to  arrange  thy  house ;  for  if  thou 
do  not  this,  thou  wilt  reject  from  thy  company  and 
from  thy  house,  and  wilt  offend  much  the  very  clem- 
ent youth  that  is  ever  walking  through  our  houses 
and  through  our  streets,  enjoying  and  amusing  him- 
self— the  youth  that  labors,  seeking  his  friends,  to 
comfort  them  and  to  comfort  himself  with  them.  To 
conclude,  I  tell  thee  to  go  and  learn  to  sweep,  and 
to  get  rid  of  the  filth  and  sweepings  of  thy  house,  and 
to  cleanse  everything,  thyself  not  the  least.  Seek  out 
also  a  slave  to  immolate  him  before  God ;  make  a  feast 
to  the  principal  men,  and  let  them  sing  the  praises  of 
our  Lord.  It  is  moreover  fit  that  thou  shoulclst  do 
penance,  working  a  year  or  more  in  the  house  of  God; 
there  thou  shalt  bleed  thyself,  and  prick  thy  body 
with  maguey  thorns;  and,  as  a  penance  for  the  adul- 
teries and  other  vilenesses  that  thou  hast  committed, 
thou  shalt,  twice  every  day,  pass  osier  twigs  through 
holes  pierced  in  thy  body,  once  through  thy  tongue, 
and  once  through  thine  ears.  This  penance  shalt  thou 
do  not  alone  for  the  carnalities  above  mentioned,  but 
also  for  the  evil  and  injurious  words  with  which  thou 
hast  insulted  and  affronted  thy  neighbors;  as  also  for 
the  ingratitude  thou  hast  shown  with  reference  to  the 
gifts  bestowed  on  thee  by  our  Lord,  and  for  thine  in- 

Voi,  III.    15 


226  GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

humanity  toward  thy  neighbors,  neither  making  offer- 
ings of  the  goods  that  were  given  thee  by  God,  nor 
sharing  with  the  poor  the  temporal  benefits  given  by 
our  Lord.  Thou  shalt  burden  thyself  to  offer  paper 
and  copal;  thou  shalt  give  alms  to  the  needy  and  the 
hungry,  to  those  that  have  nothing  to  eat  nor  to  drink 
nor  to  cover  themselves  with;  even  though  thou  thy- 
self go  without  food  to  give  it  away  and  to  clothe  the 
naked :  look  to  it,  for  their  flesh  is  like  thy  flesh,  and 
they  are  men  as  thou.  Care  most  of  all  for  the  sick, 
they  are  the  image  of  God.52  There  remains  nothing 
more  to  be  said  to  thee ;  go  in  peace,  and  entreat  God 
to  aid  thee  to  fulfil  what  thou  art  obliged  to  do;  for 
he  gives  favor  to  all. 

The  following  prayer  is  one  addressed  to  Tezca- 
tlipoca  by  a  recently  elected  ruler,  to  give  thanks  for 
his  election  and  to  ask  favor  and  light  for  the  proper 
performance  of  his  office:  O  our  lord,  most  clement, 
invisible  and  impalpable  protector  and  governor,  well 
do  I  know  that  thou  knowest  me,  who  am  a  poor 
man,  of  low  destiny,  born  and  brought  up  among  filth, 
and  a  man  of  small  reason  and  mean  judgment,  full  of 
many  defects  and  faults,  a  man  that  knows  not  him- 
self, nor  considers  who  he  is.  Thou  hast  bestowed  on 
me  a  great  benefit,  favor,  and  mercy,  without  any 
merit  on  my  part;  thou  hast  lifted  me  from  the  dung- 
hill and  set  me  in  the  royal  dignity  and  throne.  Who 
am  I,  my  Lord,  and  what  is  my  worth  that  thou 
shouldst  put  me  among  the  number  of  those  that  thou 
lovest?  among  the  number  of  thine  acquaintance,  of 
those  thou  holdest  for  chosen  friends  and  worthy  of 
all  honor;  born  and  brought  up  for  thrones  and  royal 
dignities;  to  this  end  thou  hast  created  them  able, 
prudent,  descended  from  noble  and  generous  fathers; 
for  this  end  they  were  created  and  educated ;  to  be 
thine  instruments  and  images  they  were  born  and  bap- 
tized under  the  signs  and  constellations  that  lords  are 
born  under.  They  were  born  to  rule  thy  kingdoms, 

52 '  Mayormente  &  los   enf ermos  porque  son  imagen  de  dios. '  Sahayun, 
Jfist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  63. 


x  PRAYER  OF  A  RULER.  227 

thy  word  being  within  them  and  speaking  by  their 
mouth — according  to  the  desire  of  the  ancient  god, 
the  father  of  all  the  gods,  the  god  of  fire,  who  is  in 
the  pond  of  water  among  turrets  surrounded  with 
stones  like  roses,  who  is  called  Xiuhtecutli,  who  deter- 
mines, examines,  and  settles  the  business  and  lawsuits 
of  the  nation  and  of  the  common  people,  as  it  were 
washing  them  with  water;  in  the  company  and  pres- 
ence of  this  god  the  generous  personages  aforemen- 
tioned always  are.  O  most  clement  Lord,  ruler,  and 
governor,  thou  hast  done  me  a  great  favor  1  Perhaps 
it  has  been  through  the  intercession  and  through  the 
tears  shed  by  the  departed  lords  and  ladies  that  had 
charge  of  this  kingdom.53  It  would  be  great  madness 
to  suppose  that  for  any  merit  or  courage  of  mine  thou 
hast  favored  me,  setting  me  over  this  your  kingdom, 
the  government  of  which  is  something  very  heavy, 
difficult,  and  even  fearful;  it  is  as  a  huge  burden  car- 
ried on  the  shoulders,  and  one  that  with  great  diffi- 
culty the  past  rulers  bore,  ruling  in  thy  name.  O  our 
Lord,  most  clement,  invisible,  and  impalpable,  ruler 
and  governor,  creator  and  knower  of  all  things  and 
thoughts  beautifier  of  thy  creatures,54  what  shall  I 
say  more,  poor  rne  ?  In  what  wise  have  I  to  rule  and 
govern  this  thy  state  ?  or  how  have  I  to  carry  this 
burden  of  the  common  people?  I  who  am  blind  and 
deaf,  who  do  not  even  know  myself,  nor  know  how  to 
rule  over  myself.  I  am  accustomed  to  walk  in  filth, 
my  faculties  fit  me  for  seeking  and  selling  edible  herbs, 
and  for  carrying  and  selling  wood.  What  I  deserve, 
0  Lord,  is  blindness  for  mine  eyes  and  shrivelling  and 
rotting  for  my  limbs,  and  to  go  dressed  in  rags  and 
tatters;  this  is  what  I  deserve  and  what  ought  to  be 
given  me.  It  is  I  that  need  to  be  ruled  and  to  be 
carried  on  some  one's  back.  Thou  hast  many  friends 
and  acquaintances  that  may  be  trusted  with  this 

53  'Los  pasados  senores  y  sefloras  que  tuvieron  cargo  de  este  reino.'  Sana- 
gun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  71. 

54  'Adornador  de  las  criaturas.'  Sahagun,  in  KingsborvugK 's  Mex.  Antiq., 
vol.  v.,  p.  377.     '  Adornador  de  las  almas.'  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib. 
vi.,  p.  71. 


228          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

load.     Since,  however,  thou  has  already  determined 
to  set  me  up  for  a  scoff  and  a  jeer  to  the  world,  let 
thy  will  be  done  and  thy  word  fulfilled.     Peradventure 
thou  knowest  not  who  I  am;  and  after  having  known 
me,  wilt  seek  another  and  take  the  government  from 
me ;  taking  it  again  to  thyself,  hiding  again  in  thy- 
self this  dignity  and  honor,  being  already  angry  and 
weary  of  bearing  with  me;  and  thou  wilt  give  the 
government  to  another,  to  some  close  friend  and  ac- 
quaintance of  thine,  to  some  one  very  devout  toward 
thee,  that  weeps  and  sighs  and  so  merits  this  dignity. 
Or,  peradventure,  this  thing  that  happened  to  me  is  a 
dream,  or  a  walking  in  sleep.      0  Lord,  thou  that  art 
present  in  every  place,  that  knowest  all  thoughts,  that 
distributest  all  gifts,  be  pleased  not  to  hide  from  me 
thy  words  arid  thine  inspiration.      I  do  not  know  the 
road  I  have  to  follow,  nor  what  I  have  to  do,  deign 
then  not  to  hide  from  me  the  light  and  the  mirror 
that  have  to  guide  me.     Do  not  allow  me  to  cause 
those  I  have  to  rule  and  carry  on  my  shoulders  to  lose 
the   road  and  to  wander  over  rocks  and   mountains. 
Do  not  allow  me  to  guide  them  in  the  tracts  of  rabbits 
and  deer.     Do  not  permit,  O  Lord,  any  war  to  be 
raised  against  me,  nor  any  pestilence  to  come  upon 
those  I  govern ;  for  I  should  not  know,  in  such  a  case, 
what  to  do,  nor  where  to  take  those  I  have  upon  my 
shoulders;  alas  for  me,  that  am  incapable  and  igno- 
rant.    I  would  not  that  any  sickness  come  upon  me, 
for  in  that  case  thy  nation  and  people  would  be  lost, 
and  thy  kingdom  desolated  and  given  up  to  darkness. 
What  shall  I  do,  0  Lord  and  creator,  if  by  chance  I 
fall  into  some  disgraceful  fleshly  sin,  and  thereby  ruin 
the  kingdom?  what  do  if  by  negligence  or  sloth   I 
undo  my  subjects?    what  do  if  through  my  fault   I 
hurl  down  a  precipice  those   I  have  to  rule  ?     Our 
Lord,  most  clement,  invisible  and  impalpable,  I  entreat 
thee  not  to  separate  thyself  from  me;  visit  me  often; 
visit  this  poor  house,  for  I  will  be  waiting   for  thee 
therein.     With  great  thirst  I  await  thee  and  demand 
urgently  thy  word  and  inspiration,  which  thou  didst 


PRAYER  OF  A  RULER  FOR  DIRECTION.  229 

breathe  into  thine  ancient  friends  and  acquaintances 
that  have  ruled  with  diligence  and  rectitude  over  thy 
kingdom.  This  is  thy  throne  and  honor,  on  either 
side  whereof  are  seated  thy  senators  and  principal  men, 
who  are  as  thine  image  and  very  person.  They  give 
sentence  and  speak  on  the  affairs  of  the  state  in  thy 
name ;  thou  usest  them  as  thy  flutes,  speaking  from 
within  them  and  placing  thyself  in  their  faces  and  ears, 
opening  their  mouths  so  that  they  may  speak  well. 
In  this  place  the  merchants  mock  and  jest  at  our  fol- 
lies, with  which  merchants  thou  art  spending  thy  lei- 
sure, since  they  are  thy  friends  and  acquaintances ;  there 
also  thou  inspirest  and  breathest  upon  thy  devoted 
ones,  who  weep  and  sigh  in  thy  presence,  sincerely 
giving  thee  their  heart.55  For  this  reason  thou  adorn- 
est  them  with  prudence  and  wisdom,  so  that  they  may 
look  as  into  a  mirror  with  two  faces,  where  every  one's 
image  is  to  be  seen;56  for  this  thou  givest  them  a 
very  clear  axe,  without  any  dimness,  whose  brightness 
flashes  into  all  places.  For  this  cause  also  thou  givest 
them  gifts  and  precious  jewels,  hanging  them  from 
their  necks  and  ears,  even  like  material  ornaments 
such  as  are  the  nacochtl,  the  tentetl,  the  tlapiloni  or 
head-tassel,  the  matemecatl,  or  tanned  strap  that  lords 
tie  round  their  wrists,57  the  yellow  leather  bound  on 
the  ankles,  the  beads  of  gold,  and  the  rich  feathers. 
In  this  place  of  the  good  governing  and  rule  of  thy 
kingdom,  are  merited  thy  riches  and  glory,  thy  sweet 
and  delightful  things,  calmness  and  tranquillity,  a  peace- 
able and  contented  life;  all  of  which  come  from  thy 

55  The  precise  force  of  much  of  this  sentence  it  is  hard  to  understand.  It 
seems  to  show,  at  any  rate,  that  the  merchants  were  supposed  to  be  very 
intimate  with  and  especially  favored  by  this  deity.  The  original  runs  as 
follows'.  '  En  este  lugar  burlan  y  rien  de  nuestras  boberias  los  negociantes, 
con  los  quales  estais  vos  holgandoos,  porque  son  vuestros  amigos  y  vuestros 
conocidos,  y  allf  inspirais  6  insuflais  a  vuestros  devotos,  que  lloran  y  suspiran 
en  vuestra  presencia  y  os  dan  de  verdad  su  corazon.'  Sakagun,  Hist.  Gen.y 
torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  73. 

56 '  Para  que  vean  como  en  espejo  de  dos  hazes,  donde  se  representa  la 
imagen  de  cada  uno.'  Sahayun,  hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  73. 

"  JfaaxAfB,  orejeras  (ear-rings);  Tentetl,  be9ote  de  indio  (lip- ornament). 
Molina,  Vocabulario.  Molina  gives  also  Matemecatl,  to  mean  a  gold  bracelet, 
or  something  of  that  kind;  Bustamante  translates  the  word  in  the  same  way, 
explaining  that  the  strap  mentioned  in  the  text  was  used  to  tie  the  bracelet 
on,  Sahayun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib,  vi.,  p.  74. 


230          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

hand.  In  the  same  place,  lastly,  are  also  merited  the 
adverse  and  wearisome  things,  sickness,  poverty,  and 
the  shortness  of  life ;  which  things  are  sent  by  thee 
to  those  that  in  this  condition  do  not  fulfil  their  duty. 

0  our  Lord,  most  clement,  knower  of  thoughts  and 
giver  of  gifts,  is  it  in  my  hand,  that  am  a  mean  man, 
to  know  how  to  rule?  is  the  manner  of  my  life  in  my 
hand,  and  the  works  that  I  have  to  do  in  my  office  ?— 
which  indeed  is  of  thy  kingdom  and  dignity,  and  not 
mine.     What  thou  mayest  wish  me  to  do  and  what 
may  be  thy  will  and  disposition,  thou  aiding  me  I  will 
do.     The  road  thou  mayest  show  me  I  will  walk  in; 
that  thou  mayest  inspire   me  with,  and   put  in  my 
heart,  that  I  will  say  and  speak.     0  our  Lord,  most 
clement,  in  thy  hand   I  wholly  place  myself,  for  it  is 
not  possible  for  me  to  direct  or  govern  myself;  I  am 
blind,  darkness,  a  dunghill.     See  good,  0   Lord,  to 
give  me  a  little  light,  though  it  be  only  as  much  as  a 
fire-fly  gives  out,  going  about  at  night;  to  light  me  in 
this  dream,  in  this  life  asleep  that  endures  as  for  a 
day;    where  are    many  things  to   stumble  at,  many 
things  to  give  occasion  for  laughing  at  one,  many  things 
like  a  rugged  road  that  has  to  be  gone  over  by  leaps. 
All  this  has  to  happen  in  the  position  thou  hast  put 
me  in,  giving  me  thy  seat  and  dignity.     O  our  Lord, 
most  pitiful,  thou  hast  made  me  now  the  back-piece 5S 
of  thy  chair,  also  thy  flute;  all  without  any  merit  of 
mine.     I    am   thy  mouth,  thy  face,  thine    ears,  thy 
teeth,  and  thy  nails.     Although  I  am  a  mean  man,  I 
desire  to  say  that  I  unworthily  represent  thy  person 
and  thine  image,  that  the  words  I  shall  speak  have  to 
be  esteemed  as  thine,  that  my  face  has  to  be  held  as 
thine,  mine  eyes  as  thine,  and  the  punishment  that  I 
shall  inflict  as  if  thou  hadst  inflicted  it.     For  all  this 

1  entreat  thee  to  put  thy  spirit  within  me,  and  thy 
words,  so  that  all  may  obey  them,  and  none  contradict.59 

58 '  Espaldar  de  vnestra  silla.'  Sahayun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi  ,  p,  75. 

59 '  He  that  delivered  this  prayer  before  Tezcatlipoca,  stood  on  his  feet, 
his  feet  close  together,  bending  himself  towards  the  earth.  Those  that  were 
very  devout  were  naked.  Before  they  began  the  prayer  they  offered  copal  to 
the  fire,  or  some  other  sacrifice,  and  if  they  were  covered  with  a  blanket,  they 


GENUINENESS  OF  THE  FOREGOING  PRAYERS.  231 

Now  with  regard  to  the  measure  of  the  genuineness 
of  the  prayers  to  Tezcatlipoca,  just  given,  it  seems 
evident  that  either  with  or  without  the  conscious  con- 
nivance of  Father  Bernardino  de  Sahagun,  their  his- 
torian, a  certain  amount  of  sophistication  and  adapta- 
tion to  Christian  ideas  has  crept  into  them ;  it  appears 
to  be  just  as  evident,  however,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
they  contain  a  great  deal  that  is  original,  indigenous, 
and  characteristic  in  regard  to  the  Mexican  religion.60 

pulled  the  knot  of  it  round  to  the  breast,  so  that  they  were  naked  in  front. 
Some  spoke  this  prayer  squatting  on  their  calves,  and  kept  the  knot  of  the 
blanket  on  the  shoulder.'  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  75. 

60  Father  Bernardino  de  Sahagun,  a  Spanish  Franciscan,  was  one  of  the 
first  preachers  sent  to  Mexico;  where  he  was  much  employed  in  the  in- 
struction of  the  native  youth,  working  for  the  most  part  in  the  province  of 
Tezcuco.  While  there,  in  the  city  of  Tepeopulco,  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  he  began  the  work  best  known  to  us  as  the  Historia 
General  de  las  Cosas  de  Nueva  Espaiia,  from  which  the  above  prayers  have 
been  translated,  and  from  which  we  shall  draw  largely  for  further  informa- 
tion. It  would  be  hard  to  imagine  a  work  of  such  a  character  constructed 
after  a  better  fashion  of  working  than  his.  Gathering  the  principal  natives  of 
the  town  in  which  he  carried  on  his  labors,  he  induced  them  to  appoint  him 
a  number  of  persons,  the  most  learned  and  experienced  in  the  things  of  which 
he  wished  to  write.  These  learned  Mexicans  being  collected,  Father  Saha- 
gun was  accustomed  to  get  them  to  paint  down  in  their  native  fashion  the 
various  legends,  details  of  history  and  mythology,  and  so  on,  that  he  wanted;  at 
the  foot  of  the  said  pictures  these  learned  Mexicans  wrote  out  the  explanations 
of  the  same  in  the  Mexican  tongue;  and  this  explanation  the  Father  Saha- 
gun translated  into  Spanish;  that  translation  purports  to  be  what  we  now 
read  as  the  Historia  General.  Here  follows  a  translation  of  the  Prologo  of 
his  work,  in  which  he  describes  all  the  foregoing  in  his  own  way:  'All 
writers  labor  the  best  that  they  can  to  make  their  works  authoritative;  some 
by  witnesses  worthy  of  faith,  others  by  the  writings  of  previous  writers  held 
worthy  of  belief,  others  by  the  testimony  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures.  To  me 
are  wanting  all  these  foundations  to  make  authoritative  what  I  have  written 
in  these  twelve  books  [of  the  Historia  General}.  I  have  no  other  founda- 
tion but  to  set  down  here  the  relation  of  the  diligence  that  I  made  to  know 
the  truth  of  all  that  is  written  in  these  twelve  books.  As  I  have  said  in  other 
prologues  to  this  work,  I  was  commanded  in  all  holy  obedience  by  my  chief 
prelate  to  write  in  the  Mexican  language  that  which  appeared  to  me  to  be 
useful  for  the  doctrine,  worship,  and  maintenance  of  Christianity  among 
these  natives  of  New  Spain,  and  for  the  aid  of  the  workers  and  ministers  that 
taught  them.  Having  received  this  commandment,  I  made  in  the  Spanish 
language  a  minute  or  memorandum  of  all  the  matters  that  I  had  to  treat  of, 
which  matters  are  what  is  written  in  the  twelve  books, ....  which  were  begun 
in  the  pueblo  of  Tepeopulco,  which  is  in  the  province  of  Culhuacan  or  Tez- 
cuco. The  work  was  done  in  the  following  way:  In  the  aforesaid  pueblo,  I 
got  together  all  the  principal  men,  together  with  the  lord  of  the  place,  who 
was  called  Don  Diego  de  Mendoza,  of  great  distinction  and  ability,  well  experi- 
enced in  things  ecclesiastic,  military,  political,  and  even  relating  to  idolatry. 
They  being  come  together,  I  set  before  them  what  I  proposed  to  do,  and 
prayed  them  to  appoint  me  able  and  experienced  persons,  with  whom  I 
might  converse  and  come  to  an  understanding  on  such  questions  as  I  might 
propose.  They  answered  me  that  they  would  talk  the  matter  over  and  give 
their  answer  on  another  day;  and  with  this  they  took  their  departure.  So 
on  another  day  the  lord  and  his  principal  men  came,  and  having  conferred 


232          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP 

together  with  great  solemnity,  as  they  were  accustomed  at  that  timo  to  do, 
they  chose  out  ten  or  twelve  of  the  principal  old  men,  and  told  me  that  with 
these  I  might  communicate,  and  that  these  would  instruct  me  in  any  matters 
I  should  inquire  of.     Of  these  there  were  as  many  as  four  instructed  iu  Latin, 
to  whom  I,  some  few  years  before,  had  myself  taught  grammar  in  the  college 
of  Santa  Cruz,  in  Tlaltelolco.     With  these  appointed  principal  men,  includ- 
ing the  four  instructed  in  grammar,  I  talked  many  days  during  about  two 
years,  following  the  order  of  the  minute  I  had  already  made  out.     On  all  the 
subjects  on  which  we   conferred   they  gave  me  pictures — which  were   tho 
writings  anciently  in  use  among  them — and   these  the  grammarians  inter- 
preted to  me  in  their  language,  writing  the  interpretation  at  the  foot  of 
the  picture.     Even  to  this  day  I  hold  the  originals  of  these ....  When  I  went 
to  the  chapter,  with  which  was  ended  the  seven  years'  term  of  Fray  Francis- 
co Toral — he  that  had  imposed  the  charge  of  this  work  upon  me — I  was  re- 
moved from  Tepeopulco,  carrying  all  my  writings.     I  went  to  reside  at  San- 
tiago del  Tlaltelolco.     There  I  brought  together  the  principal  men,  set  before 
them  the  matter  of  my  writings,  and  asked  them  to  appoint  me  some  aLla 
principal  men,  with  whom  I  might  examine  and  talk  over  the  writings  I  had 
brought  from  Tepeopulco.     The  governor,  with  the  alcaldes,  appointed  me 
as  many  as  eight  or  ten  principal  men,  selected  from  all  the  most  able  in  their 
language,  and  in  the  things  of  their  antiquities.     With  these  and  with  four 
or  five  collegians,  all  trilinguists,  and  living  for  the  space  of  a  year  or  more 
secluded  in  the  college,  all  that  had  been  brought  written  from  Tepeopulco 
was  clearly  emended  and  added  to;  and  the  whole  was  rewritten  in  small 
letters,  for  it  was  written  with  much  haste.     In  this  scrutiny  or  examination, 
he  that  worked  the  hardest  of  all  the  collegians  was  Martin  Jacobita,  who 
was  then  rector  of  the  college,  an  inhabitant  of  the  ward  of  Santa  Ana.     I, 
having  done  all  as  above  said  in  Tlaltelolco,  went,  taking  with  me  all  ray 
writings,  to  reside  in  San  Francisco  de  Mexico,  where,  by  myself,  for  the  space 
of  three  years,  I  examined  over  and  over  again  the  writings,  emended  them, 
divided  them  into  twelve  books,  and  each  book  into  chapters  and  paragraphs. 
After  this,  Father  Miguel  Navarro  being  provincial,  and  Father  Diego  de 
Mendoza  commissary-general   in   Mexico,   with   their   favor  I   had   all   the 
twelve  books  clearly  copied  in  a  good  hand,  as  also  the  Postilla  and  the  Can- 
tares  [which  were  other  works  on  which  Sahagun  was  engaged],     I  made 
out  also  an  Art  of  the  Mexican  language  with  a  vocabulary  appendix.     Now 
the  Mexicans  added  to  and  emended  my  twelve  books  [of  the  Historia  Gene- 
ral'] in  many  things  while  they  were  being  copied  out  in  full;  so  that  the  first 
sieve  through  which  my  work  passed  was  that  of  Tepeopulco,  the  second 
that  of  Tlaltelolco,  the  third  that  of  Mexico;  and  in  all  these  scrutinies  collegi- 
ate grammarians  had  been  employed.     The  chief  and  most  learned  was  An- 
tonio Valeriano,  a  resident  of  Aztcapuzalco;  another,  little  less  than  the  first, 
was  Alonso  Vegerano,  resident  of  Cuauhtitlan;  another  was  Martin  Jacobita, 
above  mentioned;  another  Pedro  de  Santa  Buenaventura,  resident  of  Cuauh- 
titlan— all  expert  in  three  languages,  Latin,  Spanish,  and  Indian  [Mexican], 
The   scribes  that  made  out   the  clear   copies  of   all   the  works  are    Diego 
Degrado,  resident  of  the  ward  of  San  Martin,  Mateo  Severino,  resident  of  Xo- 
chimilco,  of  the  part  of  Ullac.     The  clear  copy  being  fully  made  out,  by  tlio 
favor  of  the  fathers  above  mentioned  and  the  expenditure  of  hard  cash  on  the 
scribes,  the  author  thereof  asked  of  the  delegate  Father  Francisco  de  Rivera 
that  the  work  be  submitted  to  three  or  four  religious,  so  that  they  might  give 
an  opinion  on  it,  and  that  in  the  provincial  chapter,  which  was  close  at  hand, 
they  might  attend  and  report  on  the  matter  to  the  assembly,  speaking  aa 
the  thing  might  appear  to  them.     And  these  reported  in  the  assembly  that 
the  writings  were  of  much  value  and  deserved  such  support  as  was  necessary 
toward  their  completion.     But  to  some  of  the  assembly  it  seemed  that  it 
was  contrary  to  their  vows  of  poverty  to  spend  money  in  copying  these  writ- 
ings; so  they  commanded  the  author  to  dismiss  his  scribes,  and  that  he 
alone  with  his  own  hand  should  do  what  copying  he  wanted  done;  but  as  he 
was  more  than  seventy  years  old,  and  for  the  trembling  of  his  hand  not  able 
to  write  anything,  nor  able  to  procure  a  dispensation  from  this  mandate, 
there  was  nothing  done  with  the  writings  for  more  than  five  years.     During 


CHARACTER  AND  WORKS   OF  SAHAGUN.  233 

this  interval,  and  at  the  next  chapter,  Father  Miguel  Navarro  was  elected 
by  the  general  chapter  for  custos  custodium,  and  Father  Alonso  de  Escalona 
for  provincial.  During  this  time  the  author  made  a  summary  of  all  the 
books  and  of  all  the  chapters  of  each  book,  and  prologues,  wherein  was  said 
with  brevity  all  that  the  books  contained.  This  summary  Father  Miguel 
Navarro  and  his  companion,  Father  Gerdnimo  de  Mendieta,  carried  to  Spain, 
and  thus  in  Spain  the  things  that  had  been  written  about  this  land  made 
their  appearance.  In  the  mean  time,  the  father  provincial  took  all  the 
books  of  the  author  and  dispersed  them  through  all  the  province,  where  they 
were  seen  by  many  religious  and  approved  for  very  precious  and  valuable. 
After  some  years,  the  general  chapter  meeting  again,  Father  Miguel  Navarro, 
at  the  petition  of  the  author,  turned  with  censures  to  collect  again  the  said. 
books;  which,  from  that  collecting,  came  within  about  a  year  into  the 
hands  of  the  author.  During  that  time  nothing  was  done  in  them,  nor  was 
there  any  one  to  help  to  get  them  translated  into  the  vernacular  Spanish, 
until  the  delegate-general  Father  Rodrigo  de  Sequera  came  to  these  parts, 
saw  and  was  much  pleased  with  them,  and  commanded  the  author  to  translate 
them  into  Spanish;  providing  all  that  was  necessary  to  their  being  rewritten, 
the  Mexican  language  in  one  column  and  the  Spanish  in  another,  so  that  they 
might  be  sent  to  Spain;  for  the  most  illustrious  Sefior  Don  Juan  de  Ovando, 
president  of  the  Council  of  Indies,  had  inquired  after  them,  he  knowing  of 
them  by  reason  of  the  summary  that  the  said  Father  Miguel  Navarro  had 
carried  to  Spain,  as  above  said.  And  all  the  above-said  is  to  show  that  this 
work  has  been  examined  and  approved  by  many,  and  during  many  years 
has  passed  through  many  troubles  and  misfortunes  before  reaching  the  place 
it  now  has.'  Sahajun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  Prdlogo,  pp.  iii.,  vii.  As  to 
the  date  at  which  Sahaguii  wrote,  he  says:  '  These  twelve  books  and  the  Art 
and  the  vocabulary  appendix  were  finished  in  a  clear  copy  in  the  year  15G9; 
but  not  translated  into  Spanish.'  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  i.,  Intro- 
duccion,  p.  xv.  The  following  scanty  sketch  of  the  life  of  Sahagun  is  taken, 
after  Bustamante,  from  the  Meneal6'jio  Serdfico  of  Father  Betancourt:  'Fa- 
ther Bernardino  Sahagun,  native  of  Sahagun,  took  the  robe  in  the  convent 
of  Salamanca,  being  a  student  of  that  university.  He  passed  into  this  prov- 
ince [Mexico]  in  the  year  1529,  in  the  company  of  Father  Antonio  de  Ciudad 
Rodrigo.  While  a  youth  he  was  endowed  with  a  beauty  and  grace  of  person 
that  corresponded  with  that  of  his  soul.  From  his  tenderest  years  he  was 
•very  observant,  self-contained,  and  given  to  prayer.  Father  Martin  de  Va- 
lencia held  very  close  communion  with  him,  owing  to  which  he  saw  him 
many  times  snatched  up  into  an  ecstasy.  Sahagun  was  very  exact  in  his  at- 
tendance in  the  choir;  even  in  his  old  ago,  he  never  was  absent  at  matins. 
He  was  gentle,  humble,  courteous  in  his  converse  with  all.  He  was 
elected  secondly  with  the  learned  Father  Juan  de  Gaona,  as  professor  at 
Tlaltelolco  in  the  college  of  Santa  Cruz;  where  he  shone  like  a  light 
on  a  candlestick,  for  he  was  perfect  in  all  the  sciences.  His  possession 
of  the  Mexican  language  was  of  a  perfectness  that  has  never  to  this  day 
being  equalled;  he  wrote  many  books  in  it  that  will  be  mentioned  in  the 
catalogue  of  authors.  He  had  to  strive  with  much  opposition,  for  to  some 
it  did  not  seem  good  to  write  out  in  the  language  of  the  Mexicans  their 
ancient  rites,  lest  it  should  give  occasion  for  their  being  persevered  in.  He 
watched  over  the  honor  of  God  against  idolatry,  and  sought  earnestly  to 
impress  the  Christian  faith  upon  the  converted.  He  affirmed,  as  a  minis- 
ter of  much  experience,  that  during  the  first  twenty  years  [of  his  life  in  the 
province]  the  fervor  of  the  natives  was  very  great;  but  that  afterward  they 
inclined  to  idolatry,  and  became  very  lukewarm  in  the  faith.  This  he  says 
in  the  book  of  his  PostiUas  that  I  have,  in  which  I  learnt  much.  During  the 
first  twenty  years  of  his  life  [in  the  province]  he  was  guardian  of  some  con- 
vents; but  after  that  he  desired  not  to  take  upon  himself  any  office  or  guar- 
dianship for  more  than  forty  years,  so  that  he  could  occupy  himself  in 
preaching,  confessing,  and  writing.  During  the  sixty  and  one  years  that 
he  lived  in  the  province,  for  the  most  part  in  college,  without  resting  a  single 
day,  ne  instructed  the  boys  in  civilization  and  good  customs,  teaching  them 
reading,  writing,  grammar,  music,  and  other  things  in.  the  service  of  God 


234          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

and  the  state.  This  went  on  till  the  year  1590,  when,  the  approach  of  death 
becoming  apparent  to  every  one,  he  entered  the  hospital  of  Mexico,  where  he 
died  on  the  23d  of  October.  There  assembled  to  his  funeral  the  collegians, 
trailing  their  becas,  and  the  natives  shedding  tears,  and  the  members  of  the 
different  religious  houses  giving  praises  to  God  our  Lord  for  this  holy  death, 
of  which  the  martyrology  treats — Gonzaga,  Torquemada,  Deza,  Rampineo, 
and  many  others.  In  the  library  of  Seflor  Eguiara,  in  the  manuscript  of  the 
Turriana  collection,  I  have  read  the  article  relating  to  Father  Sahagun;  in  it 
a  large  catalogue  of  works  that  he  wrote  is  given.  I  remember  only  the  fol- 
lowing: Historia  General  de  las  Cosas  de  Nueva  E.ipana;  Arte  de  gramdtica 
mexicana;  Diccionario  trilingue  de  espanol,  latin,  y  mexicano;  Sermoncs 
para  todo  el  ano  en  mexicano  (poseo  aunque  sin  nombre  de  autor);  Postl- 
ilzg  6  commentaries  al  evangelio,  para  las  misas  solemnes  de  dia  de  precepto; 
Historia  de  los  primeros  pobladores  franciscanos  en  Mexico;  Salmodia  de  la 
vida  de  Cristo,  de  la  virgen  y  de  los  santos,  que  usaban  los  indios,  y  prccep- 
tos  para  los  casados;  Escala  espiritual,  que  fue  la  primera  obra  que  se  im- 
primid  en  Mexico  en  la  imprenta  que  trajo  Heraan  Cortes  do  Espana.' 
fiahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  vii.-ix.  As  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
Historia  General  of  Sahagun,  'whom,'  says  Prescott,  Mex.,  vol.  i.,  p.  67, 
*  I  have  followed  as  the  highest  authority '  in  matters  of  Mexican  re- 
ligion— at  last  saw  the  light  of  publication,  I  give  Prescott 's  account, 
Mex.,  vol.  i.,  p.  88,  as  exact  save  in  one  point,  for  which  see  the  correction 
in  brackets:  'At  length,  toward  the  close  of  the  last  century,  the  indefati- 
gable Munoz  succeeded  in  disinterring  the  long  lost  manuscript  from  the 
place  tradition  had  assigned  to  it — the  library  of  a  convent  at  Tolosa,  in  Na- 
varre, the  northern  extremity  of  Spain.  With  his  usual  ardor,  he  transcribed 
Ihe  whole  work  with  his  own  hands,  and  added  it  to  the  inestimable  collec- 
tion, of  which,  alas!  he  was  destined  not  to  reap  the  full  benefit  himself. 
Prom  this  transcript  Lord  Kingsborough  was  enabled  to  procure  the  copy 
which  was  published  in  1830,  in  the  sixth  volume  of  his  magnificent  compila- 
tion. [It  was  published  in  two  parts,  in  the  fifth  and  seventh  volumes  of  that 
compilation,  and  the  exact  date  of  the  publication  was  1831.]  In  it  he  expresses 
an  honest  satisfaction  at  being  the  first  to  give  Sahagun's  work  to  the  world. 
But  in  this  supposition  he  was  mistaken.  The  very  year  preceding,  an  edition 
of  it,  with  annotations,  appeared  in  Mexico,  in  three  volumes  8vo.  It  was 
prepared  by  Bustamante — a  scholar  to  whose  editorial  activity  his  country 
i.3  largely  indebted — from  a  copy  of  the  Munoz  manuscript  which  came  into 
hia  possession.  Thus  this  remarkable  work,  which  was  denied  the  honors 
of  the  press  during  the  author's  life-time,  after  passing  into  oblivion,  reap- 
peared, at  the  distance  of  nearly  three  centuries,  not  in  his  own  country,  but 
in  foreign  lands  widely  remote  from  each  other,  and  that  almost  simultane- 
ously   Sahagun  divided  his  history  into  twelve  books.  The  first  eleven 

are  occupied  with  the  social  institutions  of  Mexico,  and  the  last  with  the 
Conquest.  On  the  religion  of  the  country  he  is  particularly  full.  His  great 
object  evidently  was,  to  give  a  clear  view  of  its  mythology,  and  of  the  bur- 
densome ritual  which  belonged  to  it.  Religion  entered  so  intimately  into 
the  most  private  concerns  and  usages  of  the  Aztecs,  that  Sahagun's  work 
must  be  a  text-book  for  every  student  of  their  antiquities.  Torquemada 
availed  himself  of  a  manuscript  copy  which  fell  into  his  hands  before  it  was 
sent  to  Spain,  to  enrich  his  own  pages — a  circumstance  more  fortunate  for 
his  readers  than  for  Sahagun's  reputation,  whose  work,  now  that  it  is  pub- 
lished, loses  much  of  the  originality  and  interest  which  would  otherwise 
attach  to  it.  In  one  respect  it  is  invaluable:  as  presenting  a  complete  col- 
lection of  the  various  forms  of  prayer,  accommodated  to  every  possible  emer- 
gency, in  use  by  the  Mexicans.  They  are  often  clothed  in  dignified  and 
beautiful  language,  showing  that  sublime  speculative  tenets  are  quite  com- 
patible with  the  most  degrading  practices  of  superstition.  It  is  much  to  be 
regretted  that  we  have  not  the  eighteen  hymns,  inserted  by  the  author  in  his 
book,  which  would  have  particular  interest,  as  the  only  specimen  of  devo- 
tional poetry  preserved  of  the  Aztecs.  The  hieroglyphical  paintings  which 
accompanied  the  text  are  also  missing.  If  they  have  escaped  the  hands  of 
fanaticism,  both  may  reappear  at  some  future  day.'  As  may  have  been 


ADULTERATION  OF  THE  SAHAGUN  MSS.  235 

noticed,  the  editions  of  Sahagun  by  both  Bustamante  and  Kingsborough  have 
been  constantly  used  together  and  collated  during  the  course  of  this  present 
work.  They  differ,  especially  in  many  minor  points  of  typography,  Busta- 
inante's  being  the  more  carelessly  edited  in  this  respect.  Notwithstanding, 
however,  the  opinion  to  the  contrary  of  Mr  Harrisse,  Bustamante 's  edition 
is,  on  the  whole,  the  more  complete;  Kingsborough  having  avowedly  omitted 
divers  parts  of  the  original  which  he  thought  unimportant  or  uninteresting 
—a  fault  also  of  Bustamante 's,  but  to  a  lesser  extent.  Fortunately,  what  is 
absent  in  the  one  I  have  always  found  in  the  other;  and  indeed,  as  a  whole, 
and  all  circumstances  being  considered,  they  agree  tolerably  well.  The  crit- 
icism of  Mr  Harrisse,  just  referred  to,  runs  as  follows,  Bib.  Am.  Vet.,  p.  208, 
note  52:  'Historia  General  de  las  Cosas  de  Nueva  Espaiia;  Mexico,  3  vols.,  4  to, 
1829  (edited  and  castrated  by  Bustamente  [Bustamante]  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  require,  for  a  perfect  understanding  of  that  dry  but  important  work,  the 
reading  of  the  parts  also  published  in  vols.  v.  and  vi.  [v.  and  vii.]  of  Kings- 
borough's  Antiquities).'  We  are  not  yet  done,  however,  with  editions  of  Saha- 
gun. A  third  edition  of  part  of  his  work  has  seen  the  light.  It  is  Bustamante 
himself  that  attempts  to  supersede  a  part  of  his  first  edition.  He  affirms  that 
book  xii.  of  that  first  edition  of  his,  as  of  course  also  book  xii.  of  Kingsborough's 
edition,  is  spurious,  and  has  been  garbled  and  glossed  by  Spanish  hands 
quite  away  from  the  original  as  written  by  Sahagun.  Exactly  how  or  when 
this  corruption  took  place  he  does  not  show;  but  he  leaves  it  to  be  inferred 
that  it  was  immediately  after  the  original  manuscript  had  been  taken  from 
its  author,  and  that  it  was  done  because  that  twelfth  book,  which  treats  more 
immediately  of  the  Conquest,  reflected  too  hardly  on  the  Conquerors.  Bus- 
tamaiite  having  procured,  in  a  manner  now  to  be  given  in  his  own  words,  a 
correct  and  genuine  copy  of  the  twelfth  book,  a  copy  written  and  signed 
by  the  hand  of  Sahagun  himself,  proceeded  in  1840  to  give  it  to  the  world 
under  the  extraordinary  title  of  La  Aparicion  de  Nuestra  Senora  de  Guadalupe 
de  Mexico,  comprobada  con  la  rcfutacion  del  argumento  negative  que  presenta  J). 
Juan  Bautista  Munoz,  fundandose  en  el  testimonio  del  P.  Fr.  Bernardino  Saha- 
gun;  6  sea,  Historia  Original  de  este  Escritor,  que  altera  la  publicada  en  1829  en 
el  equivocado  concepto  de  ser  la  unica  y  original  del  dicho  autor.  All  of  which 
means  to  say  that  he,  Bustamante,  having  already  published  in  1829-30  a 
complete  edition  of  Sahagun's  Historia  General,  in  twelve  books,  according 
to  the  best  manuscript  he  could  then  find,  has  found  the  twelfth  book  of  that 
history  to  be  not  genuine,  has  found  the  genuine  original  of  said  twelfth 
book,  and  now,  in  1840,  publishes  said  genuine  twelfth  book  under  the  above 
extraordinary  name,  inasmuch  as  it  contains  some  reference  to  what  is 
supposed  to  be  uppermost  in  every  religious  Mexican's  mind,  to  wit,  the 
miraculous  appearance  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  to  a  certain  native  Mexican, 
la  aparicion  de  nuestra  Senora  de  Guadalupe  de  Mexico.  Bustamante's  own 
account  of  all  the  foregoing,  being  translated  from  the  above-mentioned  JVra 
Senora  de  Guadalupe,  pp.  iv.,  viii.,  xxiii.,  runs  as  follows:  'As  he  [Sahagun] 
wrote  with  the  frankness  proper  to  truth,  and  as  this  was  not  pleasing  to  the 
heads  of  the  then  government,  nor  even  to  some  of  his  brother  friars,  he  was 
despoiled  of  his  writings.  These  were  sent  to  Spain,  and  ordered  to  be  stored 
away  in  the  archives  of  the  convent  of  San  Francisco  de  Tolosa  de  Navarra, 
so  that  no  one  should  ever  be  able  to  read  them;  there  they  lay  hid  for  more 
than  two  centuries.  During  the  reign  of  Carlos  III.,  Senor  Munoz  was  com- 
missioned to  write  the  history  of  the  New  World.  But  he  found  himself 
without  this  work  [of  Sahagun's],  so  necessary  to  his  purpose;  and  he  was 
ignorant  of  its  whereabouts,  till,  reading  the  index  of  the  Biblioteca  Francis- 
cana,  he  came  to  know  about  it,  and,  furnished  by  the  government  with  all 
powers,  he  took  it  out  of  the  said  monastery.  Colonel  D.  Diego  Garcia 
Panes  having  come  to  Madrid  at  the  same  time,  to  publish  the  works  of  Senor 
Veytia,  this  gentleman  contracted  a  friendship  with  Munoz,  who  allowed  him 
to  copy  the  two  thick  volumes  in  which  Sahagun's  work  was  written .... 
These  two  volumes,  then,  that  Colonel  Panes  had  copied,  were  what  was  held 
to  be  solely  the  work  of  Father  Sahagun,  and  as  such  esteemed;  still  it  does 
not  appear  to  be  proved  by  attestation  that  this  was  the  author's  original  aw- 
toyraph  history.  Had  it  boeu  GO,  the  circumstance  would  hardly  have  been 


236          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

loft  without  definite  mention,  when  the  relation  was  given  of  the  way  in 
which  the  book  was  got  hold  of,  and  when  the  guaranty  of  the  exactness  of 
the  copy  was  procured.  I  to-day  possess  an  original  manuscript,  written 
altogether  and  signed  by  the  hand  of  Father  Sahagun;  in  which  is  to  be 
noted  an  essential  variation  in  certain  of  the  chapters  which  I  now  present, 
from  those  that  I  before  published  in  the  twelfth  book  of  his  Historia  Gene- 
ral; which  is  the  book  treating  of  the  Conquest.  Sahagun  wrote  this  manu- 
script in  the  year  1585,  that  is  to  say,  five  years  before  his  death,  and  he 
wrote  it  without  doubt  under  a  presentiment  of  the  alterations  that  his  work 
would  suffer.  He  had  already  made  alterations  therein  himself,  since  he 
confesses  (they  are  his  words)  that  certain  defects  existed  in  them,  that  certain 
things  had  been  put  into  the  narrative  of  that  Conquest  that  should  not  have 
been  put  there,  while  other  things  were  left  out  that  should  not  have  been 
omitted.  Therefore  [says  Bustamante],  this  autograph  manuscript  discovers 
the  alterations  that  his  writings  underwent,  and  gives  vis  good  reason  to  doubt 
the  authenticity  and  exactness  of  the  text  seen  by  Munoz ....  During  the  rev- 
olution of  Madrid,  in  May  1808,  caused  by  the  entrance  of  the  French  and 
the  removal  of  the  royal  family  to  Bayonne,  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  the 
Academy  of  History  was  robbed,  and  from  it  were  taken  various  bundles  of 
the  works  of  Father  Sahagun.  These  an  old  lawyer  of  the  court  bought,  and 
among  them  one  entitled  Relation  de  la  conquista  de  esta  Nueva  Espaila,  corno 
la  contaron  los  soldados  indios  que  se  hallaron  presenter.  Converti6se  en  lengua 
espauola  liana  4  inteliijible  y  bien  enmendada  en  este  ano  de  1685.  Unfortu- 
nately there  had  only  remained  [of  the  Relation,  etc.  (?)]  a  single  volume 
of  manuscript,  which  Senor  D.  Jose  Gomez  de  la  Cortina,  ex-count  of  that 
title,  bought,  giving  therefor  the  sum  of  a  hundred  dollars.  He  allowed 
me  the  use  of  it,  and  I  have  made  an  exact  copy  of  it,  adding  notes 
for  the  better  understanding  of  the  Conquest;  the  before-mentioned 
being  altogether  written,  as  I  have  said,  and  signed  by  the  hands  of 
Father  Sahagun.  This  portion,  which  the  said  ex-count  has  certified  to, 
induces  us  to  believe  that  the  other  works  of  Sahagun,  relating  both  to 
the  Conquest  and  to  the  Aparicion  Guadalupana,  have  been  adulterated 
because  they  did  little  honor  to  the  first  Conquerors.  That  they  have  at 
all  come  to  be  discussed  with  posterity  has  been  because  a  knowledge  of 
them  was  generally  scattered,  and  in  such  a  way  that  it  was  no  longer  possi- 
ble to  keep  them  hidden;  or,  perhaps,  because  the  faction  interested  in  their 
concealment  had  disappeared.  In  proof  of  the  authenticity  and  identity  of 
this  manuscript,  we  refer  to  Father  Betancur  in  his  Chronicle  of  the  prov- 
ince of  the  Santo  Evangelip  de  Mexico,  making  a  catalogue  of  the  illustri- 
ous men  thereof;  speaking  of  Sahagun,  he  says,  on  page  138:  "The  ninth 
book  that  this  writer  composed  was  the  Conquest  of  Mexico  by  Cortes; 
which  book  afterward,  in  the  year  1585,  he  rewrote  and  emended;  the 
[amended]  original  of  this  I  saw  signed  with  his  hand  in  the  possession  of  Sefior 
D.  Juan.  Francisco  de  Montemayor,  president  of  the  Royal  Audiencia,  who 
carried  it  to  Spain  with  the  intention  of  having  it  printed;  and  of  this  I  have 
a  translation  wherein  it  is  said  that  the  Marquis  of  Villa-Maurique,  viceroy 
of  Mexico,  took  from  him  [Sahagun]  the  twelve  books  and  sent  them  to  his 
majesty  for  the  royal  chronicler.'"  Bustamante  lastly  gives  a  certificate  of 
the  authenticity  of  the  manuscript  under  discussion  and  published  by  him. 
The  certificate  is  signed  by  Jose  Gomez  de  la  Cortina,  and  runs  as  follows: 
'  Mexico,  1st  April,  1840.  I  certify  that,  being  in  Madrid  in  the  year  1828, 1 
bought  from  D.  Lorenzo  Ruiz  de  Artieda,  through  the  agency  of  my  friend 
and  companion,  D.  Jose  Musso  Valiente,  member  of  the  Spanish  Academies 
of  language  and  of  history,  the  original  manuscript  of  Father  Sahagun,  of 
which  mention  is  made  in  this  work  by  his  Excellency  Senor  D.  Carlos  Maria 
Bustamante,  as  constated  by  the  receipts  of  the  seller,  and  by  other  docu- 
ments in  my  possession.'  So  much  for  Bustamante's  new  position  as  a 
reeditor  of  a  part  of  Sahagun's  Historia  General;  we  have  stated  it  in  his 
own  words,  and  in  those  of  his  own  witnesses  as  brought  forward  by  him.  The 
changes  referred  to  do  not  involve  any  matter  bearing  on  mythology;  it  may 
be  not  out  of  place  to  say,  however,  that  the  evidence  in  favor  of  Bustaniiuite's 
new  views  seems  strong  and  truth-like. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

IMAGE  OF  TEZCATLIPOCA — His  SEATS  AT  THE  STREET-CORNERS — VARIOUS 
LEGENDS  ABOUT  HIS  LIFE  ON  EARTH — QUETZALCOATL — His  DEXTERITY 
IN  THE  MECHANICAL  ARTS — His  RELIGIOUS  OBSERVANCES — THE  WEALTH 
AND  NlMBLENESS  OF  HIS  ADHERENTS — EXPULSION  FROM  TULLA  OF  QuET- 
ZALCOATL  BY  TEZCATLIPOCA  AND  HuiTZILOPOCHTLI — THE  MAGIC  DRAUGHT 
— HUEMAC,  OR  VEMAC,  KING  OF  THE  TOLTECS,  AND  THE  MISFORTUNES 
BROUGHT  UPON  HIM  AND  HIS  PEOPLE  BY  TEZCATLIPOCA  IN  VARIOUS 
DISGUISES — QUETZALCOATL  IN  CHOLULA— DIFFERING  ACCOUNTS  OF  THE 
BIRTH  AND  LIFE  OF  QUETZALCOATL — His  GENTLE  CHARACTER — HE 
DREW  UP  THE  MEXICAN  CALENDAR — INCIDENTS  OF  HIS  EXILE  AND  OF  HIS 
JOURNEY  TO  TLAPALLA,  AS  RELATED  AND  COMMENTED  UPON  BY  VARIOUS 
WRITERS — BRASSEUR'S  IDEAS  ABOUT  THE  QUETZALCOATL  MYTHS — QUET- 
ZALCOATL CONSIDERED  A  SUN-GOD  BY  TYLOR,  AND  AS  A  DAWN -HERO  BY 
BRINTON — HELPS — DOMENECH — THE  CODICES — LONG  DISCUSSION  OF  THE 
QUETZALCOATL  MYTHS  BY  J.  G.  MULLER. 

IN  the  preceding  chapter  I  have  given  only  the 
loftier  view  of  Tezcatlipoca's  nature,  which  even  on 
this  side  cannot  be  illustrated  without  many  inconsis- 
tencies. We  pass  now  to  relations  evidencing  a  much 
meaner  idea  of  his  character,  and  showing  him  whom 
we  have  seen  called  invisible,  almighty,  and  beneficent, 
in  a  new  and  much  less  imposing  light.  We  pass,  in 
fact,  from  the  Zeus  of  Plato  and  Socrates  to  the  Zeus 
of  Hesiod  and  Homer. 

Let  us  glance  first  at  the  fashion  of  his  representation 
in  the  temples,  though  with  little  hope  of  seeing  the 
particular  fitness  of  many  of  the  trappings  and  symbols 
with  which  his  statue  was  decorated.  His  principal 

'237) 


238          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

image,  at  least  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  was  cut  out  cf  a 
very  shining  black  stone,  called  iztli,  a  variety  of  obsid- 
ian— a  stone  valued,  in  consideration  of  its  capabilities 
of  cleavage,  for  making  those  long  splinters  used  as 
knives  by  the  Aztecs,  for  sacrificial  and  other  purposes. 
For  these  uses  in  worship,  and  perhaps  indeed  for  its 
manifold  uses  in  all  regards,  it  was  surnamed  teotetl, 
divine  stone.  In  places  where  stone  was  less  conve- 
nient, the  image  was  made  of  wood.  The  general  idea 
intended  to  be  given  was  that  of  a  young  man;  by 
which  the  immortality  of  the  god  was  set  forth.  The 
ears  of  the  idol  were  bright  with  ear-rings  of  gold  and 
silver.  Through  his  lower  lip  was  thrust  a  little  crystal 
tube,  perhaps  six  inches  long,  and  through  the  hollow 
of  this  tube  a  feather  was  drawn;  sometimes  a  green 
feather,  sometimes  a  blue,  giving  the  transparent  orna- 
ment the  tint  at  one  time  of  an  emerald,  at  another 
of  a  turquoise.  The  hair — carved  from  the  stone,  we 
may  suppose — was  drawn  into  a  queue  and  bound  with 
a  ribbon  of  burnished  gold,  to  the  end  of  which  ribbon, 
hanging  down  behind,  was  attached  a  golden  ear  with 
certain  tongues  of  ascending  smoke  painted  thereon ; 
which  smoke  was  intended  to  signify  the  prayers  of 
those  sinners  and  afflicted  that,  commending  them- 
selves to  the  god,  were  heard  by  him.  Upon  his  head 
were  many  plumes  of  red  and  green  feathers.  From 
his  neck  there  hung  down  in  front  a  great  jewel  of 
gold  that  covered  all  his  breast.  Bracelets  of  gold 
were  upon  his  arms,  and  in  his  navel  was  set  a  precious 
green  stone.  In  his  left  hand  there  flashed  a  great 
circular  mirror  of  gold,  bordered  like  a  fan  with  pre- 
cious feathers,  green  and  azure  and  yellow;  the  eyes 
of  the  god  were  ever  fixed  on  this,  for  therein  he  saw 
reflected  all  that  was  done  in  the  world.  This  mirror 
was  called  itlachia,  that  is  to  say,  the  'looker-on,3  the 
*  viewer.'  Tezcatlipoca  was  sometimes  seated  on  a 
bench  covered  with  a  red  cloth,  worked  with  the  like- 
ness of  many  skulls,  having  in  his  right  hand  four  darts, 
signifying,  according  to  some,  that  he  punished  sin. 
To  the  top  of  his  feet  were  attached  twenty  bells  of 


WORSHIP  OF  TEZCATLIPOCA.  239 

gold,  and  to  his  right  foot  the  fore-foot  of  a  deer,  to 
show  the  exceeding  swiftness  of  this  deity  in  all  his 
ways.  Hiding  the  shining  black  body  was  a  great 
cloak,  curiously  wrought  in  black  and  white,  adorned 
with  feathers,  arid  fringed  about  with  rosettes  of  three 
colors,  red,  white,  and  black.  This  god,  whose  decora- 
tions vary  a  little  with  different  writers— variations 
probably  not  greater  than  those  really  existing  among 
the  different  figures  representing  in  different  places 
the  same  deity — had  a  kind  of  chapel  built  to  hold 
him  on  the  top  of  his  temple.  It  was  a  dark  chamber 
lined  with  rich  cloths  of  many  colors;  and  from  its 
obscurity  the  image  looked  out,  seated  on  a  pedestal, 
with  a  costly  canopy  immediately  overhead,  and  an 
altar  in  front;  not  apparently  an  altar  of  sacrifice,  but 
a  kind  of  ornamental  table,  like  a  Christian  altar, 
covered  with  rich  cloth.  Into  this  holy  of  holies  it 
was  not  lawful  for  any  but  a  priest  to  enter. 

What  most  of  all,  however,  must  have  served  to 
bring  the  worship  of  Tezcatlipoca  prominently  before 
the  people  were  the  seats  of  stone,  built  at  the  cor- 
ners of  the  streets,  for  the  accommodation  of  this 
god  when  he  walked  invisibly  abroad.  Mortal,  born 
of  woman,  never  sat  thereon;  not  the  king  himself 
might  dare  to  use  them ;  sacred  they  were,  sacred  for- 
ever, and  always  shadowed  by  a  canopy  of  green 
boughs,  reverently  renewed  every  five  days.1 

Lower  and  lower  we  must  now  descend  from  the 
idea  of  an  almighty  god,  to  take  up  the  thread  of 
various  legends  in  which  Tezcatlipoca  figures  in  any- 
thing but  creditable  light.  We  have  already  seen  him 
described  as  one  of  those  hero-gods  whom  the  new- 
born Sun  was  instrumental  in  destroying;2  and  we 
may  suppose  that  he  then  ascended  into  heaven,  for 

1  Acosta,  Hist.  Nat.  Ind.,  pp.  353-4;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  7;  Duran,  Hist.  Ant.  de  la  Nueva  Espafia,  MS.,  quoted  in  Sqitier's  Notes 
to  Palacio,  Carta,  note  27,  pp.  117-18;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p. 
242;  Explication  del  Codex  Telleriano-Remensis,  lain.  ii.  and  xxvi.,  in  Kings- 
borough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  y.,  pp.   132,    144-5;  Spiegazione  delle  Tavole  del 
Codice  Mexicano,  tav.  xlii.,  xlix.,  m  Kinysborouyh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  185, 
188. 

2  See  this  volume,  p.  62. 


240  GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

we  find  him  afterward  descending  thence,  letting  him- 
self down  by  a  rope  twined  from  a  spider's  web.  Ram- 
bling through  the  world,  he  came  to  a  place  called 
Tulla,  where  a  certain  Quetzalcoatl — another,  accord- 
ing to  Sahagun,  of  the  hero-gods  just  referred  to — had 
been  ruling  for  many  years.  The  two  engaged  in  a 
game  of  ball,  in  the  course  of  which  Tezcatlipoca  sud- 
denly transformed  himself  into  a  tiger,  occasioning 
thereby  a  tremendous  panic  among  the  spectators, 
many  of  whom  in  the  haste  of  their  flight  precipitated 
themselves  down  a  ravine  in  the  neighborhood  into  a 
river  and  were  drowned.  Tezcatlipoca  then  began 
to  persecute  Quetzalcoatl  from  city  to  city,  till  he 
drove  him  to  Cholula.  Here  Quetzalcoatl  was  held 
as  chief  god,  and  here  for  some  time  he  was  safe. 
But  only  for  a  few  years;  his  indefatigable  and 
powerful  enemy  forced  him  to  retreat  with  a  few  of 
his  adherents  toward  the  sea,  to  a  place  called  Tlillapa 
or  Tizapan.  Here  the  hunted  Quetzalcoatl  died,  and 
his  followers  inaugurated  the  custom  of  burning  the 
dead  by  burning  his  body.3 

The  foregoing  from  Mendieta  gives  us  a  glimpse, 
from  one  point  of  view,  of  that  great  personage  Quet- 
zalcoatl, of  whom  we  shall  know  much  more  anon, 
and  whom,  in  the  mean  time,  we  meet  again  and  again 
as  the  opponent,  or  rather  victim,  of  Tezcatlipoca.  Let 
us  consider  Sahagun's  version  of  the  incidents  of  this 
strife. 

Quetzalcoatl  was,  from  very  ancient  times,  adored 
as  a  god  in  Tulla.  He  had  a  very  high  cu*  there, 
with  many  steps  up  to  it — steps  so  narrow  that  there 
was  not  room  for  a  whole  foot  on  any  of  them.  His 
image  was  always  in  a  recumbent  position  and  covered 
with  blankets.  The  face  of  it  was  very  ugly,  the 
head  large  and  furnished  with  a  long  beard.  The 
adherents  of  this  god  were  all  devoted  to  the  mechan- 
ical arts,  dexterous  in  working  the  green  stone  called 
chalchiuite,  and  in  founding  the  precious  metals;  all 

3  Mendieta,  Hist.  Edes.,  p.  82. 

4  Temple;  see  this  vol.,  p.  192,  note  26. 


QUETZALCOATL.  241 

of  which,  arts  had  their  beginning  and  origin  with  the 
said  Quetzalcoatl .  He  had  whole  houses  made  of 
chalchiuites,  others  made  of  silver,  others  of  white 
and  red  shells,  others  of  planks,  others  of  turquoises, 
and  others  of  rich  feathers.  His  adherents  were  very 
light  of  foot  and  swift  in  going  whither  they  wished, 
and  they  were  called  tlanquacemilhiyme.  There  is  a 
mountain  called  Tzatzitepetl  on  which  Quetzalcoatl 
used  to  have  a  crier,  and  the  people  afar  off  and  scat- 
tered, and  the  people  of  Andhuac,  a  hundred  leagues 
distant,  heard  and  understood  at  once  whatever  the 
said  Quetzalcoatl  commanded.  And  Quetzalcoatl 
was  very  rich;  he  had  all  that  was  needful  both  to 
eat  and  to  drink;  maize  was  abundant,  and  a  head 
of  it  was  as  much  as  a  man  could  carry  clasped  in 
his  arms;  pumpkins  measured  a  fathom  round;  the 
stalks  of  the  wild  amarinth  were  so  large  and  thick 
that  people  climbed  them  like  trees.  Cotton  was 
sowed  and  gathered  in  of  all  colors,  red,  scarlet,  yel- 
low, violet,  whitish,  green,  blue,  blackish,  gray, 
orange,  and  tawny;  these  colors  in  the  cotton  were 
natural  to  it,  thus  it  grew.  Further,  it  is  said  that  in 
that  city  of  Tulla  there  abounded  many  sorts  of  birds 
of  rich  and  many-colored  plumage,  the  xiuhtototl,  the 
quetzaliototl,  the  zaquan,  the  tlauhquechol,  and  other 
birds  that  sang  with  much  sweetness.  And  this 
Quetzalcoatl  had  all  the  riches  of  the  world,  of  gold 
and  silver,  of  green  stones  called  chalchiuites,  and  of 
other  precious  things,  and  a  great  abundance  of  cocoa- 
nut  trees  of  divers  colors.  The  vassals  or  adherents 
of  Quetzalcoatl  were  also  very  rich  and  wanted  for 
nothing ;  they  were  never  hungry ;  they  never  lacked 
maize,  nor  ate  the  small  ears  of  it,  but  burned  them 
like  wood  to  heat  the  baths.  It  is  said,  lastly,  that 
Quetzalcoatl  did  penance  by  pricking  his  legs  and 
drawing  blood  with  the  spines  of  the  maguey  and  by 
washing  at  midnight  in  a  fountain  called  xicapoya;5 

°0r  perhaps  xipacoya,  as  in  Kingsborough's  eel.  of  SaJtayun,  Mex.  Anliq., 
vol.  vii.,  p.  108. 

VOL.  ill.    16 


242          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

this  custom  the  priests  and  ministers  of  the  Mexican 
idols  adopted. 

There  came  at  last  a  time  in  which  the  fortunes  of 
Quetzalcoatl  and  of  his  people,  the  Toltecs,  began  to 
fail ;  for  there  came  against  them  three  sorcerers,  gods 
in  disguise,  to  wit,  Tezcatlipoca,  Huitzilopochtli,  and 
Tlacavepan,  who  wrought  many  deceits  in  Tulla.     Tez- 
catlipoca especially  prepared  a  cunning  trick ;  he  turned 
himself  into  a  hoary-headed  old  man,  and  went  to  the 
house  of  Quetzalcoatl,  saying  to  the  servants  there,  I 
wish  to  see  and  speak  to  your  master.     Then  the  ser- 
vants said,  Go  away,  old  man,  thou  canst  not  see  our 
king,  for  he  is  sick,  thou  wilt  annoy  him  and  cause 
him  heaviness.     But  Tezcatlipoca  insisted,  I  must  see 
him.     Then  the  servants  bid  the  sorcerer  to  wait,  and 
they  went  in  and  told  Quetzalcoatl  how  an  old  man 
without  affirmed  that  he  would  see  the  king  and  would 
not  be  denied.     And  Quetzalcoatl  answered,  Let  him 
come  in,  behold  for  many  days  I  have  waited  for  his 
coming.     So  Tezcatlipoca  entered,  and  he  said  to  the 
sick  god-king,  How  art  thou  ?  adding  further  that  he 
had  a  medicine  for  him  to  drink.     Then  Quetzalcoatl 
answered,  Thou  art  welcome,  old  man,  behold  for  many 
days  I  have  waited  for  thee.     And  the  old  sorcerer 
spake  again,  How  is  thy  body?  and  how  art  thou  in 
health?  I  am  exceedingly  sick,  said  Quetzalcoatl,  all 
my  body  is  in  pain,  I  cannot  move  my  hands  nor  my 
feet.      Then,  answered  Tezcatlipoca,  behold  this  medi- 
cine that  I  have,  it  is  good  and  wholesome  and  intoxi- 
cating; if  thou  will  drink  it,  thou  shalt  be  intoxicated 
and  healed  and  eased  at  the  heart,  and  thou  shalt  have 
in  mind  the  toils  and  fatigues  of  death  and  of  thy  de- 
parture.8    Where,  cried  Quetzalcoatl,  have  I  to  go? 
To  Tullantlapallan,  replied  Tezcatlipoca,  where  there 
is  another  old  man  waiting  for  thee ;  he  and  thou  shall 
talk  together,  and  on  thy  return  thence  thou  shalt  be 
as  a  youth,  yea,  as  a  boy.     And  Quetzalcoatl  hearing 

6  '  Y  acordarseos  h£  de  los  trabajos  y  fatigas  de  la  muerte,  6  de  vuestra 
ida.'  KinysltorouyJiS  Mcx.  Antifj.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  109.  '  Y  acordarseos  ha  los  tra- 
bajos y  fatigas  da  la  inuerte,  6  de  vuestra  vida.'  Sahafjun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i., 
lib.  iii.,  pp.  245-G. 


TEZCATLIPOCA  AS  A  PEDLER.  243 

these  words,  his  heart  was  moved,  while  the  old  sor- 
cerer, insisting  more  and  more,  said,  Sir,  drink  this 
medicine.  But  the  king  did  not  wish  to  drink  it. 
The  sorcerer,  however,  insisted,  Drink,  my  lord,  or 
thou  wilt  be  sorry  for  it  hereafter ;  at  least  rub  a  little 
on  thy  brow  and  taste  a  sip.  So  Quetzalcoatl  tried 
and  tasted  it,  and  drank,  saying,  What  is  this?  it 
seems  to  be  a  thing  very  good  and  savory;  already  I 
feel  myself  healed  and  quit  of  mine  infirmity;  already 
I  am  well.  Then  the  old  sorcerer  said  again,  Drink 
once  more,  my  lord,  since  it  is  good;  so  thou  shall  be 
the  more  perfectly  healed.  And  Quetzalcoatl  drank 
a^ain,  he  made  himself  drunk,  he  began  to  weep  sadly, 
his  heart  was  eased  and  moved  to  depart,  he  could  not 
rid  himself  of  the  thought  that  he  must  go ;  for  this 
was  the  snare  and  deceit  of  Tezcatlipoca.  And  the 
medicine  that  Quetzalcoatl  drank  was  the  white  wine 
of  the  country,  made  from  the  magueys  that  are  called 
teumetl. 

So  Quetzalcoatl,  whose  fortunes  we  shall  hereafter 
follow  more  particularly,  set  out  upon  his  journey^ 
and  Tezcatlipoca  proceeded  further  guilefully  to  kill 
many  Toltecs,  and  to  ally  himself  by  marriage  with 
Vemac,  who  was  the  temporal  lord  of  the  Toltecs,  even 
as  Quetzalcoatl  was  the  spiritual  ruler  of  that  people. 
To  accomplish  these  things,  Tezcatlipoca  took  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  poor  foreigner,  and  presented  himself 
naked,  as  was  the  custom  of  such  people,  in  the  mar- 
ket-place of  Tulla,  selling  green  chilly  pepper.  Now 
the  palace  of  Vemac,  the  great  king,  overlooked  the 
market-place,  and  he  had  an  only  daughter,  and  the 
girl,  looking  by  chance  among  the  buyers  and  sellers, 
saw  the  disguised  god.  She  was  smitten  through  with 
love  of  him,  and  she  began  to  sicken.  Vemac  heard 
of  her  sickness,  and  he  inquired  of  the  women  that 
guarded  her  as  to  what  ailed  his  daughter.  They  told 
him  as  best  they  could  how  for  the  love  of  a  pedler 
of  pepper,  named  Toveyo,  the  princess  had  lain  down 
to  die.  The  king  immediately  sent  a  crier  upon  the 
mountain  Tzatzitepec  to  make  this  proclamation:  0 


244          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Toltecs,  seek  me  out  Toveyo  that  goes  about  selling 
green  pepper,  let  hirn  be  brought  before  me.  So  the 
people  sought  everywhere  for  the  handsome  pepper 
vender ;  but  he  was  nowhere  to  be  found.  Then,  after 
they  could  not  find  him,  he  appeared  of  his  own  accord 
one  day  at  his  old  place  and  trade  in  the  market.  He 
was  brought  before  the  king,  who  said  to  him,  Where 
dost  thou  belong  to  1  and  Toveyo  answered,  I  am  a  for- 
eigner come  here  to  sell  my  green  pepper.  Why  dost 
thou  delay  to  cover  thyself  with  breeches  and  with  a 
blanket?  said  Vemac.  Toveyo  answered  that  in  his 
country  such  things  were  not  in  fashion.  Vemac  con- 
tinued, My  daughter  longs  after  thee,  not  willing  to  be 
comforted  by  any  Toltec ;  she  is  sick  of  love,  and  thou 
must  heal  her.  But  Toveyo  replied,  This  thing  can  in 
no  wise  be,  kill  me  first;  I  desire  to  die,  not  being 
worthy  to  hear  these  words,  who  get  my  living  by 
selling  green  pepper.  I  tell  thee,  said  the  king,  that 
thou  must  heal  my  daughter  of  this  her  sickness; 
fear  not.  Then  they  took  the  cunning  god,  and  washed 
him,  and  cut  his  hair,  and  dyed  all  his  body,  and  put 
breeches  on  him  and  a  blanket;  and  the  king  Vemac 
said,  Get  thee  in  and  see  my  daughter,  there  where 
they  guard  her.  Then  the  young  man  went  in,  and 
he  remained  with  the  princess,  and  she  became  sound 
and  well;  thus  Toveyo  became  the  sori-in-law  of  the 
king  of  Tulla. 

Then  behold  all  the  Toltecs,  being  filled  with  jeal- 
ousy and  offended,  spake  injurious  and  insulting  words 
against  king  Vemac,  saying  among  themselves,  Of  all 
the  Toltecs  can  there  not  be  found  a  man,  that  this 
Vemac  marries  his  daughter  to  a  pedler?  Now  when 
the  king  heard  all  the  injurious  and  insulting  words 
that  the  people  spake  against  him,  he  was  moved,  and 
he  spoke  to  the  people  saying,  Come  hither,  behold 
I  have  heard  all  these  things  that  ye  say  against-'me 
in  the  matter  of  my  son-in-law  Toveyo ;  dissimulate 
then;  take  him  deceitfully  with  you  to  the  war  of 
Cacatepec  and  Coatepec,  let  the  enemy  kill  him  there. 
Having  heard  these  words,  the  Toltecs  armed  them- 


TRIUMPH  OF  TEZCATLIPOCA.  245 

selVes,  and  collected  a  multitude,  and  went  to  the  war, 
bringing  Toveyo  along.  Arrived  where  the  fighting 
was  to  take  place,  they  hid  him  with  the  lame  and  the 
dwarfs,  charging  them,  as  the  custom  was  in  such 
cases,  to  watch  for  the  enemy,  while  the  soldiers  went 
on  to  the  attack.  The  battle  began;  the  Toltecs  at 
once  gave  way ;  treacherously  and  guilefully  deserting 
Toveyo  and  the  cripples,  leaving  them  to  be  slaugh- 
tered at  their  post,  they  returned  to  Tulla  and  told  the 
king  how  they  had  left  Toveyo  and  his  companions 
alone  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  When  the  king 
heard  the  treason,  he  was  glad,  thinking  Toveyo  dead, 
for  he  was  ashamed  of  having  him  for  a  son-in-law. 
Affairs  had  gone  otherwise,  however,  with  Toveyo 
from  what  the  plotters  supposed.  On  the  approach 
of  the  hostile  army  he  consoled  his  deformed  compan- 
ions, saying,  Fear  nothing;  the  enemy  come  against 
us,  but  I  know  that  I  shall  kill  them  all.  Then  he 
rose  up  and  went  forward  against  them,  against  the 
men  of  Coatepec  and  Cacatepec;  he  put  them  to  flight, 
and  slew  of  them  without  number.  When  this  came 
to  the  ears  of  Vemac,  it  weighed  upon  and  terrified 
him  exceedingly,  He  said  to  his  Toltecs,  Let  us  now 
go  and  receive  my  son-in-law.  So  they  all  went  out 
with  king  Vemac  to  receive  Toveyo,  bearing  the  arms 
or  devices  called  quetzalapanecayutl,  and  the  shields 
called  xiuchimali.  They  gave  these  things  to  Toveyo, 
and  he  and  his  comrades  received  them  with  dancing 
and  the  music  of  flutes,  with  triumph  and  rejoicing. 
Furthermore,  on  reaching  the  palace  of  the  king, 
plumes  were  put  upon  the  heads  of  the  conquerors, 
and  all  the  body  of  each  of  them  was  stained  yellowy 
and  all  the  face  red;  this  was  the  customary  reward 
of  those  that  came  back  victorious  from  war.  And 
king  Vemac  said  to  his  son-in-law,  I  am  now  satisfied 
with  what  thou  hast  done,  and  the  Toltecs  are  satis- 
fied; thou  hast  dealt  very  well  with  our  enemies,  rest 
and  take  thine  ease.  But  Toveyo  held  his  peace. 

And  after  this,  Toveyo  adorned  all  his  body  with 
the  rich  feathers  called  tocivitl,  and  commanded  the 


246          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Toltecs  to  gather  together  for  a  festival,  and  seat  a 
crier  up  to  the  top  of  the  mountain,  Tzatzitepec,  to 
call  in  the  strangers  and  the  people  afar  off  to  dance 
and  to  feast.  A  numberless  multitude  gathered  to 
Tulla.  When  they  were  all  gathered,  Toveyo  led  them 
out,  young  men  and  girls,  to  a  place  called  Texcalapa, 
where  he  himself  began  and  led  the  dancing,  playing 
on  a  drum.  He  sang,  too,  singing  each  verse  to  the 
dancers,  who  sang  it  after  him,  though  they  knew  not 
the  song  beforehand.  Then  was  to  be  seen  there  a 
marvellous  and  terrible  thing.  From  sunset  till  mid- 
night the  beat  of  the  countless  feet  grew  faster  and 
faster;  the  tap,  tap,  tap,  of  the  drum  closed  up  and 
poured  into  a  continual  roll;  the  monotonous  song  rose 
higher,  wilder,  till  it  burst  into  a  roar.  The  multi- 
tude became  a  mob,  the  revel  a  riot;  the  people  began 
to  press  upon  and  hustle  each  other;  the  riot  became 
a  panic.  There  was  a  fearful  gorge  or  ravine  there, 
with  a  river  rushing  through  it,  called  the  Texcal- 
tlauhco;  a  stone  bridge  led  over  the  river.  Toveyo 
broke  down  this  bridge  as  the  people  fled;  grim  cory- 
pheus  of  this  fearful  revel,  he  saw  them  tread  and 
crush  each  other  down,  underfoot,  and  over  into  the 
abyss.  They  that  fell  were  turned  into  rocks  and 
stones;  as  for  them  that  escaped,  they  did  not  see  nor 
think  that  it  was  Toveyo  and  his  sorceries  had  wrought 
this  destruction ;  they  were  blinded  by  the  witchcraft 
of  the  god,  and  out  of  their  senses  like  drunken  men. 
Far  from  being  satisfied  with  the  slaughter  at  Tex- 
calapa, Tezcatlipoca  proceeded  to  hatch  further  evil 
against  the  Toltecs.  He  took  the  appearance  of  a 
certain  valiant  man  called  Teguioa,  and  commanded  a 
crier  to  summon  all  the  inhabitants  of  Tulla  and  its 
neighborhood  to  come  and  help  at  a  certain  piece  of 
work  in  a  certain  flower-garden  (said  to  have  been  a 
garden  belonging  to  Quetzalcoatl).  All  the  people 
gathered  to  the  work,  whereupon  the  disguised  god 
fell  upon  them,  knocking  them  on  the  head  with  a  coa.1 

7  Hoe  of  burnt  wood.  '  Coa  •  palo  tostado,  empleado  por  los  indios  para 
labrar  la  tierra,  &  maiiera  de  hazada  (Lengua  de  Cxiba.)  Voces  Americanos 
Empleadaf,  Por  Omedo..  ?  Tended  to  Omedo.  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  p.  .^96. 


TEZCATLIPOCA  DEAD.  247 

Those  that  escaped  the  coa  were  trodden  down  and 
killed  by  their  fellows  in  attempting  to  escape;  a 
countless  number  was  slain ;  every  man  that  had  come 
to  the  work  was  left  dead  among  the  trodden  flowers. 
And  after  this,  Tezcatlipoca  wrought  another  witch- 
craft against  the  Toltecs.  He  called  himself  Tlacave- 
pan,  or  Acexcoch,  and  came  and  sat  down  in  the  midst 
of  the  market-place  of  Tulla,  having  a  little  manikin 
(said  to  have  been  Huitzilopochtli)  dancing  upon  his 
hand.  There  was  an  instant  uproar  of  all  the  buyers 
and  sellers  and  a  rush  to  see  the  miracle.  The  people 
crushed  and  trod  each  other  down,  so  that  many  were 
killed  there ;  and  all  this  happened  many  times.  At 
last  the  god-sorcerer  cried  out  on  one  such  occasion, 
What  is  this?  do  you  not  see  that  you  are  befooled  by 
us?  stone  and  kill  us.  So  the  people  took  up  stones 
and  killed  the  said  sorcerer  and  his  little  dancing 
manikin.  But  when  the  body  of  the  sorcerer  had  lain 
in  the  market-place  for  some  time,  it  began  to  stink 
and  taint  the  air,  and  the  wind  of  its  poisoned  many. 
Then  the  dead  sorcerer  spake  again,  saying,  Cast  this 
body  outside  the  town,  for  many  Toltecs  die  because 
of  it.  So  they  prepared  to  cast  out  the  body,  and 
fastened  ropes  thereto  and  pulled.  But  the  talkative 
and  ill-smelling  corpse  was  so  heavy  that  they  could 
not  move  it.  Then  a  crier  made  a  proclamation,  say- 
ing, Come  all  ye  Toltecs,  and  bring  ropes  with  you, 
that  we  may  drag  out  and  get  rid  of  this  pestilential 
carcass.  All  came  accordingly  bringing  ropes,  and 
the  ropes  were  fastened  to  the  body  and  all  pulled., 
It  was  utterly  in  vain.  Rope  after  rope  broke  with  a 
sudden  snap,  and  those  that  dragged  on  a  rope  fell  and 
were  killed  when  it  broke.  Then  the  dead  wizard 
looked  up  and  said,  O  Toltecs,  a  verse  of  a  song  is 
needed;  and  he  himself  gave  them  a  verse.  They 
repeated  the  verse  after  him,  and  singing  it,  pulled  all 
together,  so  that  with  shouts  they  hauled  the  body 
out  of  the  city;  though  still  not  without  many  ropes 
breaking  and  many  persons  being  killed  as  before.  All 
this  being  over,  those  Toltecs  that  remained  unhurt 


248          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

returned  every  man  to  his  place,  not  remembering 
what  had  happened,  for  they  were  all  as  drunken. 

Other  signs  and  wonders  were  wrought  by  Tezcatli- 
poca  in  his  role  of  sorcerer.  A  white  bird  called  Yz- 
taccuixtli  was  clearly  seen  flying  over  Tulla,  transfixed 
with  a  dart.  At  night,  also,  the  sierra  called  Zacatepec 
burned,  and  the  flames  were  seen  from  far.  AIL  the 
people  were  stirred  up  and  affrighted,  saying  one  to 
another,  0  Toltecs,  it  is  all  over  with  us  now;  the 
time  of  the  end  of  Tulla  is  come }  alas  for  us !  whither 
shall  we  go  ? 

Then  Tezcatlipoca  wrought  another  evil  upon  the 
Toltecs:  he  rained  down  stones  upon  them.  There 
fell  also,  at  the  same  time,  a  great  stone  from  heaven 
called  techcatl;  and  when  it  fell  the  god-sorcerer  took 
the  appearance  of  an  old  woman,  and  went  about  sell- 
ing little  banners  in  a  place  called  Chapultepecuitla- 
pilco,  otherwise  named  Vetzinco.  Many  then  became 
mad,  and  bought  of  these  banners,  and  went  to  the 
place  where  was  the  stone  Techcatl,  and  there  got 
themselves  killed;  and  no  one  was  found  to  say  so 
much  as,  What  is  this  that  happens  to  us?  they  were 
all  mad. 

Another  woe  Tezcatlipoca  brought  upon  the  Toltecs. 
All  their  victuals  suddenly  became  sour,  and  no  one 
was  able  to  eat  of  them.  The  old  woman  above  men- 
tioned took  up  then  her  abode  in  a  place  called 
Xochitla,8  and  began  to  roast  maize ;  and  the  odor  of 
the  roasted  maize  reached  all  the  cities  round  about. 
The  starving  people  set  out  immediately,  and  with  one 
accord,  to  go  where  the  old  woman  was.  They  reached 
her  instantly,  for  here  it  may  be  again  said  that  the 
Toltecs  were  exceedingly  light  of  foot,  and  arrived 
always  immediately  whithersoever  they  wished  to  go. 
As  for  the  Toltecs  that  gathered  to  the  sham  sorcerers, 
not  one  of  them  escaped,  she  killed  them  every  one.9 

*Xoc7atla,  garden;  see  Molina,  Vocabularto.  Perhaps  that  garden  belong- 
ing to  Quetzalcoatl,  which  had  been  already  so  fatal  to  the  Toltecs.  See  this 
volume,  p.  246. 

9 Kinysborough's  Mex.  Antiq.t  vol.  vii.,  pp  108-13;  Saliacfun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  pp.  243-55.  It  will  be  seen  that  in  almost  all  points  of  spell- 


IMAGE  OF  QUETZALCOATL.  249 

Turning,  without  remark  for  the  present,  from  Tez« 
catlipoca,  of  whose  life  on  earth  the  preceding  farrago 
of  legends  is  all  that  is  known,  let  us  take  up  the  same 
period  in  the  history  of  Quetzalcoatl.  The  city  of 
Cholula  was  the  place  in  which  this  god  was  most 
honored,  and  toward  which  he  was  supposed  to  be 
most  favorably  inclined;  Cholula  being  greatly  given 
to  commerce  and  handicraft,  and  the  Cholulans  con- 
sidering Quetzalcoatl  to  be  the  god  of  merchandise. 
As  Acosta  tells :  "In  Cholula,  which  is  a  common- 
wealth of  Mexico,  they  worshipt  a  famous  idoll  which 
was  the  god  of  marchandise,  being  to  this  day  greatly 
given  to  trafficke.  They  called  it  Quetzaalcoalt. 
This  idoll  was  in  a  great  place  in  a  temple  very  hie  : 
it  had  about  it  golde,  silver,  Jewells,  very  rich 
feathers,  and  habites  of  divers  colours.  It  had  the 
forme  of  a  man,  but  the  visage  of  a  little  bird,  with  a 
red  bill,  and  above  a  combe  full  of  wartes,  having 
ranckes  of  teeth,  and  the  tongue  hanging  out.  It  car- 
ried vpon  the  head  a  pointed  myter  of  painted  paper, 
a  sithe  in  the  hand,  and  many  toyes  of  golde  on  the 
legges;  with  a  thousand  other  foolish  inventions, 
whereof  all  had  their  significations,  and  they  worshipt 
it,  for  that  hee  enriched  whome  hee  pleased,  as  Mem- 
non  and  Plutus.  In  trueth,  this  name  which  the 
Choluanos  gave  to  their  god  was  very  fitte,  although 
they  vnderstood  it  not:  they  called  it  Quetzaalcoalt, 
signifying  colour  of  a  rich  feather,  for  such  is  the 
divell  of  covetousnesse." 10 

Motolinia  gives  the  following  confused  accotmt  of 
the  birth  as  a  man,  the  life,  and  the  apotheosis  of  this 
god:  The  Mexican  Adam,  called  Iztacmixcoatl  by 
some  writers,  married  a  second  time.11  This  second 
wife,  Chimarnatl  by  name,  bore  him,  it  is  said,  an 
only  son  who  was  called  Quetzalcoatl.  This  son  grew 
up  a  chaste  and  temperate  man.  He  originated  by 
his  preaching  and  practice  the  custom  of  fasting  and 

ing   the  edition  of   Kingsborough  is  followed  in  preference   to  the  in  such 
points  very  inaccurate  edition  of  Bustamaiite. 

10  Acosta,  Hist.  Nat.  Ind.,  p.  354. 

11  As  to  the  tirst  wife  and  her  family,  see  this  vol.,  p.  60. 


250          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

self-punishment;  and  from  that  time  many  in  that 
country  began  to  do  this  penance.  He  never  married, 
nor  knew  any  woman,  but  lived  restrainedly  and 
chastely  all  his  days.  The  custom  of  scarifying  the 
ears  and  the  tongue,  by  drawing  blood  from  these 
members,  was  also  introduced  by  him;  not  for  the 
service  of  the  devil,  but  in  penitence  for  the  sins  of  his 
speech  and  his  hearing:  it  is  true  that  afterward  the 
demon  misappropriated  these  rites  to  his  own  use  and 
worship.  A  man  called  Chichimecatl  fastened  a  leather 
strap  on  the  arm  of  Quetzalcoatl,  fixing  it  high  up 
near  the  shoulder;  Chichimecatl  was  from  that  time 
called  Acolhuatl,  and  from  him,  it  is  said,  are  descended 
those  of  Colhua,  ancestors  of  Montezuma  and  lords  of 
Mexico  and  Coluacan.  This  Quetzalcoatl  is  now  held 
as  a  deity  and  called  the  god  of  the  air;  everywhere 
an  infinite  number  of  temples  has  been  raised  to  him, 
and  everywhere  his  statue  or  picture  is  found.12 

According  to  the  account  of  Mendieta,  tradition 
varied  much  as  to  the  facts  of  the  life  of  Quetzalcoatl. 
Some  said  he  was  the  son  of  Camaxtli,  god  of  hunting 
and  fishing,  and  of  Camaxtli's  wife,  Chimalma.  Others 
make  mention  only  of  the  name  of  Chimalma,  saying 
that  as  she  was  sweeping  one  day  she  found  a  small 
green  stone  called  chalchiuite,  that  she  picked  it  up, 
became  miraculously  pregnant,  and  gave  birth  to  the 
said  Quetzalcoatl.  This  god  was  worshipped  as  a 
principal  deity  in  Cholula,  where,  as  well  as  in  Tlax- 
cala  and  Huejotzingo,  there  were  many  of  his  temples. 
We  have  already  had  one  legend  from  Mendieta,13 
giving  an  account  of  the  expulsion  from  Tulla  and 
death  of  Quetzalcoatl;  the  following  from  the  same 
source  gives  a  different  and  more  usual  version  of  the 
said  expulsion: 

Quetzalcoatl  came  from  the  parts  of  Yucatan  (al- 
though some  said  from  Tulla)  to  the  city  of  Cholula. 
He  was  a  white  man,  of  portly  person,  broad  brow, 
great  eyes,  long  black  hair,  and  large  round  beard;  of 

l2Motohnia,  Hist.  Indios,  in  Jcazbalceta,  Col,  torn,  i.,  pp.  10-11. 
13  See  this  vol.,  p  240. 


DEPARTURE  OF  QUETZALCOATL.  251 

exceedingly  chaste  and  quiet  life,  and  of  great  mod- 
eration in  all  things.  The  people  had  at  least  three 
reasons  for  the  great  love,  reverence,  and  devotion 
with  which  they  regarded  him:  first,  he  taught  the 
silversmith's  art,  a  craft  the  Cholulans  greatly  prided 
themselves  on;  second,  he  desired  no  sacrifice  of  the 
blood  of  men  or  animals,  but  delighted  only  in  offer- 
ings of  bread,  roses,  and  other  flowers,  of  perfumes 
and  sweet  odors ;  third,  he  prohibited  and  forbade  all 
war  and  violence.  Nor  were  these  qualities  esteemed 
only  in  the  city  of  his  chiefest  labors  and  teachings; 
from  all  the  land  came  pilgrims  and  devotees  to  the 
shrine  of  the  gentle  god.  Even  the  enemies  of  Cho- 
lula  came  and  went  secure,  in  fulfilling  their  vows; 
and  the  lords  of  distant  lands  had  in  Cholula  their 
chapels  and  idols,  to  the  common  object  of  devotion  and 
esteem.  And  only  Quetzalcoatl  among  all  the  gods 
was  preeminently  called  Lord;  in  such  sort,  that 
when  any  one  swore,  saying,  By  Our  Lord,  he  meant 
Quetzalcoatl,  and  no  other;  though  there  were  many 
other  highly  esteemed  gods.  For  indeed  the  service 
of  this  god  was  gentle,  neither  did  he  demand  hard 
things,  but  light;  and  he  taught  only  virtue,  abhor- 
ring all  evil  and  hurt.  Twenty  years  this  good  deity 
remained  in  Cholula,  then  he  passed  away  by  the  road 
he  had  come,  carrying  with  him  four  of  the  principal 
and  most  virtuous  youths  of  that  city.  He  journeyed 
for  a  hundred  and  fifty  leagues,  till  he  came  to  the  sea, 
in  a  distant  province  called  Goatzacoalco.  Here  he 
took  leave  of  his  companions  and  sent  them  back  to 
their  city,  instructing  them  to  tell  their  fellow-citi- 
zens that  a  day  should  come  in  which  white  men 
would  land  upon  their  coasts,  by  way  of  the  sea  in 
which  the  sun  rises;  brethren  of  his  and  having  beards 
like  his;  and  that  they  should  rule  that  land.  The 
Mexicans  always  waited  for  the  accomplishment  of 
this  prophecy,  and  when  the  Spaniards  came,  they 
took  them  for  the  descendants  of  their  meek  and  gen- 
tle prophet,  although,  as  Mendieta  remarks  with  some 


252          GOI/S,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

sarcasm,  when  they  came  to  know  them  and  to  expe- 
rience their  works,  they  thought  otherwise. 

Quetzalcoatl  is  further  reported  by  Mendieta  to  have 
assisted  in  drawing  up  and  arranging  the  Mexican  Cal- 
endar, a  sacred  book  of  thirteen  tables,  in  which  the 
religious  rites  and  ceremonies  proper  to  each  day  were 
set  forth,  in  connection  with  the  appropriate  signs.  It 
is  said  that  the  gods,  having  created  mankind,  bethought 
themselves  that  it  would  be  well  if  the  people  they  had 
made  had  some  writings  by  which  they  might  direct 
themselves.  Now  there  were,  in  a  certain  cave  at  Cuer- 
navaca,  two  personages  of  the  number  of  the  gods,  and 
they  were  man  and  wife,  he  Oxomoco,  and  she  Cipac- 
tonal ;  and  they  were  consulting  together.  It  appeared 
good  to  the  old  woman  that  her  descendant  Quetzal- 
coatl should  be  consulted.  The  Cholulan  god  thought 
the  thing  of  the  calendar  to  be  good  and  reasonable ;  so 
the  three  set  to  work.  To  the  old  woman  was  respect- 
fully allotted  the  privilege  of  choosing  and  writing  the 
first  sign;  she  painted  a  kind  of  water-serpent  called 
tipactli,  and  called  the  sign  Ce  Cipactli,  that  is,  'a  ser- 
pent.' Oxomoco  in  his  turn  wrote  'two  canes/  and 
then  Quetzalcoatl  wrote  ' three  houses;'  and  so  they 
went  on  till  the  whole  thirteen  signs  of  each  table 
were  written  out  in  their  order.14 

Let  us  now  take  up  again  the  narrative  of  Sahagun, 
at  the  point  where  Quetzalcoatl,  after  drinking  the 
potion  prepared  by  Tezcatlipoca,  prepares  to  set  off 
upon  his  journey.  Quetzalcoatl,  very  heavy  in  heart 
for  all  the  misfortunes  that  this  rival  god  was  bringing 
upon  the  Toltecs,  burned  his  beautiful  houses  of  silver 
and  of  shell,  and  ordered  other  precious  things  to  be 
buried  in  the  mountains  and  ravines.  He  turned  the 
cocoa-nut  trees  into  a  kind  of  trees  that  are  called 
mizquitl;  he  commanded  all  the  birds  of  rich  plumage, 
the  quetzaltototl,  and  the  xiuhtotl,  and  the  tlauquechol, 
to  fly  away  and  go  into  Andhuac,  a  hundred  leagues 
distant.  Then  he  himself  set  out  upon  his  road  from 
Tulla;  he  travelled  on  till  he  came  to  a  place  called 

14  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  pp.  82,  86,  92-3,  97-8. 


THE  SUN  CALLS   QUETZALCOATL.  253 

Quauhtitlan,  where  was  a  great  tree,  high  and  very 
thick.  Here  the  exile  rested,  and  he  asked  his  ser- 
vants for  a  mirror,  and  looked  at  his  own  face.  What 
thoughts  soever  were  working  in  his  heart,  he  only 
said,  I  am  already  old.  Then  he  named  that  place 
Vevequauhtitlan,  and  he  took  up  stones  and  stoned 
the  great  tree;  and  all  the  stones  he  threw  sank  into 
it,  and  were  for  a  long  time  to  be  seen  sticking  there, 
from  the  ground  even  up  to  the  topmost  branches. 
Continuing  his  journey,  having  flute-players  playing 
before  him,  he  came  to  a  place  on  the  road  where  he 
was  weary,  and  sat  down  on  a  stone  to  rest.  And 
looking  toward  Tulla,  he  wept  bitterly.  His  tears 
marked  and  ate  into  the  stone  on  which  he  sat,  and 
the  print  of  his  hands,  and  of  his  back  parts,  was  also 
found  therein  when  he  resumed  his  journey.  He 
called  that  place  Temacpalco.  After  that  he  reached 
a  very  great  and  wide  river,  and  he  commanded  a 
stone  bridge  to  be  thrown  across  it;  on  that  bridge  he 
crossed  the  river,  and  he  named  the  place  Tepanoaya. 
Going  on  upon  his  way,  Quetzalcoatl  came  to  another 
place,  where  certain  sorcerers  met  and  tried  to  stop 
him,  saying,  Whither  goest  thou?  why  dost  thou 
leave  thy  city?  to  whose  care  wilt  thou  commend  it? 
who  will  do  penance  ?  Quetzalcoatl  replied  to  the  said 
sorcerers,  Ye  can  in  no  wise  hinder  my  going,  for  I 
must  go.  They  asked  him  further,  Whither  goest 
thou?  He  said,  To  Tlapalla.  They  continued,  But  to 
what  end  goest  thou?  He  said,  I  am  called,  and  the 
sun  calls  me.  So  the  sorcerers  said,  Go,  then,  but 
leave  behind  all  the  mechanical  arts,  the  melting  of 
silver,  the  working  of  precious  stones  and  of  masonry, 
the  painting,  feather- working,  and  other  crafts.  And 
of  all  these  the  sorcerers  despoiled  Quetzalcoatl.  As 
for  him,  he  cast  into  a  fountain  all  the  rich  jewels 
that  he  had  with  him;  and  that  fountain  was  called 
Cohcaapa,  and  it  is  so  named  to  this  day. 

Quetzalcoatl  continued  his  journey;  and  there  came 
another  sorcerer  to  meet  him,  saying,  Whither  goest 
thou?  Quetzalcoatl  said,  To  Tlapalla.  The  wizard 


254          GOBS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

said,  Very  well;  but  drink  this  wine  that  I  have.  The 
traveller  answered,  No  :  I  cannot  drink  it;  I  cannot  so 
much  as  taste  it.  Thou  must  drink,  said  the  grim 
magician,  were  it  but  a  drop;  for  to  none  of  the  living 
can  I  give  it;  it  intoxicates  all,  so  drink.  Then  Quet- 
zalcoatl  took  the  wine  and  drank  it  through  a  cane. 
Drinking,  he  made  himself  drunk ;  he  slept  upon  the 
road ;  he  began  to  snore ;  and  when  he  awoke,  he  looked 
on  one  side  and  on  the  other,  and  tore  his  hair  with 
his  hands.  And  that  place  was  called  Cochtoca. 

Quetzalcoatl  going  on  upon  his  way  and  passing  be- 
tween the  sierra  of  the  volcano  and  the  snowy  sierra, 
all  his  servants,  being  hump-backed  and  dwarfs,  died  of 
cold  in  the  pass  between  the  said  mountains.  And 
Quetzalcoatl  bewailed  their  death  bitterly,  and  sang 
with  weeping  and  sighing.  Then  he  saw  the  other 
snowy  sierra,  which  is  called  Poyauhtecatl  and  is  near 
Tecamachalco;  and  so  he  passed  by  all  the  cities  and 
places,  leaving  many  signs,  it  is  said,  in  all  the  moun- 
tains and  roads.15  It  is  said  further  that  he  had  a  way 
of  crossing  the  sierras  whereby  he  amused  and  rested 
himself  at  the  same  time :  when  he  came  to  the  top  of 
a  mountain  he  used  to  sit  down,  and  so  seated,  let  him- 
self slide  down  the  mountain-side  to  the  bottom.  In 
one  place  he  built  a  court  for  ball-play,  all  of  squared 
stone,  and  here  he  used  to  play  the  game  called  llachtli.16 
Through  the  midst  of  this  court  he  drew  a  line  called 
the  telcotl;  and  where  that  line  was  made  the  moun- 
tain is  now  opened  with  a  deep  gash.  In  another  place 
he  cast  a  dart  at  a  great  tree  called  a  pochutl,  piercing 
it  through  with  the  dart  in  such  wise  that  the  tree 
looked  like  a  cross ;  for  the  dart  he  threw  was  itself  a 
tree  of  the  same  kind.17  Some  say  that  Quetzalcoatl 
built  certain  subterranean  houses,  called  micllancalco ; 
and  further,  that  he  set  up  and  balanced  a  great  stone, 
so  that  one  could  move  it  with  one's  little  finger,  yet 

15  See  this  vol.,  p.  243. 

164  TlacMU,  juego  de  pelota  con  las  nalgas;  el  lugar  donde  juegan  assi.' 
Molina,  Vocdtndarif). 

17  This  last  clause  is  to  be  found  only  in  Bustamante's  ed.;  see  Sahagun, 
Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p.  258. 


SWIFTNESS  OF  THE  SERVANTS  OF  QUETZALCOATL.      255 

a  multitude  could  not  displace  it.  Many  other  notable 
things  remain  that  Quetzalcoatl  did  among  many  peo- 
ples; he  it  was  that  named  all  the  places  and  woods 
and  mountains.  Travelling  ever  onward,  he  came  at 
last  to  the  sea-shore,  and  there  commanded  a  raft  to 
be  made  of  the  snakes  called  coatlapechtli.  Having 
seated  himself  on  this  raft  as  in  a  canoe,  he  put  out  to 
sea,  and  no  man  knows  how  he  got  to  Tlapallan.18 

Torquemada  gives  a  long  and  valuable  account  of 
Quetzalcoatl,  gathered  from  many  sources,  which  can- 
not be  overlooked.  It  runs  much  as  follows:  The 
name  Quetzalcoatl  means  Snake-plumage,  or  Snake 
that  has  plumage — and  the  kind  of  snake  referred  to 
in  this  name  is  found  in  the  province  of  Xicalanco, 
which  is  on  the  frontier  of  the  kingdom  of  Yucatan  as 
one  goes  thence  to  Tabasco.  This  god  Quetzalcoatl 
was  very  celebrated  among  the  people  of  the  city  of 
Cholula,  and  held  in  that  place  for  the  greatest  of  all. 
He  was,  according  to  credible  histories,  high-priest  in 
the  city  of  Tulla.  From  that  place  he  went  to  Cho- 
lula, and  not,  as  Bishop  Bartolomd  de  las  Casas  says 
in  his  Apologia,  to  Yucatan;  though  he  went  to  Yuca- 
tan afterward,  as  we  shall  see.  It  is  said  of  Quetzalcoatl 
that  he  was  a  white  man,  large-bodied,  broad-browed, 
great-eyed,  with  long  black  hair,  and  a  beard  heavy 
and  rounded.19  He  was  a  great  artificer,  and  very 
ingenious.  He  taught  many  mechanical  arts,  especial- 
ly the  art  of  working  the  precious  stones  called  chal- 
chiuites,  which  are  a  kind  of  green  stone  highly  valued, 
and  the  art  of  casting  silver  and  gold.  The  people, 
seeing  him  so  inventive,  held  him  in  great  estimation, 
and  reverenced  him  as  king  in  that  city;  and  so  it 
came  about  that  though  in  temporal  things  the  ruler 
of  Tulla  was  a  lord  named  Huemac,20  yet  in  all  spirit- 
ual and  ecclesiastical  matters  Quetzalcoatl  was  supreme, 
and  as  it  were  chief  pontiff. 

18 Ktnqsborvugh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  114-15;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  pp.  255-9. 

19  '  Era  H  ombre  bianco,  crecido  de  cuerpo,  ancha  la  f rente,  los  ojos  gran- 
des,  los  cabellos  largos,  y  negros,  la  barba  grande  y  redonda. '  Torquemada, 
Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  47. 

™  Spelled  Vemac  by  Sahagun;  see  preceding  pages  of  this  chapter. 


256          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

It  is  feigned  by  those  that  seek  to  make  much  of 
their  god  that  he  had  certain  palaces  made  of  green 
stone  like  emeralds,  others  made  of  silver,  others  of 
shells,  red  and  white,  others  of  all  kinds  of  wood, 
others  of  turquoise,  and  others  of  precious  feathers. 
He  is  said  to  have  been  very  rich,  and  in  need  of 
nothing.  His  vassals  were  very  obedient  to  him,  and 
very  light  of  foot;  they  were  called  tlanquacemilhuique. 
When  they  wished  to  publish  any  command  of  Quet- 
zal coatl,  they  sent  a  crier  up  upon  a  high  mountain 
called  Tzatzitepec,  where  with  a  loud  voice  he  pro- 
claimed the  order;  and  the  voice  of  this  crier  was 
heard  for  a  hundred  leagues  distance,  and  farther,  even 
to  the  coasts  of  the  sea :  all  this  is  affirmed  for  true. 
The  fruits  of  the  earth  and  the  trees  flourished  there 
in  an  extraordinary  degree,  and  sweet-singing  birds 
were  abundant.  The  great  pontiff  inaugurated  a  sys- 
tem of  penance,  pricking  his  legs,  and  drawing  blood, 
and  staining  therewith  maguey  thorns.  He  washed 
also  at  midnight  in  a  fountain  called  Xiuhpacoya. 
From  all  this,  it  is  said,  the  idolatrous  priests  of 
Mexico  adopted  their  similar  custom. 

While  Quetzalcoatl  was  enjoying  this  good  fortune 
with  pomp  and  majesty,  we  are  told  that  a  great  ma- 
gician called  Titlacahua  (Tezcatlipoca),  another  of  the 
gods,  arrived  at  Tulla.  He  took  the  form  of  an  old 
man,  and  went  in  to  see  Quetzalcoatl,  saying  to  him, 
My  lord,  inasmuch  as  I  know  thine  intent,  and  how 
much  thou  desirest  to  set  out  for  certain  distant  lands; 
also,  because  I  know  from  thy  servants  that  thou  art 
unwell,  I  have  brought  thee  a  certain  beverage,  by 
drinking  which  thou  shalt  attain  thine  end.  Thou 
shalt  so  make  thy  way  to  the  country  thou  desirest, 
having  perfect  health  to  make  the  journey;  neither 
shalt  thou  remember  at  all  the  fatigues  and  toils  of 
life,  nor  how  thou  art  mortal.21  Seeing  all  his  pro- 
jects thus  discovered  by  the  pretended  old  man, 
Quetzalcoatl  questioned  him,  Where  have  I  to  go? 

B1  This  agrees  ill  with  what  is  related  at  this  point  by  Sahagun;  see  this 
vol.,  p.  242. 


QUETZALCOATL  LEAVES  MARKS  ON  A  STONE.  257 

Tezcatlipoca  answered,  That  it  was  already  deter- 
mined with  the  supreme  gods  that  he  had  to  go  to 
Tlapalla,  and  that  the  thing  was  inevitable,  because 
there  was  another  old  man  waiting  for  him  at  his  des- 
tination. As  Quetzalcoatl  heard  this,  he  said  that  it 
was' true,  and  that  he  desired  it  much;  and  he  took 
the  vessel  and  drank  the  liquor  it  contained.  Quet- 
zalcoatl was  thus  easily  persuaded  to  what  Tezcatlipoca 
desired,  because  he  wished  to  make  himself  immortal 
and  to  enjoy  perpetual  life.  Having  swallowed  the 
draught,  he  became  beside  himself,  and  out  of  his 
mind,  weeping  sadly  and  bitterly.  He  determined  to 
go  to  Tlapalla.  He  destroyed  or  buried  all  his  plate 
and  other  property,  and  set  out.  First  he  arrived  at 
the  place  Quauhtitlan,  where  the  great  tree  was,  and 
where  he,  borrowing  a  mirror  from  his  servants,  found 
himself  " already  old."  The  name  of  this  place  was 
changed  by  him  to  Huehuequauhtitlan,  that  is  to  say, 
"near  the  old  tree,  or  the  tree  of  the  old  man;"  and 
the  trunk  of  the  tree  was  filled  with  stones  that  he 
cast  at  it.  After  that  he  journeyed  on,  his  people 
playing  flutes  and  other  instruments,  till  he  came  to  a 
mountain  near  the  city  of  Tlalnepantla,  two  leagues 
from  the  city  of  Mexico,  where  he  sat  down  on  a  stone 
and  put  his  hands  on  it,  leaving  marks  embedded 
therein  that  may  be  seen  to  this  day.  The  truth  of 
this  thing  is  strongly  corroborated  by  the  inhabitants 
of  that  district;  I  myself  have  questioned  them  upon 
the  subject,  and  it  has  been  certified  to  me.  Further- 
more, we  have  it  written  down  accurately  by  many 
worthy  authors;  and  the  name  of  the  locality  is  now 
Temacpalco,  that  is  to  say,  'in  the  palm  of  the  hand.' 
Journeying  on  to  the  coast  and  to  the  kingdom  of 
Tlapalla,  Quetzalcoatl  was  met  by  the  three  sorcerers, 
Tezcatlipoca  and  other  two  with  him,  who  had  already 
brought  so  much  destruction  upon  Tulla.  These  tried 
to  stop  or  hinder  him  in  his  journey,  questioning  him, 
Whither  goest  thou  ?  He  answered,  To  Tlapalla.  To 
whom,  they  inquired,  hast  thou  given  the  charge  of 

VOL.  III.    17 


258          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

thy  kingdom  of  Tulla,  and  who  will  do  penance  there  ? 
But  he  said  that  that  was  no  longer  any  affair  of  his, 
and  that  he  must  pursue  his  road.  And  being  further 
questioned  as  to  the  object  of  his  journey,  he  said  that 
he  was  called  by  the  lord  of  the  land  to  which  he  was 
going,  who  was  the  sun.22  The  three  wizards,  seeing 
then  the  determination  of  Quetzalcoatl,  made  no  fur- 
ther attempt  to  dissuade  him  from  his  purpose,  but 
contented  themselves  with  taking  from  him  all  his  in- 
struments and  his  mechanical  arts,  so  that  though  he 
departed,  those  things  should  not  be  wanting  to  the 
state.  It  was  here  that  Quetzalcoatl  threw  into  a 
fountain  all  the  rich  jewels  that  he  carried  with  him; 
for  which  thing  the  fountain  was  called  from  that  time 
Cozcaapan,  that  is  to  say,  'the  water  of  the  strings 
or  chains  of  jewels.'  The  same  place  is  now  called 
Coaapan,  that  is  to  say,  'in  the  snake- water/  and 
very  properly,  because  the  word  Quetzalcoatl  means 
'  feathered  snake.'  In  this  way  he  journeyed  on,  suffer- 
ing various  molestations  from  those  sorcerers,  his  ene- 
mies, till  he  arrived  at  Cholula,  where  he  was  received 
(as  we  in  another  part  say),23  and  afterward  adored  as 

22  At  this  part  of  the  story,  Torquemada  takes  opportunity,  parenthet- 
ically, to  remark  that  this  fable  was  very  generally  current  among  the 
Mexicans,  and  that  when  Father  Bernardino  de  Sahagun  was  in  the  city  of 
Xuchimilco,  they  asked  him  where  Tlapalla  was.  Sahagun  replied  that  he 
did  not  know,  as  indeed  he  did  not  (nor  any  one  else,  ib  being  apparently 
wholly  mythical),  nor  even  understand  their  question,  inasmuch  as  he  had 
been  at  that  time  only  a  little  while  in  the  country,  it  being  fifty  years  before 
he  wrote  his  book  (the  Historia  General).  Sahagun  adds  that  the  Mexicans 
made  at  that  time  divers  trials  of  this  kind,  questioning  the  Christians  to 
see  if  they  knew  anything  of  their  antiquities.  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind., 
torn,  ii.,  p.  50. 

23 The  passage  of  Torquemada  referred  to  I  condense  as  follows:  Cer- 
tain people  came  from  the  north  by  way  of  Panuco.  These  were  men  of 
good  carriage,  well-dressed  in  long  robes  of  black  linen,  open  in  front,  and 
without  capes,  cut  low  at  the  neck,  with  short  sleeves  that  did  not  come  to 
the  elbow;  the  same,  in  fact,  as  the  natives  use  to  this  day  in  their  dances. 
From  Panuco  they  passed  on  very  peaceably  by  degrees  to  Tulla,  where  they 
were  well  received  by  the  inhabitants.  The  country  there,  however,  was 
already  too  thickly  populated  to  sustain  the  new-comers,  so  these  passed  on 
to  Cholula  where  they  had  an  excellent  reception.  They  brought  with 
them  as  their  chief  and  head  a  personage  called  Quetzalcoatl,  a  fair  and 
ruddy  complexioned  man,  with  a  long  beard.  In  Cholula,  these  people 
remained  and  multiplied,  and  sent  colonies  to  people  Upper  and  Lower  Miz- 
teca  and  the  Zapotecan  country;  and  these  it  is  said  raised  the  grand  edifices, 
whose  remains  are  still  to  be  seen  at  Mictlan.  These  followers  of  Quetzal- 
coatl were  men  of  great  knowledge  and  cunning  artists  in  all  kinds  of  hue 
work;  not  so  good  at  masonry  and  the  use  of  the  hammer  as  in  casting  and 


QUETZALCOATL  SWEPT  THE  ROADS.  259 

god.  Having  lived  twenty  years  in  that  city,  he  was 
expelled  by  Tezcatlipoca.  He  set  out  for  the  kingdom 
of  Tlapalla,  accompanied  by  four  virtuous  youths  of 
noble  birth,  and  in  Goatzacoalco,  a  province  distant 
from  Cholula  toward  the  sea  a  hundred  and  fifty 
leagues,  he  embarked  for  his  destination.  Parting 
with  his  disciples,  he  told  them  that  there  should 
surely  come  to  them  in  after  times,  by  way  of  the 
sea  where  the  sun  rises,  certain  white  men  with 
white  beards  like  him,  and  that  these  would  be  his 
brothers  and  would  rule  that  land. 

After  that  the  four  disciples  returned  to  Cholula, 
and  told  all  that  their  master  and  god  had  prophesied 
when  departing.  Then  the  Cholulans  divided  their 
province  into  four  principalities,  and  gave  the  gov- 
ernment to  those  four,  and  some  four  of  their  descend- 
ants always  ruled  in  like  manner  over  these  tetrarchies 
till  the  Spaniard  came ;  being,  however,  subordinate  to 
a  central  power. 

This  Quetzalcoatl  was  god  of  the  air,  and  as  such 
had  his  temple,  of  a  round  shape  and  very  magnificent. 
He  was  made  god  of  the  air  for  the  mildness  and  gen- 
tleness of  all  his  ways,  not  liking  the  sharp  and  harsh 
measures  to  which  the  other  gods  were  so  strongly 
inclined.  It  is  to  be  said  further  that  his  life  on  earth 
was  marked  by  intensely  religious  characteristics ;  not 
only  was  he  devoted  to  the  careful  observance  of  all 
the  old  customary  forms  of  worship,  but  he  himself 
ordained  and  appointed  many  new  rites,  ceremonies, 
and  festivals  for  the  adoration  of  the  gods;  and  it  is 

in  the  engraving  and  setting  of  precious  stones,  and  in  all  kinds  of  artistic 
sculpture,  and  in  agriculture.  Quetzalcoatl  had,  however,  two  enemies; 
Tezcatlipoca  was  one,  and  Huemac,  king  of  Tulla,  the  other;  these  two  had 
been  most  instrumental  in  causing  him  to  leave  Tulla.  And  at  Cholula, 
Huemac  followed  him  up  with  a  great  army;  and  Quetzalcoatl,  not  wishing 
to  engage  in  any  war,  departed  for  another  part  with  most  part  of  his  people, 
going,  it  is  said,  to  a  land  called  Onohualco,  which  is  near  the  sea,  and 
embraced  what  are  now  called  Yucatan,  Tabasco,  and  Campeche.  Ihen 
when  Huemac  came  to  the  place  where  he  had  thought  to  find  Quetzalcoatl, 
and  found  him  not,  he  was  wrath  and  laid  waste  and  destroyed  all  the 
country,  and  made  himself  lord  over  it,  and  caused  also  that  the  people  wor- 
shipped him  as  a  god.  All  this  he  did  to  obscure  and  blot  out  the  memory 
of  Quetzalcoatl,  and  for  the  hate  that  he  bore  him.  Torquemada,  Monarq. 
Ind.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  254-6. 


260          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

held  for  certain  that  he  made  the  calendar.  He  had 
priests  who  were  called  quequetzalcohua,  that  is  to 
say,  '  priests  of  the  order  of  Quetzalcoatl.'  The  mem- 
ory of  him  was  engraved  deeply  upon  the  minds  of 
the  people,  and  it  is  said  that  when  barren  women 
prayed  and  made  sacrifices  to  him,  children  were  given 
them.  He  was,  as  we  have  said,  god  of  the  winds, 
and  the  power  of  causing  them  to  blow  was  attributed 
to  him  as  well  as  the  power  of  calming  or  causing 
their  fury  to  cease.  It  was  said  further  that  he  swept 
the  road,  so  that  the  gods  called  Tlaloques  could  rain ; 
this  the  people  imagined  because  ordinarily  a  month 
or  more  before  the  rains  began  there  blew  strong  winds 
throughout  all  New  Spain.  Quetzalcoatl  is  described 
as  having  worn  during  life,  for  the  sake  of  modesty, 
garments  that  reached  down  to  the  feet,  with  a  blanket 
over  all,  sown  with  red  crosses.  The  Cholulans  pre- 
served certain  green  stones  that  had  belonged  to  him, 
regarding  them  with  great  veneration  and  esteeming 
them  as  relics.  Upon  one  of  these  was  carved  a  mon- 
key's head,  very  natural.  In  the  city  of  Cholula,  there 
was  to  be  found  dedicated  to  him  a  great  and  magnifi- 
cent temple,  with  many  steps,  but  each  step  so  narrow 
that  there  was  not  room  for  a  foot  on  it.  His  image 
had  a  very  ugly  face,  with  a  large  and  heavily  bearded 
head.  It  was  not  set  on  its  feet,  but  lying  down,  and 
covered  with  blankets.  This,  it  is  said,  was  done  as  a 
memorial  that  he  would  one  day  return  to  reign.  For 
reverence  of  his  great  majesty,  his  image  was  kept 
covered,  and  to  signify  his  absence  it  was  kept  ]ying 
down,  as  one  that  sleeps,  as  one  that  lies  down  to 
sleep.  In  awaking  from  that  sleep,  he  was  to  rise  up 
and  reign.  The  people  also  of  Yucatan  reverenced 
this  god  Quetzalcoatl,  calling  him  Kukulcan,  and 
saying  that  he  came  to  them  from  the  west,  that  is, 
from  New  Spain,  for  Yucatan  is  eastward  therefrom. 
From  him  it  is  said  the  kings  of  Yucatan  are  de- 
scended, who  call  themselves  Cocomes,  that  is  to  say, 
*  judges  or  hearers.'24 

24  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  48-52. 


CLAVIGERO  ON  QUETZALCOATL.  261 

Clavigero's  account  is  characteristically  clear  and 
comprehensible.  It  may  be  summed  up  as  follows: 

Among  the  Mexicans  and  other  nations  of  Analiuac, 
Quetzalcoatl  was  accounted  god  of  the  air.  He  is 
said  to  have  been  some  time  high-priest  of  Tulla.  He 
is  described  as  having  been  white — a  large,  broad- 
browed,  great-eyed  man,  with  long  black  hair  and 
thick  beard.  His  life  was  rigidly  temperate  and  ex- 
emplary, and  his  industry  was  directed  by  the  pro- 
foundest  wisdom.  He  amassed  great  treasure,  and 
his  was  the  invention  of  gem-cutting  and  of  metal- 
casting.  All  things  prospered  in  his  time.  One  ear 
of  corn  was  a  man's  load;  and  the  gourds,  or  pump- 
kins, of  the  day  were  as  tall  as  one's  body.  No  one 
dyed  cotton  then,  for  it  grew  of  all  colors;  and  all 
other  things  in  like  manner  were  perfect  and  abundant. 
The  very  birds  in  the  trees  sang  such  songs  as  have 
never  since  been  heard,  and  flashed  such  marvellous 
beauties  in  the  sun  as  no  plumage  of  later  times  could 
rival.  Quetzalcoatl  had  his  laws  proclaimed  from  the 
top  of  the  hill  Tzatzitepec  (mountain  of  outcry),  near 
Tulla,  by  a  crier  whose  voice  was  audible  for  three 
hundred  miles. 

All  this,  however,  was  put  an  end  to,  as  far  as 
Tulla  was  concerned,  by  Tezcatlipoca,  who,  moved 
perhaps  by  jealousy,  determined  to  remove  Quetzal- 
coatl. So  the  god  appeared  to  the  great  teacher  in 
the  guise  of  an  old  man,  telling  him  it  was  the  will 
of  the  gods  that  he  betake  himself  to  Tlapalla,  and 
administering  at  the  same  time  a  potion,  the  effect  of 
which  was  to  cause  an  intense  longing  for  the  said 
journey.  Quetzalcoatl  set  out,  and  having  performed 
many  marvels  on  the  way,  arrived  in  Cholula.  Here 
the  inhabitants  would  not  suffer  him  to  go  farther, 
but  persuaded  him  to  accept  the  government  of  their 
city;  and  he  remained  with  them,  teaching  many 
useful  arts,  customs,  and  ceremonies,  and  preaching 
against  war  and  all  other  forms  of  cruelty.  Accord- 
ing to  some,  he  at  this  time  arranged  the  divisions  of 
the  seasons  and  the  calendar. 


262          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Having  lived  twenty  years  in  Cholula,  he  left,  still 
impelled  by  the  subtle  draught,  to  seek  this  imaginary 
city  of  Tlapalla.  He  was  no  more  seen  of  men,  some 
said  one  thing  and  some  another;  but,  however  he 
might  have  disappeared,  he  was  apotheosized  by  the 
Toltecs  of  Cholula,  who  raised  him  a  great  mound  and 
built  a  sanctuary  upon  it.  A  similar  structure  was 
erected  to  his  honor  at  Tulla.  From  Cholula  his  wor- 
ship as  god  of  the  air  spread  over  all  the  country;  in 
Yucatan  the  nobles  claimed  descent  from  him.25 

The  ideas  of  Brasseur  with  regard  to  Quetzalcoatl 
have  their  roots  in  and  must  be  traced  back  to  the 
very  first  appearing  of  the  Mexican  religion,  or  of  the 
religion  or  religions  by  which  it  was  preceded;  so  that 
to  arrive  at  those  ideas  I  must  give  a  summary  of  the 
abbe's  whole  theory  of  the  origin  of  that  creed.  He 
believes  that  in  the  seething  and  thundering  of  vol- 
canoes a  conception  of  divinity  and  of  supernatural 
powers  first  sprang  up  in  the  mind  of  the  ancestors 
of  the  Mexicans.  The  volcanoes  were  afterwards 
identified  with  the  stars,  and  the  most  terrific  of  all, 
Nanahuatl,  or  Nanahuatzin,26  received  the  honors  of 
apotheosis  in  the  sun.  Issued  from  the  earth  of  the 
Crescent  (Brasseur's  sunken  island  or  continent  in  the 
Atlantic),27  personified  in  the  antique  Quetzalcoatl, 
prototype  of  priests  and  of  sacerdotal  continence,  he  is 
thus  his  son  and  identifies  himself  with  him;  he  (the 
divinity,  Tylor's  '  Great  Somebody')  is  the  model  of 
sages  under  the  name  of  Hueman,  and  the  prototype 
of  kings  under  that  of  Topiltzin.  Strange  thing  to 
find  united  in  one  being  personalities  so  diverse  1  King, 
philosopher,  priest  par  excellence,  whose  virtues  serve 
as  a  rule  to  all  the  priests  of  the  pagan  antiquity,  and 
side  by  side  with  all  that,  incontinence  and  passion  de- 
ified in  this  invalid,  whose  name  even,  'the  syphilitic,' 
is  the  expression  of  the  abuse  he  has  made  of  the  sex. 

At  the  commencement  of  the    religion  two    sects 

25  Clavigero,  Hist.  Ant.  del  Messico,  pp.  11-13. 

26  See  p.  60  of  this  volume. 

27  See  p.  112  of  this  volume. 


BRASSEUR  ON  QUETZALCOATL.          «  263 

appear  to  have  sprung  up,  or  rather  two  manners  of 
judging  the  same  events.  There  was  first  a  struggle, 
and  then  a  separation;  under  the  banner-names  of 
Quetzalcoatl  and  Tezcatlipoca  the  rival  schools  fought 
for  the  most  part — of  course  there  were  divers  minor 
factions;  but  the  foregoing  were  the  principal  and 
most  important.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  the  religion  that  took  Quetzalcoatl  for  symbol 
was  but  a  reformation  upon  another  more  ancient, 
that  had  the  moon  for  its  object.  It  is  the  moon, 
male  and  female,  Luna,  Lunus,  personified  in  the  earth 
of  the  Crescent,  ingulfed  in  the  abyss,  that  I  believe 
(it  is  always  the  abbe  that  speaks)  I  see*  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  amalgam  of  rites  and  symbols  of 
every  kind,  religion  of  enjoyments  and  material  pleas- 
ures, born  of  the  promiscuity  of  the  men  and  women, 
taken  refuge  in  the  lesser  Antilles  after  the  cataclysm. 

The  religion  that  had  taken  the  moon  for  point  of 
departure,  and  in  which  women  seem  to  have  played 
the  principal  role,  as  priestesses,  attacked  formally,  by 
this  very  fact,  a  more  antique  religion,  a  pre-diluvian 
religion  that  appears  to  have  been  Sabaism,  entirely 
exempt  from  idolatry,  and  in  which  the  sun  received 
the  chief  homage.  In  the  new  religion,  on  the  con- 
trary, it  was  not  the  moon  as  a  star,  which  was  the 
real  object  of  worship,  it  was  the  moon-land  (lune- 
terre),  it  was  the  region  of  the  Crescent,  shrouded 
under  the  waves,  whose  death  was  wept  and  whose 
resurrection  was  afterward  celebrated  in  the  appear- 
ance of  the  isles — refuge  of  the  shipwrecked  of  the 
grand  catastrophe — of  the  Lesser  Antilles;  to  the 
number  of  seven  principal  islands,  sung,  in  all  Ameri- 
can legends,  as  the  Seven  Grottos,  cradle  of  nations. 

This  is  the  myth  of  Quetzalcoatl,  who  dies  or  dis- 
appears, and  whose  personality  is  represented  at  the 
outset  in  the  isles,  then  successively,  in  all  the  coun- 
tries whither  the  civilization  was  carried  of  which  he 
was  the  flag.  So  far  as  I  can  judge  at  present,  the 
priest  who  placed  himself  under  the  segis  of  this  grand 
name  labored  solely  to  reform  what  there  was  of 


264          GOJ)S,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

odious  and  barbarous  in  the  cult  of  which  the  women 
had  the  chief  direction,  and  under  whose  regime  human 
blood  flowed  in  waves.  After  the  triumph  of  Quet- 
zalcoatl,  the  men  who  bore  his  name  took  the  direction 
of  religion  and  society,  which  then  made  considerable 
progress  in  their  hands. 

But  if  we  are  to  believe  the  same  traditions,  their 
preponderance  had  not  a  very  long  duration.  The 
most  restless  and  the  most  audacious  among  the 
partisans  of  the  ancient  order  of  things  raised  the 
flag  of  revolt:  they  became  the  chiefs  of  a  warlike 
faction,  rival  of  the  sacerdotal — a  conquering  faction, 
source  of  veritable  royal  dynasties  and  of  the  religion 
of  the  sun  living  and  victorious,  in  opposition  to  the 

fod  entombed  in  the  abyss.  Quetzalcoatl,  vanquished 
y  Tezcatlipoca,  then  retired  before  a  too  powerful 
enemy,  and  the  Toltecs  were  dispersed  among  all 
nations .  Those  of  them  that  remained  coalesced  with 
the  victors,  and  from  the  accord  of  the  aforementioned 
three  cults,  there  sprang  that  monstrous  amalgam  of 
so  many  different  ideas  and  symbols,  such  as  is  found 
to-day  in  what  remains  to  us  of  the  Mexican  religion, 
For  me  (and  it  is  always  the  abbe  that  speaks),  I 
believe  I  perceive  the  origin  of  the  struggle,  not  alone 
in  the  diversity  of  races,  but  principally  in  the  exist- 
ence of  two  currents  of  contrary  ideas,  having  had  the 
same  point  of  departure  in  the  events  of  the  great 
cataclysm  of  the  Crescent  Land,  above  referred  to. 
Different  manners  of  looking  at  these  events,  and  of 
commemorating  them,  seem  to  me  to  have  marked 
from  the  beginning  the  starting-point  of  two  reli- 
gions that  lived,  perhaps,  side  by  side  for  centuries 
without  the  explosion  of  their  disagreements,  other- 
wise than  by  insignificant  agitations.  Before  these 
two  could  take,  with  regard  to  each  other,  the  propor- 
tions of  a  schism  or  a  heresy,  it  was  necessary  that  all 
the  materials  of  which  these  religions  are  constituted 
had  had  time  to  elaborate  themselves,  and  that  the 
hieroglyphics  which  represented  their  origin  had  be- 
come sufficiently  obscure  for  the  priesthood  to  keep 


MANY  CHARACTERS   OF   QUETZALCOATL.  265 

the  vulgar  from  understanding  them.  For  if  schism 
has  brought  on  the  struggle  between,  and  afterward 
the  violent  separation  of  families,  this  separation  can- 
not have  taken  place  till  after  the  entire  creation  of 
myths,  the  entire  construction  of  these  divine  gene- 
alogies, of  these  poetic  traditions,  that  are  found  scat- 
tered among  all  the  peoples  of  the  earth,  but  of  which 
the  complete  whole  does  not  exist,  save  in  the  history 
and  religion  of  Mexico.28 

Two  orders  of  gods — the  one  order  fallen  from 
heaven  into  the  abyss,  becoming  there  the  judges  of 
the  dead,  and  being  personified  in  one  of  their  number, 
who  came  to  life  again,  symbolizing  thus  life  and 
death;  the  other  order  surviving  the  cataclysm  and 
symbolizing  thus  an  imperishable  life; — such,  at  its 
origin,  is  the  double  character  of  the  myth  of  Quetzal- 
coatl.  But  in  reality,  this  god  he  is  the  earth,  he  is 
the  region  swallowed  up  by  the  waters,  he  is  the 
vanquished  stifled  under  the  weight  of  his  adversary, 
under  the  force  of  the  victorious  wave ;  which  adver- 
sary, which  power  in  opposition  to  the  first,  joining 
itself  to  the  fire  on  the  blazing  pile  of  Nanahuatl,  is 
Tezcatlipoca,  is  Hercules,  conqueror  of  enemies,  is  the 
god  whose  struggle  is  eternal  as  that  of  the  ocean 
beating  the  shore,  is  he  in  whom  the  light  becomes 
afterward  personified,  and  who  becomes  thus  the  bat- 
tle-flag of  the  opponents  of  Quetzalcoatl.  To  the  dead 
god  a  victim  is  necessary,  one  that  like  him  descends 
into  the  abyss.  This"  victim  was  a  young  girl,  chosen 
among  those  that  were  consecrated  at  the  foot  of  the 
pyramid,  and  drowned — a  custom  long  found  as  well  in 
Egypt  as  at  Chichen-Itza,29  and  in  many  other  coun- 
tries of  the  world.  But  to  the  god  come  to  life  again, 
to  the  god  in  whom  fire  was  personified,  and  immortal 
life,  to  Quetzalcoatl  when  he  became  Huitzilopochtli, 

28  This,  in  its  astounding  immensity,  is  the  abbe's  theory:  his  suppositional 
Crescent  Land  was  the  craule  of  all  human  races  and  human  creeds.     On  its 
submergence  the  aforesaid  races  and  creeds  spread  and  developed  through  all 
the  world  to  their  respective  present  localities  and  phases.     The  Mexican 
branch  of  this  development  he  considers  the  likest  to  and  the  most  closely 
connected  with  the  original. 

29  la  Yucatan. 


266          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

victims  were  sacrificed  by  tearing  out  the  heart — . 
symbol  of  the  jet  of  flame  issuing  from  the  volcano — . 
to  offer  it  to  the  conquering  sun,  symbol  of  Tezcatli- 
poca,  who  first  demanded  holocausts  of  human  blood.30 
Mr  Tylor  declares  Quetzalcoatl  to  have  been  the 
Sun.  "We  may  even  find  him  identified  with  the  Sun 
by  name,  and  his  history  is  perhaps  a  more  compact 
and  perfect  series  of  solar  myths  that  hangs  to  the 
name  of  any  single  personage  in  our  own  Aryan  my- 
thology. His  mother,  the  Dawn  or  the  Night,  gives 
birth  to  him,  and  dies.  His  father,  Camaxtli,  is  the 
sun,  and  was  worshipped  with  solar  rites  in  Mexico, 
but  he  is  the  old  Sun  of  yesterday.  The  clouds  per- 
sonified in  the  mythic  race  of  the  Mixcohuas,  or 
1  Cloud-Snakes'  (the  Nibelungs  of  the  western  hemi- 
sphere), bear  down  the  old  Sun  and  choke  him,  and 
bury  him  in  their  mountain.  But  the  young  Quet- 
zalcoatl, the  Sun  of  to-day,  rushes  up  into  the  midst 
of  them  from  below,  and  some  he  slays  at  the  first 
onset,  and  some  he  leaves,  rift  with  red  wounds  to  die. 
We  have  the  Sun  boat  of  Helios,  of  the  Egyptian 
Ha,  of  the  Polynesian  Maui.  Quetzalcoatl,  his  bright 
career  drawing  toward  its  close,  is  chased  into  far 
lands  by  his  kinsman,  Tezcatlipoca,  the  young  Sun  of 

30  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Quatres  Lettres,  pp.  154-7.  Much  of  this  last 
paragraph  seems  utterly  incomprehensible  and  absurd,  even  viewed  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  Abbe  Brasseur  himself.  By  no  means  certain,  at  all  points, 
of  having  caught  the  exact  meaning  by  its  author,  I  give  the  original:  '  Deux 
ordres  de  dieux,  dont  les  uns,  tombes  du  ciel  dans  1'abime  ou  ils  deviennent 
lea  juges  des  morts,  se  personnifient  en  un  seul  qui  ressuscite,  symbole  de  la 
vie  et  de  la  mort;  dont  les  autres  survivent  k  la  destruction,  symbole  de  la 
vie  imperissable;  tel  est  le  double  caractere  du  mythe  de  Quetzal-Coatl,  a  son 
origine.  Mais  en  realite,  ce  dieu,  c'est  la  terre,  c'est  la  region  ensevelie  sous 
les  eaux,  c'est  le  vaincu  etouffe  sous  le  poids  de  son  adversaire,  sous  1 'effort 
de  la  vague  victorieuse  et  celle-ci  s'unissant  au  feu  sur  le  bucher  de  Nanahu- 
atl,  c'est  Tezcatlipoca,  c'est  Hercule,  vainqueur  de  ses  ennemis,  c'est  le  dieu 
dont  la  lutte  est  eternelle,  comme  celle  de  1'Ocean  battant  le  rivage,  c'est 
celui  en  qui  se  personnifie  ensuite  la  lumiere  et  qui  devient  ainsi  le  drapeau 
des  adversaires  de  Quetzal-Coatl.  Au  dieu  niort,  il  fallait  uue  victime,  com- 
me lui,  descendue  dans  1'ablme:  ce  fut  une  jeune  fille,  choisie  parmi  celles 
qui  lui  etaient  consacrees  au  pied  de  la  pyramide,  et  qu'on  noyait  en  la 
plongeant  sous  1'eau,  coutume  qu'on  retrouva  long  temps  en  Egypte,  comme 
a  Chichen-Itza,  ainsi  que  dans  bien  d'autres  pays  du  monde.  Mais  au  dieu 
ressuscite,  au  dieu  en  qui  se  personnifiait  le  feu,  la  vie  immortelle,  &  Quetzal- 
Coatl,  devenu  Huitzil-Opocktli,  on  sacrifia  des  victimes  sans  nombre,  k  qui 
1'on  arrachalt  le  cceur,  symbole  du  jet  de  flamme,  sortant  du  volcan,  pour 
I'offrir  au  soleil  vainqueur,  symbole  de  Tezcatlipoca  qui,  le  premier,  avait 
demande  des  holocaustes  de  sang  humain.'  Id.,  pp.  342-3. 


BRINTON  ON  QUETZALCOATL.  267 

to-morrow.  He,  too,  is  well  known  as  a  sun-god  in 
the  Mexican  theology.  Wonderfully  fitting  with  all 
this,  one  incident  after  another  in  the  life  of  Quetzal- 
coatl  falls  into  its  place.  The  guardians  of  the  sacred 
fire  tend  him,  his  funeral  pile  is  on  the  top  of  Orizaba, 
he  is  the  helper  of  travellers,  the  maker  of  the 
calendar,  the  source  of  astrology,  the  beginner  of  his- 
tory, the  bringer  of  wealth  and  happiness.  He  is  the 
patron  of  the  craftsmen,  whom  he  lights  to  his  labor; 
as  it  is  written  in  an  ancient  Sanskrit  hymn,  '  He  steps 
forth,  the  splendor  of  the  sky,  the  wide-seeing,  the 
far-aiming,  the  shining  wanderer;  surely  enlivened  by 
the  sun,  do  men  go  to  their  tasks  and  do  their  work.' 
Even  his  people,  the  Toltecs,  catch  from  him  solar 
qualities.  Will  it  be  even  possible  to  grant  to  this 
famous  race,  in  whose  story  the  legend  of  Quetzal- 
coatl  is  the  leading  incident,  anything  more  than  a 
mythic  existence?"31 

Dr  Brinton  is  of  opinion  that  "there  were  in  truth 
many  Quetzalcoatls,  for  his  high-priest  always  bore  his 
name,  but  he  himself  is  a  pure  creation  of  the  fancy, 
and  all  his  alleged  history  is  nothing  but  a  myth.  His 
emblematic  name,  the  Bird-Serpent,  and  his  rebus  and 
cross  at  Palenque,  I  have  already  explained.  Others 
of  his  titles  were,  Ehecatl,  the  air ;  Yolcuat,  the  rat- 
tlesnake; Tohil,  the  nimbler;  Huemac,  the  strong 
hand;  Nanihehecatl,  lord  of  the  four  winds.  The 
same  dualism  reappears  in  him  that  has  been  noted  in 
his  analogues  elsewhere.  He  is  both  lord  of  the  east- 
ern light  and  the  wind. 

"  As  the  former,  he  was  born  of  a  virgin  in  the  lan.d 
of  Tula,  or  Tlapallan,  in  the  distant  Orient,  and  was 
high -priest  of  that  happy  realm.  The  morning  star 
was  his  symbol,  and  the  temp]e  of  Cholula  was  dedi- 
cated to  him  expressly  as  the  author  of  light.  As  by 
days  we  measure  time,  he  was  the  alleged  inventor  of 
the  calendar.  Like  all  the  dawn-heroes,  he  too  was 
represented  as  of  white  complexion,  clothed  in  long 
white  robes,  and,  as  most  of  the  Aztec  gods,  with  a 

31  Tylor's  Researches,  pp.  155-6. 


268          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

full  and  flowing  beard.  When  his  earthly  work  was 
done,  he  too  returned  to  the  east,  assigning  as  a  reason 
that  the  sun,  the  ruler  of  Tlapallan,  demanded  his 
presence.  But  the  real  motive  was  that  he  had  been 
overcome  by  Tezcatlipoca,  otherwise  called  Yoalliehe- 
catl,  the  wind  or  spirit  of  night,  who  had  descended 
from  heaven  by  a  spider's  web,  and  presented  his  rival 
with  a  draught  pretended  to  confer  immortality,  but 
in  fact,  producing  uncontrollable  longing  for  home. 
For  the  wind  and  the  light  both  depart  when  the 
gloaming  draws  near,  or  when  the  clouds  spread  their 
dark  and  shadowy  webs  along  the  mountains,  and  pour 
the  vivifying  rain  upon  the  fields. 

"In  his  other  character,  he  was  begot  of  the  breath 
of  Tonacateotl,  god  of  our  flesh  or  subsistence,  or 
(according  to  Gomara)  was  the  son  of  Iztac  Mixcoatl, 
the  white  cloud-serpent,  the  spirit  of  the  tornado. 
Messenger  of  Tlaloc,  god  of  rain,  he  was  figuratively 
said  to  sweep  the  road  for  him,  since  in  that  country 
violent  winds  are  the  precursors  of  the  wet  seasons. 
Wherever  he  went,  all  manner  of  singing  birds  bore  him 
company,  emblems  of  the  whistling  breezes.  When  he 
finally  disappeared  in  the  far  east,  he  sent  back  four 
trusty  youths  who  had  ever  shared  his  fortunes,  'in- 
comparably swift  and  light  of  foot/  with  directions  to 
divide  the  earth  between  them  and  rule  it  till  he 
should  return  and  resume  his  power.  When  he  would 
promulgate  his  decrees,  his  herald  proclaimed  them 
from  Tzatzitepec,  the  hill  of  shouting,  with  such  a 
mighty  voice  that  it  could  be  heard  a  hundred  leagues 
around.  The  arrows  which  he  shot  transfixed  great 
trees,  the  stones  he  threw  levelled  forests,  and  when 
he  laid  his  hands  on  the  rocks  the  mark  was  indelible. 
Yet,  as  thus  emblematic  of  the  thunder-storm,  he  pos- 
sessed in  full  measure  its  better  attributes.  By  shak- 
ing his  sandals  he  gave  fire  to  men;  and  peace,  plenty, 
and  riches  blessed  his  subjects.  Tradition  says  he 
built  many  temples  to  Mictlantecutli,  the  Aztec  Pluto, 
and  at  the  creation  of  the  sun  that  he  slew  all  the 
other  gods,  for  the  advancing  dawn  disperses  the  spec- 


ANALOGUES   OF   QUETZALCOATL.  269 

tral  shapes  of  night,  and  yet  all  its  vivifying  power 
does  but  result  in  increasing  the  number  doomed  to 
fall  before  the  remorseless  stroke  of  death. 

"His  symbols  were  the  bird,  the  serpent,  the  cross, 
and  the  flint,  representing  the  clouds,  the  lightning, 
the  four  winds,  and  the  thunderbolt.  Perhaps,  as 
Huemac,  the  Strong  Hand,  he  was  god  of  the  earth- 
quakes. The  Zapotecs  worshipped  such  a  deity  under 
the  image  of  this  number  carved  from  a  precious  stone, 
calling  to  mind  the  'Kab  ul,'  the  Working  Hand, 
adored  by  the  Mayas,  and  said  to  be  one  of  the  images 
of  Zamnd,  their  hero-god.  The  human  hand,  'that 
divine  tool/  as  it  has  been  called,  might  well  be  re- 
garded by  the  reflective  mind  as  the  teacher  of  the 
arts  and  the  amulet  whose  magic  power  has  won  for 
man  what  vantage  he  has  gained  in  his  long  combat 
with  nature  and  his  fellows."32 

Mr  Helps  sees  in  Quetzalcoatl  the  closest  analogies 
with  certain  other  great  civilizers  and  teachers  that 
made  their  appearance  in  various  parts  of  the  American 
continent:  "One  peculiar  circumstance,  as  Humboldt 
remarks,  is  very  much  to  be  noted  in  the  ancient 
records  and  traditions  of  the  Indian  nations.  In  no 
less  than  three  remarkable  instances  has  superior  civ- 
ilization been  attributed  to  the  sudden  presence  among 
them  of  persons  differing  from  themselves  in  appear- 
ance and  descent. 

Bohica,  a  white  man  with  a  beard,  appeared  to  the 
Mozca  Indians  in  the  plains  of  Bogota,  taught  them 
how  to  build  and  to  sow,  formed  them  into  communi- 
ties, gave  an  outlet  to  the  waters  of  the  great  lake, 
and  having  settled  the  government,  civil  and  ecclesias- 
tical, retired  into  a  monastic  state  of  penitence  for 
two  thousand  years. 

In  like  manner,  Manco  Capac,  accompanied  by  his 
sister,  Mama  Oello,  descended  amongst  the  Peruvians, 
gave  them  a  code  of  admirable  laws,  reduced  them  into 
communities,  and  then  ascended  to  his  father,  the  Sun. 

Amongst  the   Mexicans  there   suddenly  appeared 

^Brinton's  Myth*,  pp.  180-3. 


270          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Quetzalcoatl  (green-feathered  snake),  a  white  and 
bearded  man,  of  broad  brow,  dressed  in  a  strange 
dress;  a  legislator,  who  recommended  severe  penances, 
lacerating  his  own  body  with  the  prickles  of  the  agave 
and  the  thorns  of  the  cactus,  but  who  dissuaded  his 
followers  from  human  sacrifice.  While  he  remained 
in  Analiuac,  it  was  a  Saturnian  reign;  but  this  great 
legislator,  after  moving  on  to  the  plains  of  Cholula, 
and  governing  the  Cholulans  with  wisdom,  passed  away 
to  a  distant  country,  and  was  never  heard  of  more. 
It  is  said  briefly  of  him  that  'he  ordained  sacrifices 
of  flowers  and  fruits,  and  stopped  his  ears  when  he 
was  spoken  to  of  war.'"33 

The  Abbe  Domenech  considers  the  tradition  of  the 
lives  of  Quetzalcoatl  and  Tezcatlipoca  to  be  a  bit  of 
simple  and  slightly  veiled  history,  and  also  that  there 
were  several  Quetzalcoatls.  Let  it  be  remembered  in 
reading  the  abbe's  version  of  this  matter  that  the  names 
of  places,  peoples,  and  the  dates  he  gives  are  in  great 
part  mythical  and  conjectural.  "After  the  enfranchise- 
ment of  the  Olrnecs,  a  man  named  Quetzalcoatl 
arrived  in  the  country,  whom  Garcia,  Torquemada, 
Sahagun,  and  other  Spanish  writers  took  to  be  Saint 
Thomas.  It  was  also  at  that  time  that  the  third  age 
ended,  and  that  the  fourth  began,  called  Sun  of  the 
fire,  because  it  was  supposed  that  it  was  in  this  last 
stage  that  the  world  would  be  destroyed  by  fire. 

It  is  in  this  fourth  period  that  the  Mexican  historian 
places  the  Toltecs'  arrival  in  New  Spain,  that  is  to  say, 
about  the  third  century  before  the  Christian  era.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Quiches'  traditions,  the  primitive  portion 
of  the  Nahoas,  or  ancestors  of  the  Toltecs,  were  in  a  dis- 
tant East,  beyond  immense  seas  and  lands.  Amongst 
the  families  and  tribes  that  bore  with  least  patience  this 
long  repose  and  immobility,  those  of  Canub  and  of 
Tlocab  may  be  cited,  for  they  were  the  first  who  deter- 
mined to  leave  their  country.  The  Nahoas  sailed  in 
seven  barks  or  ships,  which  Sahagun  calls  Chicomoztoc, 
or  the  seven  grottos.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note,  that 

33  Helps  Span.  Conq.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  286-7. 


THE  CODICES  ON  QUETZALCOATL.  271 

in  all  ages  the  number  seven  was  a  sacred  number 
among  the  American  people,  from  one  pole  to  the 
other.  It  was  at  Pdnuco,  near  Tampico,  that  those 
strangers  disembarked;  they  established  themselves 
at  Paxil,  with  the  Votanites'  consent,  and  their  state 
took  the  name  of  Huehue-Tlopallan.  It  is  not  stated 
whence  they  came,  but  merely  that  they  came  out  of 
the  regions  where  the  sun  rises.  The  supreme  com- 
mand was  in  the  hand  of  a  chieftain  whom  history 
calls  Quetzalcohuatl,  that  is  to  say,  Lord  par  excel- 
lence. To  his  care  was  confided  the  holy  envelope, 
which  concealed  the  divinity  from  the  human  gaze, 
and  he  alone  received  from  it  the  necessary  instruc- 
tions to  guide  his  people's  march.  These  kinds  of 
divinities,  thus  enveloped,  passed  for  being  sure  talis- 
mans, and  were  looked  upon  with  the  greatest  respect 
and  veneration.  They  consisted  generally  of  a  bit  of 
wood,  in  which  was  inserted  a  little  idol  of  green 
stone;  this  was  covered  with  the  skin  of  a  serpent  or 
of  a  tiger,  after  which  it  was  rolled  in  numerous  little 
bands  of  stuff,  wherein  it  would  remain  wrapped  for 
centuries  together.  Such  is,  perhaps,  the  origin  of 
the  medicine-bags  made  use  of,  even  in  the  present 
day,  by  the  Indians  of  the  Great  Desert,  and  of  which 
we  shall  speak  in  the  second  volume  of  this  work." 

Of  apparently  another  Quetzalcoatl  he  writes: 
"The  Toltecs  became  highly  flourishing  under  the 
reign  of  Ceocatl  Quetzalcohuatl,  a  Culhuacan  prince, 
who  preached  a  new  religion,  sanctioning  auricular 
confession  and  the  celibacy  of  the  priests.  He  pro- 
scribed all  kinds  of  warfare  and  human  sacrifices. 
Tezcatlipoca  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  dissatisfied 
party,  and  besieged  Tollan,  the  residence  of  Ceocatl 
Quetzalcohuatl ;  but  the  latter  refused  to  defend  him- 
self, in  order  to  avoid  the  effusion  of  blood,  which  was 
prohibited  by  the  laws  of  the  religion  he  himself  had 
established,  and  retired  to  Cholula,  that  had  been  con- 
structed by  his  followers.  From  thence  he  went  to 
Yucatan.  Tezcatlipoca,  his  fortunate  rival,  after  a 
long  reign  became  in  his  turn  the  victim  of  the  popu- 


272          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

lar  discontent,  and  fell  in  a  battle  that  was  given  him 
by  Ceocatl  Quetzalcolmatl's  relatives.  Those  two 
kings  are  elevated  to  the  rank  of  gods,  and  their  wor- 
ship was  a  perpetual  subject  of  discord  and  civil  war 
in  all  Anahuac  until  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  in 
the  New  World."34 

The  interpreters  of  the  different  codices,  or  Mexican 
paintings  represented  in  Kingsborough's  great  work, 

five,  as  is  their  wont  in  all  matters,  a  confused,  imper- 
jct,  and  often  erroneous  account  of  Quetzalcoatl. 
"  Quetzal  coatl  is  he  who  was  born  of  the  virgin  called 
Chalchihuitztli,  which  means  the  precious  stone  of 
penance  or  of  sacrifice.  He  was  saved  in  the  deluge, 
and  was  born  in  Zivenaritzcatl,  where  he  resides.  His 
fast  was  a  kind  of  preparation  for  the  arrival  of  the 
end  of  the  world,  which  they  said  would  happen  on 
the  day  of  Four  Earthquakes,  so  that  they  were  thus 
in  daily  expectation  of  that  event.  Quetzalcoatl  was 
he  who  they  say  created  the  world,  and  they  bestowed 
on  him  the  appellation  of  lord  of  the  wind,  because 
they  said  that  Tonacatecotli,  when  it  appeared  good 
to  him,  breathed  and  begat  Quetzalcoatl.  They 
erected  round  temples  to  him,  without  any  corners. 
They  said  that  it  was  he  (who  was  also  the  lord  of  the 
thirteen  signs  which  are  here  represented)  who  formed 
the  first  man.  He  alone  had  a  human  body  like  that  of 
men,  the  other  gods  were  of  an  incorporeal  nature."' 
"  They  declare  that  their  supreme  deity,  or  more 
properly  speaking,  demon  Tonacatecotle,  whom  we 
have  just  mentioned,  who  by  another  name  was  called 
Citinatonali, ....  begot  Quetzalcoatl,  not  by  connection 
with  a  woman,  but  by  his  breath  alone,  as  we  have 
observed  above,  when  he  sent  his  ambassador,  as  they 
say,  to  the  virgin  of  Tulla.  They  believed  him  to  be 
the  god  of  the  air,  and  he  was  the  first  to  whom  they 
built  temples  and  churches,  which  they  formed  per- 
fectly round,  without  any  angles.  They  say  it  was 

34  DomenecJts  Deserts,  vol.  i.,  pp.  32-3,  39. 

35  Explication  del  Codex  Telleriano-Remensis,  parte  ii.,  lam.  ii.,  in  Kings- 
borouyh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  135-6. 


MULLER  ON  QUETZALCOATL.  273 

he  who    effected   the    reformation    of  the  world    by 
penance,  as  we  have  already  said;  since,  according  to 
their  account,  his  father  had  created  the  world,  and 
men  had  given  themselves  up  to  vice,  on  which  ac- 
count it  had  been  so  frequently  destroyed.     Citina- 
tonali  sent  this  his  son  into  the  world  to  reform  it. 
We  certainly  must  deplore  the  blindness  of  these  mis- 
erable people,  on  whom  Saint  Paul  says  the  wrath  of 
God  has  to  be  revealed,  inasmuch  as  his  eternal  truth 
was  so  long  kept  back  by  the  injustice  of  attributing 
to  this  demon  that  which  belonged  to  Him ;  for  He 
being  the  sole  creator  of  the  universe,  and   He  who 
made  the  division  of  the  waters,  which  these  poor 
people  just  now  attributed  to  the  Devil,  when  it  ap^ 
peared  good  to  Him,  despatched  the  heavenly  ambas- 
sador to  announce  to  the  virgin  that  she  should  be  the 
mother  of  his  eternal  word ;  who,  when  He  found  the 
world  corrupt,  reformed  it  by  doing  penance  and  by 
dying  upon  the  cross  for  our  sins;  and  not  the  wretched 
Quetzalcoatl,  to  whom  these  miserable  people  attrib- 
uted this  work.     They  assigned  to  him  the  dominion 
over  the  other  thirteen  signs,  which  are  here  repre- 
sented, in  the  same  manner  as  they  had  assigned  the 
preceding  thirteen  to  his  father.     They  celebrated  a 
great  festival  on  the  arrival  of  his  sign,  as  we  shall 
see   in  the   sign  of  Four  Earthquakes,  which  is  the 
fourth  in  order  here,  because  they  feared  that  the 
world  would  be  destroyed  in  that  sign,  as  he  had  fore- 
told to  them  when  he  disappeared  in  the  Red   Sea  ; 
which  event  occurred  on  the  same  sign.     As   they 
considered    him   their   advocate,    they   celebrated   a 
solemn  festival,  and  fasted  during  four  signs."36 

J.  G.  Muller  holds  Quetzalcoatl  to  be  the  repre- 
sentative national  god  of  the  Toltecs,  surviving  under 
many  misconceptions    and   amid   many  incongruities 
—bequeathed  to  or  adopted  into  the  later  Mexican 
religion.     The  learned  professor  has  devoted  an  un- 

36  Spiegazione  delle    Tavole   del  Codice  Mexicano,  tav.  xli.,  Kingsbor&ugh's 
Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  184-5. 
VOL.  III.    18 


274          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

usual  amount  of  care  and  research  to  the  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Quetzalcoatl  myths;  and  as  no  other 
inquirer  has  shown  therein  at  once  so  accurate  and 
extensive  an  acquaintance  with  the  subject,  and  so 
calm  and  judicious  a  judgment,  we  give  his  opinion 
at  length,  and  first  his  summing  up  of  the  fable-history 
of  Quetzalcoatl. 

The  Toltecs,  a  traditional  prehistoric  people,  after 
leaving  their  original  northern  home  Huehuetlapallan 
(that  is,  Old-red-land)  chose  Tulla,  north  of  Andhuac 
as  the  first  capital  of  their  newly  founded  kingdom. 
Quetzalcoatl  was  their  high-priest  and  religious  chief 
at  this  place.  Huemac,  or  Huematziri,  conducted  the 
civil  government  as  the  companion  of  Quetzalcoatl, 
and  wrote  the  code  of  the  nation.  Quetzalcoatl  is  said 
to  have  been  a  white  man  (some  gave  him  a  bright 
red  face),  with  a  strong  formation  of  body,  broad  fore- 
head, large  eyes,  black  hair,  and  a  heavy  beard.  He 
always  wore  a  long  white  robe;  which,  according  to 
Gomara,  was  decorated  with  crosses;  he  had  a  mitre 
on  his  head  and  a  sickle  in  his  hand.  At  the  volcano 
of  Cotcitepec,  or  Tzatzitepec,  near  Tulla,  he  practised 
long  and  numerous  penances,  giving  thereby  an  exam- 
ple to  his  priests  and  successors.  The  name  of  this 
volcano  means  'the  mountain  of  outcry;'  and  when 
Quetzalcoatl  gave  laws,  he  sent  a  crier  to  the  top  of 
it,  whose  Toice  could  be  heard  three  hundred  miles  off. 
He  did  what  the  founders  of  religions  and  cults  have 
done  in  other  countries:  he  taught  the  people  agri- 
culture, metallurgy,  stone-cutting,  and  the  art  of  gov- 
ernment. He  also  arranged  the  calendar,  and  taught 
his  subjects  fit  religious  ceremonies,  preaching  spe- 
cially against  human  sacrifices,  and  ordering  offerings 
of  fruits  and  flowers  only.  He  would  have  nothing 
to  do  with  wars,  even  covering  his  ears  when  the  sub- 
ject was  mentioned.  His  was  a  veritable  golden  age, 
as  in  the  time  of  Saturn;  animals  and  even  men  lived 
in  peace,  the  soil  produced  the  richest  harvests  with- 
out cultivation,  and  the  grain  grew  so  large  that  a 
man  found  it  trouble  enough  to  carry  one  ear ;  no  cot- 


TRAVELS  OF  QUETZALCOATL .  275 

ton  was  dyed,  as  it  grew  of  all  colors,  and  fruits  of  all 
kinds  abounded.  Everybody  was  rich,  and  Quetzal- 
coatl  owned  whole  palaces  of  gold,  silver,  and  precious 
stones.  The  air  was  filled  with  the  most  pleasant 
aromas,  and  a  host  of  finely  feathered  birds  filled  the 
world  with  melody. 

But  this  earthly  happiness  came  to  an  end.  Tez- 
catlipoca  rose  up  against  Quetzalcoatl  and  against 
Huemac,  in  order  to  separate  them,  and  to  destroy 
their  government.  He  descended  from  the  sky  on  a 
rope  of  spider-web,  and  commenced  to  work  for  his 
object  with  the  aid  of  magic  arts.  He  first  appeared 
in  the  form  of  a  handsome  youth  (and  in  the  dress  of 
a  merchant),  dressed  as  a  merchant  selling  pepper- 
pods,  and  presented  himself  before  the  daughter  of 
king  Huemac.  He  soon  seduced  the  princess,  and 
thereby  opened  the  road  to  a  general  immorality  and 
a  total  collapse  of  the  laws.  He  presented  himself 
before  Quetzalcoatl  in  the  form  of  an  old  man,  with 
the  view  of  inducing  him  to  depart  to  his  home  in 
Tlapalla.  For  this  purpose  he  offered  him  a  drink, 
which  he  pretended  would  endow  him  with  immortal- 
ity. No  sooner  had  Quetzalcoatl  taken  the  drink 
than  he  was  seized  with  a  violent  desire  to  see  his 
fatherland.  He  destroyed  the  palaces  of  gold,  silver, 
and  precious  stones,  transformed  the  fruit-trees  into 
withered  trunks,  and  ordered  all  song-birds  to  leave 
the  country  with  him.  Thus  he  departed,  and  the  birds 
entertained  him  during  his  journey  with  their  songs. 

He  first  travelled  southward,  and  arrived  in  Quauh- 
titlan,  in  Anahuac.  In  the  vicinity  of  this  town  he 
broke  down  a  tree  by  throwing  stones,  the  stones  re- 
maining in  the  trunk.  Farther  south,  in  the  same 
valley,  near  Tlalnepantla,  or  Tanepantla,  he  pressed 
hand  and  foot  into  a  rock  with  such  force  that  the  im- 
pression has  remained  down  to  the  latest  centuries,  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  mark  of  the  shoes  of  the 
horses  of  Castor  and  Pollux,  near  Regillum.  The 
Spaniards  were  inclined  to  ascribe  these  and  similar 
freaks  of  nature  to  the  Apostle  Thomas. 


276          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Quetzalcoatl  now  turned  toward  the  east,  and  arrived 
in  Cholula,  where  he  had  to  remain  for  a  longer  period, 
as  the  inhabitants  intrusted  him  with  the  government 
of  their  state.  The  same  order  of  things  which  had 
taken  place  in  Tulla,  his  first  residence,  was  here  re- 
newed. From  this  centre  his  rule  spread  far  and 
wide;  he  sent  colonists  from  Cholula  to  Huaxayacac, 
Tabasco,  and  Campeche,  and  the  nobility  of  Yucatan 
prided  themselves  on  their  descent  from  him;  men 
having  been  found  in  our  time  who  bear  his  name, 
just  as  the  descendants  of  Yotan  bore  the  name  of 
Votan  in  Chiapas.  In  Cholula  itself  he  was  adored, 
and  temples  were  everywhere  erected  in  his  honor, 
even  by  the  enemies  of  the  Cholulans.  After  a  resi- 
dence of  twenty  years  in  Cholula,  he  proceeded  on  his 
journey  toward  Tlalpalla,  until  he  arrived  at  the  river, 
and  in  the  province  of  Coatzacoalco,  or  Goasacoalco, 
Guasacualco,  that  is,  Hiding-nook  of  the  snake — 
south  of  Yera  Cruz.  He  now  sent  the  four  youths, 
who  had  accompanied  him  from  Cholula,  back  to  the 
Cholulans,  promising  to  return  later  on  and  renew 
the  old  government.  The  Cholulans  placed  the  four 
youths  at  the  head  of  their  government,  out  of  love 
for  him.  This  hope  of  his  return  still  existed  among 
the  Mexican  nations  at  the  time  of  Cortes'  arrival. 
In  fact,  Cortes  was  at  first  held  to  be  the  returning 
Quetzalcoatl,  and  a  man  was  sacrificed  to  him,  with 
whose  blood  the  conqueror  and  his  companions  were 
marked.  Father  Sahagun  was  also  asked  by  every- 
body on  his  journey  to  Mexico  if  he  and  his  suite 
came  from  Tlapalla.  According  to  Montezuma's  ac- 
count to  Cortes,  Quetzalcoatl  really  did  once  return 
to  Cholula,  but  after  such  a  length  of  time  that  he 
found  his  subjects  married  to  the  native  women,  hav- 
ing children,  and  so  numerous  that  a  number  of  new 
districts  had  to  be  founded.  This  new  race  would  not 
recognize  their  old  chief,  and  refused  to  obey  him. 
He  thereupon  departed  angrily,  threatening  to  return 
at  another  time  and  to  subdue  them  by  force.  It  is 
not  remarkable  that  an  expectation  which  was  a  hope 


QUETZALCOAJL  AOT)  THE  TOLTECS.  277 

to  the  Cholulans  should  be  a  dread  to  Montezuma  and 
his  subjects. 

According  to  some  accounts,  Quetzalcoatl  died  in 
the  Hiding- nook  of  the  snakes,  in  the  Goatzacoalco 
country;  according  to  others,  he  suddenly  disappeared 
toward  the  east,  and  a  ship,  formed  of  snakes  wound 
together,  brought  him  to  Tlapalla. 

A  closer  view  and  criticism  of  this  tale,  in  the  light 
of  the  analogy  of  mythological  laws,  shows  us  that 
Quetzalcoatl  is  the  euhemerized  religious  ideal  of  the 
Toltecan  nations.  The  similarity  of  this  tale  with 
those  of  Manco  Capac,  Botschika,  Saturn,  and  others, 
is  at  once  apparent.  The  opinion  of  Prescott,  Wuttke, 
and  many  others,  who  held  him  for  a  deified  man, 
founder  of  a  religion  and  of  a  civilization,  is  confirmed 
by  the  latest  version  of  the  fable,  in  which  Quetzal- 
coatl is  represented  in  this  character.  Although  eu- 
hemerism  is  an  old  idea  with  all  people,  as  well  as  with 
the  Americans — personification  being  the  first  step 
toward  it — the  general  reasons  which  everywhere  ap- 
pear against  the  existence  of  such  founders  of  a  civili- 
zation must  also  be  made  to  speak  against  this  idea  of 
Quetzalcoatl. 

If  a  special  value  is  placed  upon  the  white  face  and 
the  beard,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  beard, 
which  is  given  to  the  Mexican  priests,  could  not  be 
omitted  with  Quetzalcoatl;  and  the  mention  by  some 
of  his  having  had  a  white  face,  and  by  others  a  red, 
might  arouse  a  suspicion  that  Quetzalcoatl  has  been 
represented  as  a  white  man  on  account  of  his  white  robe. 

The  fable  of  Quetzalcoatl  contains  contradictions, 
the  younger  elements  of  which  are  a  pure  idealism  of 
the  more  ancient.  For  instance,  the  statement  that 
the  earth  produced  everything  spontaneously,  without 
human  labor,  does  not  agree  with  the  old  version  of 
the  myth,  according  to  which  Quetzalcoatl  taught 
agriculture  and  other  industries  requiring  application 
and  hard  work.  The  sentimental  love  of  peace  has 
also  been  attributed  to  this  god  in  later  times,  during 
a  time  when  the  Toltecs  had  lost  the  martial  spirit  of 


278          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

their  victorious  ancestors,  and  when  the  Cholulans, 
given  to  effeminacy,  distinguished  themselves  more  by 
cunning  than  by  courage.  The  face  of  the  god  is  rep- 
resented in  the  fable  as  more  beautiful  and  attractive 
than  it  is  depicted  on  the  images.  At  the  place  where 
he  was  most  worshipped,  in  Cholula,  the  statue  of 
Quetzalcoatl  stood  in  his  temple,  on  the  summit  of  the 
great  pyramid.  Its  features  had  a  gloomy  cast,  and 
differed  from  the  beautiful  face  which  is  said  to  have 
been  his  on  earth. 

The  fable  shows  its  later  idealized  elements  in  these 
points.  In  all  other  respects,  the  Toltecan  peculiar- 
ities of  the  entire  nation  are  either  clearly  and  faith- 
fully depicted  in  their  hero,  as  in  a  personified  ideal, 
or  else  the  original  attributes  of  the  nature-deity  are 
recognizable.  Where  the  Toltecs  were,  there  was  he 
also,  or  a  hero  identical  with  him;  the  Toltecs  who 
journeyed  southward  are  colonists  sent  by  him;  the 
Toltec  capitals,  Tulla  and  Cholula,  are  his  residences; 
and  as  the  laws  of  the  Toltecs  extended  far  and  wide, 
so  did  the  voice  of  his  crier  reach  three  hundred  miles 
into  the  country.  The  arts  and  welfare  of  the  Toltecs, 
their  riches  and  religious  feeling,  even  their  later  un- 
warlike  peacefulness,  all  these  attributes  are  transferred 
to  Quetzalcoatl.  The  long  robe  of  the  Toltecs  was 
also  the  dress  of  their  hero;  the  necktie  of  the  boys  of 
his  religious  order  is  attached  to  his  image;  and  as 
his  priests  wore  the  mitre,  he  is  also  represented  with 
it.  He  is,  above  all,  depicted  as  the  original  model  of 
the  Toltec  priests,  the  Tlamacazque  (the  order  was 
called  Tlamacazcojotl),  whose  chief,  or  superior,  always 
bore  the  name  of  Quetzalcoatl.  As  these  orders  of 
his  had  to  submit  to  the  strictest  observances — their 
members  having  to  slit  the  tongue,  ears,  and  lips  in 
honor  of  Quetzalcoatl,  and  the  small  boys  being  set 
apart  for  him  by  making  an  incision  on  their  breasts— 
so  he  submitted,  before  all  others,  to  these  penances 
on  the  Tzatzitipec  Mountain.  These  self-inflicted  pun- 
ishments must  not  be  termed  penances,  as  is  often 
done,  for  they  have  no  moral  meaning,  such  as  to  do 


QUETZALCOATL  A  NATURE-DEITY.  279 

penance  for  committing  sins,  nor  have  they  the  mystic 
meaning  of  the  East  Indian  idea  of  the  end  of  the 
world  (Weltabsterben)  and  the  return  to  the  panthe- 
istic chaos  (Urall  and  Urnichts);  all  this  is  foreign  to 
the  American  religion.  They  are,  on  the  contrary, 
blood-offerings,  substitutes  for  the  human  sacrifices  in 
the  background,  to  obtain  earthly  blessings,  and  to 
avert  earthly  misfortunes.  As  Quetzalcoatl  preached 
against  human  sacrifices,  so  his  priests  under  the  Aztec 
rule  were  very  reluctant  to  make  them.  After  the 
great  slaughter  by  Cortes,  in  Cholula,  Montezuma 
proceeded  to  the  great  temple  of  Huitzilopochtli,  made 
many  human  sacrifices,  and  questioned  the  god,  who 
bade  him  to  be  of  good  heart,  and  assured  him  that 
the  Cholulans  had  suffered  so  terribly  merely  on  ac- 
count of  their  reluctance  to  offer  up  human  beings. 

As  the  disappearance  of  the  Toltecs  toward  the 
south  and  the  south-east  agrees  with  the  disappearance 
of  Quetzalcoatl,  so  we  find  many  traits  from  the  end 
of  the  last  Toltec  king  reproduced  in  the  end  of  the 
Toltec  hero.  After  the  defeat  of  king  Tlolpintzin,  he 
(Tlolpintzin)  fled  southward,  toward  Tlapalla.  He 
made  use  of  these  words,  in  his  last  farewell  to  his 
friends:  I  have  retired  toward  the  east,  but  will  re- 
turn after  5,012  years  to  avenge  myself  on  the  descend- 
ants of  mine  enemies.  After  having  lived  thirty  years 
in  Tlapalla,  he  died.  His  laws  were  afterward  accepted 
by  Nezalhualcoyotzin.  The  belief  that  Tlolpintzin 
stayed  with  Nezalhualcoyotzin,  and  some  other  brave 
kings,  in  the  cave  of  Xicco,  after  death,  like  the  three 
Tells  of  Switzerland,  but  would  at  some  time  come  out 
and  deliver  his  people,  was  long  current  among  the  In- 
dians. Every  one  will  notice  how  well  this  agrees  with 
Montezuma's  account  of  the  return  of  Quetzalcoatl. 

Quetzalcoatl  cannot,  however,  be  a  representative 
and  a  national  god  of  the  Toltecs,  without  having  an 
original  nature-basis  for  his  existence  as  a  god.  It  is 
everywhere  the  case  among  savages  with  their 
national  god,  that  the  latter  is  a  nature-deity,  who 
becomes  gradually  transformed  into  a  national  god, 


280          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

then  into  a  national  king,  high-priest,  founder  of  a  re- 
ligion, and  at  last  ends  in  being  considered  a  human 
being.  The  older  and  purer  the  civilization  of  a  people 
is,  the  easier  it  is  to  recognize  the  original  essence  of 
its  national  god  in  spite  of  all  transformations  and  dis- 
guises. So  it  is  here.  Behind  the  human  form  of 
the  god  glimmers  the  nature -shape,  and  the  national 
god  is  known  by  perhaps  all  his  worshippers  as  also 
a  nature-deity.  From  his  powerful  influence  upon 
nature  he  might  also  be  held  as  the  creator. 

The  pure  human  form  of  this  god,  as  it  appears  in 
the  fable  as  well  as  in  the  image,  is  not  the  original, 
but  the  youngest.  His  oldest  concrete  forms  are 
taken  from  nature  to  which  he  originally  belongs,  and 
have  maintained  themselves  in  many  attributes.  All 
these  symbolize  him  as  the  god  of  fertility,  chiefly,  as 
it  is  made  apparent  by  means  of  the  beneficial  influence 
of  the  air.  All  Mexican  and  European  statements 
make  him  appear  as  the  god  of  the  air  and  of  the  wind; 
even  the  euhemeristic  idea  deifies  the  man  Quetzal- 
coatl  into  a  god  of  the  air.  All  the  Mexican  tribes 
adored  him  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest  as  god  of  the 
air,  and  all  accounts,  however  much  they  may  differ 
on  the  particular  points  of  his  poetical  life,  agree,  with- 
out exception,  in  this  one  respect,  as  the  essential  and 
chief  point.  Besides  the  symbols,  which  are  merely 
attached  to  the  image,  there  are  three  attributes,  which 
represent  as  many  original  visible  forms  and  exteriors 
of  the  god,  in  which  he  is  represented  and  worshipped: 
the  sparrow,  the  flint  (Feuerstein),  and  the  snake. 

According  to  Herrera,  the  image  of  Quetzalcoatl 
had  the  body  of  a  man,  but  the  head  of  a  bird,  a  spar- 
row with  a  red  bill,  a  large  comb,  and  with  the  tongue 
hanging  far  out  of  the  mouth.  The  air-god  of  these 
northern  people,  parallel  to  Quetzalcoatl,  the  Aztec 
Huitzilopochtli,  was  represented  with  devices  con- 
nected with  the  humming-bird,  in  remembrance  of  his 
former  humrning-bird  nature.  This  is  the  northern 
element.  The  great  spirit  of  the  northern  redskins 
also  appear  in  his  most  esteemed  form  as  a  bird.  The 


.    QUETZALCOATL  AND  THE  FLINT.  281 

Latin  Picus  was  originally  a  woodpecker  (Specht), 
afterward  anthropomorphized  and  even  euhemerized, 
but  he  has  ever  the  woodpecker  by  his  side,  in  his 
capacity  of  human  seer.  Several  Egyptian  gods  have 
human  bodies  and  animal  heads,  especially  heads  of 
birds.  Birds  are  not  alone  symbols  of  particular  god- 
like attributes,  as  used  in  the  anthropomorphic  times, 
not  mere  messengers  and  transmitters  of  the  orders  of 
the  gods,  but  they  have  originally  been  considered  as 
gods  themselves,  with  forms  of  godlike  powers,  espe- 
cially in  North  America ;  and  the  exterior  of  the  god 
of  the  air,  the  fructifying  air,  is  naturally  that  of  a 
bird,  a  singing  bird.  The  hieroglyphic  sign  among  the 
Mexicans  for  the  air  is,  therefore,  the  head  of  a  bird 
with  three  tongues.  Wherever  Quetzalcoatl  stayed 
and  ruled,  there  birds  filled  the  air,  and  song-birds 
gave  indication  of  their  presence;  when  he  departed, 
he  took  them  with  him,  and  was  entertained  during 
the  journey  by  their  singing. 

A  second  form  of  Quetzalcoatl  was  the  flint,  which 
we  have  already  learned  to  know  as  a  symbol  and 
hieroglyphic  sign  for  the  air.  He  was  either  repre- 
sented as  a  black  stone,  or  several  small  green  ones, 
supposed  to  have  fallen  from  heaven,  most  likely  aero- 
lites, which  were  adored  by  the  Cholulans  in  the  ser- 
vice of  Quetzalcoatl.  Betancourt  even  explains  the 
meaning  of  the  name  Quetzalcoatl,  contrary  to  the 
usual  definition,  as  "twin  of  a  precious  stone."  The 
fable  of  Quauhtitlan  is  also  connected  with  this  stone- 
worship:  how  Quetzalcoatl  had  overthrown  a  tree  by 
means  of  stones  which  remained  fixed  in  it.  These 
stones  were  later  on  adored  as  holy  stones  of  Quet- 
zalcoatl. The  stone  at  Tlalnepantla,  into  which  he 
pressed  his  hand,  must  also  have  represented  the  god 
himself.  Similar  ancient  stone- worships,  of  greater 
nature-deities  as  well  as  fetiches,  were  found,  in  many 
instances,  in  Peru,  in  the  pre-Inca  times.  In  ancient 
Central  America  we  meet  with  the  worship  of  such 
green  stones,  called  chalchihuites.  Votan  was  wor- 
shipped in  the  form  of  such  a  green  stone,  connected 


282          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP 

with   the    other   two   attributes.     This    attribute   of 
Quetzalcoatl  most  likely  belongs  to  the  south. 

The  third  form  of  Quetzalcoatl,  which  also  belongs 
to  the  south,  is  the  snake;  he  is  a  snake-god,  or  at 
least,  merged  into  an  ancient  snake-god.  The  snake 
is  not,  as  far  as  I  know,  a  direct  symbol  of  the  air, 
and  this  attribute  is,  therefore,  not  the  one  pertaining 
to  him  from  the  beginning;  but  the  snake  represents 
the  season  which,  in  conjunction  with  heat  and  rain, 
contains  the  fructifying  influence  of  the  atmosphere, 
spring,  the  rejuvenating  year.  However,  the  very 
name  of  the  god  signifies,  according  to  the  usual  ex- 
planation given  to  it,  "the  feathered  snake,  the  snake 
covered  with  feathers,  the  green-feathered  snake,  the 
wood-snake  with  rich  feathers."  A  snake  has  conse- 
quently been  added  to  the  human  figure  of  this  god. 
The  other  name  under  which  he  is  adored  in  Yucatan 
is  Cuculcan,  a  snake  covered  with  godlike  feathers. 
The  entrance  to  his  round  temple  in  Mexico  repre- 
sented the  jaw  and  fangs  of  a  tremendous  snake. 
Quetzalcoatl  disappeared  in  Goatzacoalco,  the  Snake- 
corner  (or  nook),  and  a  ship  of  snakes  brought  him 
to  Tlapalla.  His  followers  in  Yucatan  were  called 
snakes,  Cocome  (plural  of  Coatl),  while  he  himself 
bore  the  name  of  Cocolcan  in  this  country,  as  well  as 
in  Chiapas.  The  snake  attribute  signifies,  in  connec- 
tion with  Huitzilopochtli,  also  the  beneficial  influence 
of  the  atmosphere,  the  yearly  renewed  course  of 
nature,  the  continual  rejuvenation  of  nature  in  germs 
and  blossoms.  The  northern  celestial  god,  Odin,  is 
in  many  ways  connected  with  snakes;  he  transformed 
himself  into  a  snake,  and  bore  the  by-name  of  snake. 

The  relationship  of  Tezcatlipoca  and  Quetzalcoatl, 
as  given  in  the  fable,  may  be  touched  upon  here.  The 
driving  away  of  the  latter  by  Tezcatlipoca  does  not,  as 
may  be  supposed,  signify  a  contest  between  the  Aztec 
religion  and  the  preceding  Toltecan.  In  such  a  case, 
Huitzilopochtli,  the  chief  of  the  Aztec  gods,  by  whose 
adoration  the  contrast  is  painted  in  the  deepest  colors, 
would  have  been  a  much  better  representant. 


QUETZALCOATL  AND  THE  SNAKE.  283 

Quetzalcoatl  no  doubt  preached  against  human  sac- 
rifices, brought  into  such  unprecedented  swing  by  the 
Aztecs,  yet  the  worshippers  of  this  god  adopted  the 
sacrifice  of  human  beings  in  an  extensive  way  during 
the  Aztec  rule,  to  which  period  this  part  of  the  Quet- 
zalcoatl fable  necessarily  owes  its  origin.  At  this  time 
the  contrast  was  so  slight  that  Quetzalcoatl  partook  of 
the  highest  adoration  of  Aztecs,  not  only  in  Cholula, 
but  in  Mexico  and  everywhere.  His  priest  enjoyed 
the  highest  esteem,  and  his  temple  in  Mexico  stood  by 
the  side  of  that  of  Huitzilopochtli.  Montezuma  not 
only  calls  the  Toltec  hero  a  leader  of  his  forefathers, 
but  the  Aztecs  actually  consider  him  as  a  son  of  Huit- 
zilopochtli. The  opposition  of  the  two  gods,  Quet- 
zalcoatl and  Tezcatlipoca,  has  another  reason:  the 
difference  lies,  not  in  their  worship,  but  in  their 
nature  and  being,  in  the  natural  phenomena  which 
they  represent.  If  the  god  of  the  beneficial  atmos- 
phere, the  manifested  god-power  of  the  atmosphere  of 
the  fructifying  seasons,  is  adored  in  Quetzalcoatl,  then 
Tezcatlipoca  is  his  opposite,  the  god  of  the  gloomy 
lower  regions  destitute  of  life  and  germ,  the  god  of 
drought,  of  withering,  of  death. 

Wherever,  therefore,  Quetzalcoatl  rules,  there  are 
riches  and  abundance,  the  air  is  filled  with  fragrance 
and  song-birds — an  actual  golden  era;  but  when  he 
goes  southward  with  his  song-birds,  he  is  expelled  by 
Tezcatlipoca,  drought  sets  in,  and  the  palaces  of  gold, 
silver,  and  precious  stones,  symbols  of  wealth,  are 
destroyed.  He  promises,  however,  everywhere  to  re- 
turn. A  representation  mentioned  and  copied  by 
Jiumboldt  shows  Tezcatlipoca  in  the  act  of  cutting 
up  the  snake.  This  has  not  the  meaning  of  the  acts 
of  Hercules,  of  Tonatiuh,  of  the  great  spirit  of  the 
Chippewas,  of  the  German  Siegfried,  of  the  Celtic 
dragon-killers  Tristan  and  Iwein,  or  of  the  other  sun- 
gods,  spring-gods,  and  culture-heroes,  who  fight  and 
subdue  the  snake  of  the  unfertile  moisture;  such  an 
interpretation  would  be  opposed  to  the  nature  of  this 
god.  On  the  contrary,  the  god  of  death  and  drought 


284          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

here  fights  the  snake  as  the  symbol  of  moisture,  of  the 
fertilization  of  the  plant-life. 

The  question  now  arises:  If  Quetzalcoatl  only  re- 
ceived his  snake  attribute  in  the  south,  and  this  his 
name,  what  was  his  original  northern  and  Toltecan 
name?  We  answer,  coinciding  with  the  views  ex- 
pressed by  Ixtlilxochitl  and  others,  who  affirm  that 
Quetzalcoatl  and  his  worldly  companion,  Huemac, 
were  one  and  the  same  person.  The  opposed  opinion 
of  Ternaux-Compans,  who  states  that  Quetzalcoatl 
must  have  been  an  Olmec,  while  Huemac  was  a  Toltec, 
actually  gives  the  key  to  the  solution  of  the  question. 
Both  are  right,  Ixtlilxochitl  and  Ternaux,  Huemac  is 
the  original  Toltec  name  of  the  Toltec  national  god, 
ruler,  and  author  of  the  holy  books,  the  ancient  name 
used  by  the  Toltecs.  As  this  people  succumbed  more 
and  more  to  southern  influences,  and  their  ancient  air- 
god  in  his  sparrow  form  received  in  addition  the  snake 
attribute,  on  account  of  his  rejuvenating  influence  upon 
nature,  then  the  new  name  of  the  more  cultivated 
people  soon  appeared.  The  name  may,  therefore,  be 
Olmec,  but  not  the  god;  we  may  sooner  suppose  that 
the  attributes  of  the  Maya  god,  Votan,  have  been 
transferred  to  the  Toltec  god.  Both  names  having 
thus  a  double  origin,  the  legend  which  found  two 
names  made  also  two  persons  of  them,  and  placed 
them  side  by  side.  It  is,  however,  easy  to  see  that 
they  are  naturally  one :  Huemac  has  just  as  much  a 
religious  signification  as  Quetzalcoatl;  as  Huematzin, 
he  wrote  the  divine  book,  containing  all  the  earthly 
and  heavenly  wisdom  of  the  Toltecs.  Quetzalcoatl 
has  in  the  same  degree,  besides  his  religious  position, 
the  worldly  one  of  ruler  and  founder  of  a  civilization. 
As  Quetzalcoatl  possesses  a  divine  nature,  so  does  Hue- 
mac,  to  whom  also  are  ascribed  the  three  hundred  years 
of  life,  and  the  impression  of  the  hand  in  the  rock. 

Besides  the  attributes  of  the  sparrow,  flint,  and 
snake,  there  are  others  which  ascribe  to  Quetzalcoatl 
the  same  properties,  but  less  prominently.  As  god  of 
the  air,  he  holds  the  wonderfully  painted  shield  in  his 


QUETZALCOATL  AND  THE  TRADE-WINDS.  285 

hand,  a  symbol  of  his  power  over  the  winds.  As  god 
of  the  fertilizing  influence  of  the  air,  he  holds,  like  Sat- 
urn, the  sickle,  symbol  of  the  harvest — he  it  is  that 
causes  the  grain  to  ripen.  It  used  to  be  said  that  he 
prepared  the  way  for  the  water-god,  for  in  these  re- 
gions the  rains  are  always  preceded  by  winds. 

Another  question,  which  has  already  occurred  to 
us,  must  here  be  considered.  Why  did  this  god  come 
from  the  east,  depart  toward  the  east,  and  why  should 
he  be  expected  from  the  east?  The  Toltecs  have,  ac- 
cording to  almost  unanimous  statements,  come  from 
the  north,  and  even  Quetzalcoatl  commences  his  rule 
in  the  north,  in  Tulla,  and  proceeds  gradually  on  his 
journey  from  the  north  to  the  south-east,  just  like  the 
Toltecs,  who  travelled  southward  from  Tulla.  It  is 
plain  that  he  departs  for  the  east,  because  this  is  his 
home,  from  which  he  came  and  will  return.  His  east- 
ern origin  is,  no  doubt,  based  upon  the  direction  of  the 
eastern  trade-winds,  which  carry  rain,  and  with  it 
fertility,  to  the  interior  of  Central  America.  The 
rains  began  three  or  four  weeks  earlier  in  Vera  Cruz, 
Tampico,  and  Tabasco  than  in  Puebla  and  Mexico. 
Another  reason,  which  has,  however,  a  certain  con- 
nection with  the  above,  may  be  the  relationship  of  the 
god  of  air  and  the  sun-god,  who  often  assumed  an 
equal  position  in  nature  and  in  worship.  We  know 
that  the  founders  of  the  Peruvian  and  Muyscan  cults 
come  from  the  east,  because  they  are  sun-gods.  Quet- 
zalcoatl is  not  such  a  deity,  it  is  true,  but  the  fertil- 
izing air-god  is  also  in  other  places  closely  connected 
with  the  fructifying  sun,  as,  for  example,  Huitzilo- 
pochtli,  Odin,  and  Brama.  The  sun  is  his  eye.  This 
connection  with  the  sun  Montezuma  referred  to  when 
he  spoke  in  the  presence  of  Cortes  of  the  departure 
of  Quetzalcoatl  for  the  regions  from  which  the  sun 
comes.  As  the  sun  is  the  eye  of  heaven,  to  whom 
the  heart  of  the  victim  sacrificed  to  the  god  of  heaven 
is  presented,  so  it  is  at  night  with  the  moon,  to  whom 
the  same  tribute  was  paid  at  the  feast  of  Quetzalcoatl. 

Several  other  significations  are  attached  to  the  idea 


286          GOBS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

of  an  air-god.  It  is  natural  that  the  god  of  heavenly 
blessing  should  also  be  the  god  of  wealth.  All  wealth 
depends  originally  upon  the  produce  of  the  soil,  upon 
the  blessing  of  heaven,  however  worldly  the  opinion 
of  the  matter  may  be.  Gold  is  merely  the  symbol  of 
this  wealth,  like  the  golden  shower  of  Zeus.  The 
image  of  Quetzalcoatl  was,  therefore,  according  to 
Acosta,  adorned  with  gold,  silver,  jewels,  rich  feathers, 
and  gay  dresses,  to  illustrate  his  wealth.  For  this 
reason  he  wore  a  golden  helmet,  and  his  sceptre  was 
decorated  with  costly  stones.  The  same  view  is  also 
the  basis  of  the  myths  of  the  ancients  about  snakes 
and  dragons  guarding  treasures.  The  fact  that  the 
merchants  of  Cholula  worshipped  the  god  of  wealth 
before  all  others,  and  as  their  chief  deity,  requires  no 
explanation. 

His  worship  in  Cholula  was  conducted  as  follows : 
Forty  days  before  the  festival,  the  merchants  bought 
a  spotless  slave,  who  was  first  taken  to  bathe  in  a  lake 
called  the  Lake  of  the  Gods,  then  dressed  up  as  the 
god  Quetzalcoatl,  whom  he  had  to  represent  for  forty 
days.  During  this  time  he  enjoyed  the  same  adora- 
tion as  was  given  to  the  god :  he  was  set  upon  a  raised 
place,  presented  with  flowers,  and  fed  on  the  choicest 
viands.  He  was,  however,  well  guarded  during  the 
night,  so  that  he  might  not  escape.  During  his  ex- 
hibition through  the  town,  he  danced  and  sang,  and 
the  women  and  children  ran  out  of  their  houses  to 
salute  him  and  make  him  presents.  This  continued 
until  nine  days  before  the  end  of  the  forty  days. 
Then  two  old  priests  approached  him  in  all  humility, 
saying,  in  deep  voice:  Lord,  know  that  in  nine  days 
thy  singing  and  dancing  will  cease,  because  thou  must 
die  1  If  he  continued  of  good  spirit,  and  inclined  to 
dance  and  sing,  it  was  considered  a  good  omen,  if  the 
contrary,  a  bad  one.  In  the  latter  case  they  prepared 
him  a  drink  of  blood  and  cacao,  which  was  to  obliter- 
ate the  remembrance  of  the  past  conversation.  After 
drinking  this,  it  was  hoped  that  he  would  resume  his 
former  good  humor.  On  the  day  of  the  festival  still 


QUETZALCOATL  AS  A  HEALING  GOD.  287 

greater  honors  were  shown  him,  music  sounded,  and 
incense  was  burned.  At  last,  at  the  midnight  hour, 
he  was  sacrificed,  the  heart  was  torn  out  of  his  body, 
held  up  to  the  moon,  and  then  thrown  toward  the 
image  of  the  god.  The  body  was  cast  down  the  steps 
of  the  temple,  and  served  the  merchants,  especially 
the  slave-dealers,  for  a  sacrificial  meal.  This  feast 
and  sacrifice  took  place  every  year,  but  after  a  certain 
number  of  cycles,  as  in  the  divine  year  Teoxihuitl, 
they  were  celebrated  with  much  more  pomp.  Quet- 
zalcoatl  had,  generally,  his  human  sacrifices  during 
the  Aztec  rule,  as  well  as  the  other  gods. 

The  power  which  reestablishes  the  macrocosm  heals 
and  rejuvenates  the  microcosm  also:  it  is  the  general 
healing  power.  With  the  good  weather  thousands  of 
invalids  are  restored,  and  refreshing  rains  not  only 
revive  the  thirsty  plains  of  the  tropics,  but  man  him 
self.  Thus  the  air-god,  the  atmosphere,  becomes  a 
healino-  god.  A  Phoenician  told  Pausanius  that  the 

O    O 

snake-god,  ^Esculapius,  signified  the  health-restoring 
air.  If  this  god  of  heaven  is  also  a  snake-god,  like 
Quetzalcoatl,  the  rejuvenating  and  reinvigorating 
power  of  nature  is  expressed  in  a  clear  parallelism. 

The  snake-god  is  also  a  healing  god,  and  even  the 
Greek  ^Esculapius  cannot  dispense  with  the  snake.  It 
is  thus  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  sterile  women 
of  the  Mexican  peoples  directed  their  prayers  to  Quet- 
zalcoatl.37 

This  concludes  the  able  summing-up  presented  by 
M  tiller,  and  it  is  given  as  I  give  all  theoretical  mat- 
ter, neither  accepting  nor  rejecting  it,  as  simply  an- 
other ray  of  light  bent  in  upon  the  god  Quetzalcoatl, 
whose  nature  it  is  not  proposed  here  to  either  explain 
or  illustrate,  but  only  to  reproduce,  as  regarded  from 
many  sides  by  the  earliest  and  closest  observers. 

^Muller,  AmeriJcanische  Urreligionen,  pp.  577-90.  Some  further  notes* 
regarding  this  god  from  a  different  point  may  be  found  in  Brasseur  de  Bour- 
bourg,  Palenque,  pp.  40  etc.,  66  etc. 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 

GODS,   SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,   AND  WORSHIP. 

VARIOUS  ACCOUNTS  OF  THE  BIRTH,  ORIGIN,  AND  DERIVATION  OF  THE  NAME 
OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR-GOD,  HUITZILOPOCHTLI,  OF  HIS  TEMPLE,  IMAGE, 
CEREMONIAL,  FESTIVALS,  AND  HIS  DEPUTY,  OR  PAGE,  PAYNAL — CLAVIGERO 

— BOTURINI — ACOSTA — SOLIS — SAHAGUN — HERRERA  —  TORQUEMADA — J. 

G.  MULLER'S  SUMMARY  OF  THE  HUITZILOPOCHTLI  MYTHS,  THEIR  ORIGIN, 
RELATION,  AND  SIGNIFICATION — TYLOR  —  CODEX  VATICANUS — TLALOC, 
GOD  OF  WATER,  ESPECIALLY  OF  RAIN,  AND  OF  MOUNTAINS — CLAVIGERO, 
GAMA,  AND  IXTLILXOCHITL — PRAYER  IN  TIME  OF  DROUGHT — CAMARGO, 
MOTOLINIA,  MENDIETA,  AND  THE  VATICAN  CODEX  ON  THE  SACRIFICES  TO 
TLALOC — THE  DECORATIONS  OF  HIS  VICTIMS  AND  THE  PLACES  OF  THEIR 
EXECUTION — GATHERING  RUSHES  FOR  THE  SERVICE  OF  THE  WATER-GOD 
— HIGHWAY  ROBBERIES  BY  THE  PRIESTS  AT  THIS  TIME — DECORATIONS 
AND  IMPLEMENTS  OF  THE  PRIESTS — PUNISHMENTS  FOR  CEREMONIAL  OF- 
FENCES— THE  WHIRLPOOL  OF  PANTITLAN — IMAGES  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS  IN 
HONOR  OF  THE  TLALOC  FESTIVAL — OF  THE  COMING  RAIN  AND  MUTILA- 
TION OF  THE  IMAGES  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS — GENERAL  PROMINENCE  IN  THE 
CULT  OF  TLALOC,  OF  THE  NUMBER  FOUR,  THE  CROSS,  AND  THE  SNAKE. 

HUITZILOPOCHTLI,  Huitziloputzli,  or  Yitziliputzli  was 
the  god  of  war,  and  the  especially  national  god  of  the 
Mexicans.  Some  said  that  he  was  a  purely  spiritual 
being,  others  that  a  woman  had  borne  him  after  mirac- 
ulous conception.  This  legend,  following  Clavigero, 
ran  as  follows : 

In  the  ancient  city  of  Tulla  lived  a  most  devout 
woman,  Coatlicue  by  name.  Walking  one  day  in  the 
temple,  as  her  custom  was,  she  saw  a  little  ball  of 
feathers  floating  down  from  heaven,  which,  taking 

<288) 


BIRTH   OF  HUITZILOPOCHTLL  289 

without  thought,  she  put  into  her  bosom.  The  walk 
being  ended,  however,  she  could  not  find  the  ball,  and 
wondered  much,  all  the  more  that  soon  after  this  she 
found  herself  pregnant.  She  had  already  many  chil- 
dren, who  now,  to  avert  this  dishonor  of  their  house, 
conspired  to  kill  her;  at  which  she  was  sorely  troubled. 
But  from  the  midst  of  her  womb  the  god  spoke :  Fear 
not,  0  my  mother,  for  this  danger  will  I  turn  to  our 
great  honor  and  glory.  And  lo,  Huitzilopochtli,  per- 
fect as  Pallas  Athena,  was  instantly  born,  springing 
up  with  a  mighty  war-shout,  grasping  the  shield  and 
the  glittering  spear.  His  left  leg  and  his  head  were 
adorned  with  plumes  of  green;  his  face,  arms,  and 
thighs  barred  terribly  with  lines  of  blue.  He  fell 
upon  the  unnatural  children,  slew  them  all,  and  en- 
dowed his  mother  with  their  spoils.  And  from  that 
day  forth  his  names  were  Tezahuitl,  Terror,  and  Tet- 
zauhteotl,  Terrible  God. 

This  was  the  god  who  became  protector  of  the 
Mexicans,  who  conducted  them  so  many  years  in  their 
pilgrimage,  and  settled  them  at  last  on  the  site  of 
Mexico.  And  in  this  city  they  raised  him  that  proud 
temple  so  much  celebrated  even  by  the  Spaniards,  in 
which  were  annually  held  their  solemn  festivals,  in 
the  fifth,  ninth,  and  fifteen  months;  besides  those 
kept  every  four  years,  every  thirteen  years,  and  at 
the  beginning  of  every  century.  His  statue  was  of 
gigantic  size,  in  the  posture  of  a  man  seated  on  a  blue- 
colored  bench,  from  the  four  corners  of  which  issued 
four  huge  snakes.  His  forehead  was  blue,  but  his 
face  was  covered  with  a  golden  mask,  while  another 
of  the  same  kind  covered  the  back  of  his  head. 
Upon  his  head  he  carried  a  beautiful  crest,  shaped 
like  the  beak  of  a  bird;  upon  his  neck,  a  collar  consist- , 
ing  of  ten  figures  of  the  human  heart;  in  his  right 
hand,  a  large,  blue,  twisted  club ;  in  his  left,  a  shield, 
on  which  appeared  five  balls  of  feathers  disposed  in 
the  form  of  a  cross,  and  from  the  upper  part  of  the 
shield  rose  a  golden  flag  with  four  arrows,  which  the 

VOL  III.    19 


290          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP 

Mexicans  pretended  to  have,  been  sent  to  them  from 
heaven  to  perform  those  glorious  actions  which  we 
have  seen  in  their  history.  His  body  was  girt  with  a 
large  golden  snake,  and  adorned  with  various  lesser 
figures  of  animals  made  of  gold  and  precious  stones, 
which  ornaments  and  insignia  had  each  their  peculiar 
meaning.  They  never  deliberated  upon  making  war 
without  imploring  the  protection  of  this  god,  with 
prayers  and  sacrifices;  and  offered  up  a  greater  num- 
ber of  human  sacrifices  to  him  than  to  any  other  of 
the  gods.1 

A  different  account  of  the  origin  of  this  deity  is 
given  by  Boturini,  showing  the  god  to  have  been  a 
brave  Mexican  chief,  who  was  afterward  apotheosized. 

While  the  Mexicans  were  pushing  their  conquests 
and  their  advance  toward  the  country  now  occupied 
by  them,  they  had  a  very  renowned  captain,  or  leader, 
called  Ttuitziton.  He  it  was  that  in  these  long  and 
perilous  journeys  through  unknown  lands,  sparing 
himself  no  fatigue,  took  care  of  the  Mexicans.  The 
fable  says  of  him  that,  being  full  of  years  and  wisdom, 
he  was  one  night  caught  up  in  sight  of  his  army,  and 
of  all  his  people,  and  presented  to  the  god  Tezauhteotl, 
that  is  to  say,  the  Frightful  God,  who,  being  in  the 
shape  of  a  horrible  dragon,  commanded  him  to  be 
seated  at  his  right  hand,  saying:  Welcome,  0  valiant 
captain ;  very  grateful  am  I  for  thy  fidelity  in  my  ser- 
vice and  in  governing  my  people.  It  is  time  that 
thou  shouldst  rest,  since  thou  art  already  old,  and 
since  thy  great  deeds  raise  thee  up  to  the  fellowship 
of  the  immortal  gods.  Return,  then,  to  thy  sons  and 
tell  them  not  to  be  afflicted  if  in  future  they  cannot  see 
thee  as  a  mortal  man ;  for  from  the  nine  heavens  thou 
shalt  look  down  propitious  upon  them.  And  not  only 
that,  but  also,  when  I  strip  the  vestments  of  humanity 
from  thee,  I  will  leave  to  thine  afflicted  and  orphan 
people  thy  bones  and  thy  skull,  so  that  they  may  be 

1  Huitzilopochtli  is  derived  from  two  words:  Jmitzilin,  the  humming-bird, 
und  opochtli,  left — so  called  from  the  left  foot  of  his  image  being  decorated 
with  humming-bird  feathers.  Claviyero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messko,  torn,  ii.,  pp. 
17-19. 


IMAGE   OF  HUITZILOPOCHTLI.  291 

comforted  in  their  sorrow,  and  may  consult  thy  relics 
as  to  the  road  they  have  to  follow :  and  in  due  time 
the  land  shall  be  shown  them  that  I  have  destined  for 
them,  a  land  in  which  they  shall  hold  wide  empire, 
being  respected  of  the  other  nations. 

Huitziton  did  according  to  these  instructions,  and 
after  a  sorrowful  interview  with  his  people,  disappeared, 
carried  away  by  the  gods.  The  weeping  Mexicans  re- 
mained with  the  skull  and  bones  of  their  beloved  cap- 
tain, which  they  carried  with  them  till  they  arrived 
in  New  Spain,  and  at  the  place  where  they  built  the 
great  city  of  Tenochtitlan,  or  Mexico.  All  this  time 
the  devil  spoke  to  them  through  this  skull  of  Huitzi- 
ton, often  asking  for  the  immolation  of  men  and  women, 
from  which  thing  originated  those  bloody  sacrifices 
practised  afterwards  by  this  nation  with  so  much 
cruelty  on  prisoners  of  war.  This  deity  was  called, 
in  early  as  well  as  in  later  times,  Huitzilopochtli — for 
the  principal  men  believed  that  he  was  seated  at  the 
left  hand  of  Tezcatlipoca — a  name  derived  from  the 
original  name  Huitziton,  and  from  the  word  mapoche, 
' left  hand.'2 

Acosta  gives  a  minute  description  of  the  image  and 
temple  of  this  god. 

"The  chiefest  idoll  of  Mexico  was,  as  I  have  sayde, 
Vitziliputzli.  It  was  an  image  of  wood  like  to  a  man, 
set  vpon  a  stoole  of  the  colour  of  azure,  in  a  brankard 
or  litter,  at  every  corner  was  a  piece  of  wood  in  forme 
of  a  serpent's  head.  The  stoole  signified  that  he  was 
set  in  heaven:  this  idoll  hadde  all  the  forehead  azure, 
and  had  a  band  of  azure  vnder  the  nose  from  one  eare 
to  another:  vpon  his  head  he  had  a  rich  plume  of 
feathers,  like  to  the  beake  of  a  small  bird,  the  which 
was  covered  on  the  toppe  with  golde  burnished  very 
browne :  hee  had  in  his  left  hand  a  white  target,  with 
the  figures  of  five  pine  apples,  made  of  white  feath- 
ers, set  in  a  crosse :  and  from  above  issued  forth  a  crest 
of  gold,  and  at  his  sides  hee  hadde  foure  dartes,  which 
(the  Mexicaines  say)  had  beene  sent  from  heaven  to 

2  Boturini,  Idea  de  una  Hist.,  pp.  60-1. 


292  GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

do  those  actes  and  prowesses  which  shall  be  spoken  of: 
in  his  right  hand  he  had  an  azured  staffe,  cutte  in 
fashion  of  a  waving  snake.  All  those  ornaments  with 
the  rest  hee  had,  carried  his  sence  as  the  Mexicaines 
doe  shew;  the  name  of  Vitziliputzli  signifies  the  left 
hand  of  a  shining  feather.  I  will  speak  heereafter  of 
the  prowde  Temple,  the  sacrifices,  feasts,  and  ceremo- 
nies of  this  great  idoll,  being  very  notable  things. 
But  at  this  present  we  will  only  shew  that  this  idoll 
thus  richly  apparelled  and  deckt,  was  set  vpon  an  high 
Altare,  in  a  small  peece  or  boxe,  well  covered  with 
linnen  clothes,  Jewells,  feathers,  and  ornaments  of 
golde,  with  many  rundles  of  feathers,  the  fairest  and 
most  exquisite  that  could  be  found:  hee  had  alwaiesa 
curtine  before  him  for  the  greater  veneration.  loyning 
to  the  chamber  or  chappell  of  this  idoll,  there  was  a 
peece  of  lesse  worke,  and  not  so  well  beautified,  where 
there  was  another  idoll  they  called  Tlaloc.  These  two 
idolls  were  alwayes  together,  for  that  they  held  them 
as  companions,  and  of  equal  power. 

"There  was  in  Mexico,  this  Cu,  the  famous  Temple 
of  Vitziliputzli,  it  had  a  very  great  circuite,  and  within 
a  faire  Court.  It  was  built  of  great  stones,  in  fashion 
of  snakes  tied  one  to  another,  and  the  circuite  was 
called  Coatepantli,  which  is,  a  circuite  of  snakes: 
vppon  the  toppe  of  every  chamber  and  oratorie 
where  the  Idolls  were,  was  a  small  piller.  wrought 
with  small  stones,  blacke  as  ieate,  set  in  goodly  order, 
the  ground  raised  vp  with  white  and  red,  which  below 
gave  a  great  light.  Vpon  the  top  of  the  pillar  were 
battlements  very  artificially  made,  wrought  like  snailes 
[caracoles],  supported  by  two  Indians  of  stone,  sitting, 
holding  candle  sticks  in  their  hands,  the  which  were 
like  Croisants  garnished  and  enriched  at  the  ends, 
with  yellow  and  greene  feathers  and  long  fringes  of 
the  same.  Within  the  circuite  of  this  court,  there 
were  many  chambers  of  religious  men,  and  others 
that  were  appointed  for  the  service  of  the  Priests  and 
Popes,  for  so  they  call  the  soveraigne  Priests  which 
serve  the  Idoll. 


TEMPLE  OF   HUITZILOPOCHTLI.  293 

"There  were  foure  gates  or  entries,  at  the  east,  west, 
north,  and  south ;  at  every  one  of  these  gates  beganne 
a  faire  cawsey  of  two  or  three  leagues  long.  There 
was  in  the  midst  of  the  lake  where  the  cittie  of  Mex- 
ico is  built,  foure  large  cawseies  in  crosse,  which  did 
much  beautify  it ;  vpon  every  portall  or  entry  was  a 
God  or  Idoll,  having  the  visage  turned  to  the  causey, 
right  against  the  Temple  gate  of  Vitziliputzli.  There 
were  thirtie  steppes  of  thirtie  fadome  long,  and  they 
divided  from  the  circuit  of  the  court  by  a  streete  that 
went  betwixt  them;  vpon  the  toppe  of  these  steppes 
there  was  a  walke  thirtie  foote  broad,  all  plaistered 
with  chalke,  in  the  midst  of  which  walke  was  a  Pal- 
lisado  artificially  made  of  very  high  trees,  planted  in 
order  a  fadome  one  from  another.  ,  These  trees  were 
very  bigge,  and  all  pierced  with  small  holes  from  the 
foote  to  the  top,  and  there  were  roddes  did  runne  from 
one  tree  to  another,  to  the  which  were  chained  or  tied 
many  dead  mens  heades.  Vpon  every  rod  were  twentie 
sculles,  and  these  ranckes  of  sculles  continue  from  the 
foote  to  the  toppe  of  the  tree.  This  Pallissado  was 
full  of  dead  mens  sculls  from  one  end  to  the  other,  the 
which  was  a  wonderfull  mournefull  sight  and  full  of 

O 

horror.  These  were  the  heads  of  such  as  had  beene 
sacrificed;  for  after  they  were  dead,  and  had  eaten  the 
flesh,  the  head  was  delivered  to  the  Ministers  of  the 
Temple,  which  tied  them  in  this  sort  vntil  they  fell 
oiT  by  morcells;  and  then  had  they  a  care  to  set 
others  in  their  places.  Vpon  the  toppe  of  the  temple 
were  two  stones  or '  chappells,  and  in  them  were  the 
two  Id  oils  which  I  have  spoken  of,  Vitziliputzli,  and 
his  companion  Tlaloc.  These  Chappells  were  carved 
and  graven  very  artificially,  and  so  high,  that  to  as- 
cend vp  to  it,  there  was  a  staire  of  stone  of  sixscore 
steppes.  Before  these  Chambers  or  Chappells,  there 
was  a  Court  of  fortie  foote  square,  in  the  midst  there- 
of was  a  high  stone  of  five  hand  breadth,  poynted  in 
fashion  of  a  Pyramide,  it  was  placed  there  for  the 
sacrificing  of  men ;  for  being  laid  on  their  backes,  it 


294          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP 

made  their  bodies  to  bend,  and  so  they  did  open  them 
and  pull  out  their  hearts,  as  I  shall  shew  heereafter." 3 

Solis  describes  his  temple  also. 

The  top  of  the  truncated  pyramid  on  which  the  idols 
of  Huitzilopochtli  and  Tlaloc  were  placed  was  forty 
feet  square,  and  reached  by  a  stair  of  a  hundred  and 
twenty  steps.  On  this  platform,  on  either  hand,  at 
the  head  of  the  stairs,  stood  two  sentinel-statues  sup- 
porting great  candlesticks  of  an  extraordinary  fashion. 
And  first,  from  the  jasper  flags,  rose  a  hump-backed 
altar  of  green  stone.  Opposite  and  beyond  was  the 
chapel  wherein  behind  curtains  sat  Huitzilopochtli, 
on  a  throne  supported  by  a  blue  globe.  From  this, 
supposed  to  represent  the  heavens,  projected  four 
staves  with  serpents'  heads,  by  which  the  priests  car- 
ried the  god  when  he  was  brought  before  the' public. 
The  image  bore  on  its  head  a  bird  of  wrought  plumes, 
whose  beak  and  crest  were  of  burnished  gold.  The 
feathers  expressed  horrid  cruelty,  and  were  made  still 
more  ghastly  by  two  stripes  of  blue,  one  on  the  brow 
and  the  other  on  the  nose.  Its  right  hand  leaned  as 
on  a  staff  upon  a  crooked  serpent.  Upon  the  left  arm 
was  a  buckler  bearing  five  white  plumes,  arranged  in 
form  of  a  cross;  and  the  hand  grasped  four  arrows 
venerated  as  heaven-descended.  To  the  left  of  this 
was  another  chapel,  that  of  Tlaloc.  Now,  these  two 
chapels  and  idols  were  the  same  in  every  particular. 
These  gods  were  esteemed  brothers — their  attributes, 
qualities,  powers,  inclinations,  service,  prayers,  and  so 
on,  were  identical  or  interchangeable.4 

sAcosta,  Hist.  Nat.  Tnd.,  pp.  352-3,  361-3.  Acosta  gives  a  description  of 
the  wanderings  of  the  Mexicans,  and  how  their  god  Vitziliputzli  directed  and 
guided  them  therein,  much  as  the  god  of  Israel  directed  his  people  across 
the  wilderness  to  the  Promised  Land.  Tradition  also  tells  how  he  him- 
self revealed  that  manner  of  sacrifice  most  acceptable  to  his  will:  some  of 
the  priests  having  over  night  offended  him,  lo,  in  the  morning,  they  were  all 
dead  men;  their  stomachs  being  cut  open,  and  their  hearts  pulled  out;  which 
rites  in  sacrifice  were  thereupon  adopted  for  the  service  of  that  deity,  and 
retained  until  their  rooting  out  by  the  stern  Spanish  husbandry,  so  well 
adapted  to  such  foul  and  bloody  tares.  Purchas  his  Pilynmes,  vol.  iv.,  pp. 
1002-3. 

4  Solis,  Hist.  Conq.  Mex.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  396-8.  This  writer  says:  ' The  Span- 
ish soldiers  called  this  idol  Huchilobos,  by  a  corrupt  pronunciation;  so,  too, 
Bernal  Diaz  del  Castillo  writes  it.  Authors  differ  much  in  describing  this 
magnificent  building.  Antonio  de  Herrera  follows  Francisco  Lopez  de  Gdmara 


HUITZILOPOCHTLI  AND  CAMAXTLI.  295 

Sahagun  says  of  Huitzilopoclitli,  that,  being  origi- 
nally a  man,  he  was  a  sort  of  Hercules,  of  great  strength 
and  warlike,  a  great  destroyer  of  towns  and  slayer  of 
men.  In  war  he  had  been  a  living  fire,  very  terrible 
to  his  adversaries;  and  the  device  he  bore  was  a  drag- 
on's head,  frightful  in  the  extreme,  and  casting  fire 
out  of  its  mouth.  A  great  wizard  he  had  been,  and 
sorcerer,  transforming  himself  into  the  shape  of  divers 
birds  and  beasts.  While  he  lived,  the  Mexicans  es- 
teemed this  man  very  highly  for  his  strength  and  dex- 
terity in  war,  and  when  he  died  they  honored  him  as 
a  god,  offering  slaves,  and  sacrificing  them  in  his  pres- 
ence. And  they  looked  to  it  that  those  slaves  were 
well  fed  and  well  decorated  with  such  ornaments  as 
were  in  use,  with  ear-rings  and  visors ;  all  for  the 
greater  honor  of  the  god.  In  Tlaxcala  also  they  had 
a  deity  called  Camaxtli,  who  was  similar  to  this 
Huitzilopoclitli.5 

Gage,  in  a  pretty  fair  translation  of  Herrera,  de- 
scribes this  god  with  Tezcatlipoca.  He  says: 

"The  gods  of  Mexico  (as  the  Indians  reported  to 
the  first  Spaniards)  were  two  thousand  in  number; 
the  chiefest  were  Vitzilopuchtli  and  Tezcatlipoca, 
whose  images  stood  highest  in  the  temple  upon  the 
altars.  They  were  made  of  stone  in  full  proportion,  as 
big  as  a  giant.  They  were  covered  with  a  lawn  called 
Nacar;  they  were  beset  with  pearls,  precious  stones, 
and  pieces  of  gold,  wrought  like  birds,  beasts,  fishes, 
and  flowers,  adorned  with  emeralds,  turquies,  chalce- 
dons,  and  other  little  fine  stones,  so  that  when 
the  lawn  was  taken  away,  the  images  seemed  very 
beautiful  and  glorious  to  behold.  These  two  Indian 
idols  had  for  a  girdle  great  snakes  of  gold,  and  for  col- 
lars or  chains  about  their  necks  ten  hearts  of  men 
made  of  gold;  and  each  of  them  had  a  counterfeit 
visor  with  eyes  of  glass,  and  in  their  necks  Death 
painted.  These  two  gods  were  brethren,  for  Tezcatli- 

too  closely.     We  shall  follow  Father  Josef  de  Acosta  and  the  better  informed 
authors.    Id.,  p.  395. 

*  Sahagun,  Hist  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  p.  i. 


296          'GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  V^ORSHIP. 

poca  was  the  god  of  providence,  and  Vitzilopuchtli 
god  of  the  wars,  who  was  worshipped  and  feared  more 
than  all  the  rest."6 

Torquemada  goes  to  some  length  into  the  legend 
and  description  of  this  god  of  war,  Huitzilopochtli,  or 
Mexitl.7 

Huitzilopochtli,  the  ancient  god  and  guide  of  the 
Mexicans,  is  a  name  variously  derived.  Some  say  it 
is  composed  of  two  words:  huitffttwi,  'a,  humming- 
bird/ and  tlahuipuchtli,  'a  sorcerer  that  spits  fire/ 
Others  say  that  the  second  part  of  the  name  conies, 
not  from  tlahuipuchtli,  but  from  opuchtli,  that  is,  'the 
left  hand;'  so  that  the  whole  name,  Huitzilopochtli, 
would  mean,  '  the  shining  feathered  left  hand/  For 
this  idol  was  decorated  with  rich  and  resplendent 
feathers  on  the  left  arm.  And  this  god  it  was  that 
led  out  the  Mexicans  from  their  own  land  and  brought 
them  into  Andhuac. 

Some  held  him  to  be  a  purely  spiritual  being,  others 
affirmed  that  he  had  been  born  of  a  woman,  and  re- 
lated his  history  after  the  following  fashion :  Near  the 
city  of  Tulla  there  is  a  mountain  called  Coatepec,  that 
is  to  say,  the  Mountain  of  the  Snake,  where  a  woman 
lived,  named  Coatlicue,  or  snake-petticoat.  She  was 
the  mother  of  many  sons  called  Centzunhuitznahua, 
and  of  a  daughter  whose  name  was  Coyolxauhqui. 
Coatlicue  was  very  devout  and  careful  in  the  service 
of  the  gods,  and  she  occupied  herself  ordinarily  in 
sweeping  and  cleaning  the  sacred  places  of  that  moun- 
tain. It  happened  that  one  day,  occupied  wTith  these 
duties,  she  saw  a  .little  ball  of  feathers  floating  down 
to  her  through  the  air,  which  she  taking,  as  we  have 
already  related,  found  herself  in  a  short  time  pregnant.8 

6  Gage's  New  Survey,  pp.  116-17;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  dec.  ii.,  lib. 
vii.,  cap.  xvii. 

1 '  Pero  loa  mismos  Naturales  afirman,  que  este  Nombre  tomaron  de  el 
Dies  Principal,  que  ellos  traxeron,  el  qual  tenia  dos  Nombres,  el  uno  Huit- 
zilopuchtli,  y  el  otro  Mexitly,  y  este  segundo,  quiere  decir  Ombligo  de 
Maguey.'  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn  i.,  p  293. 

8 '  Acont3ci6,  pues,  vn  dia,  que  estando  barriendo,  come  acostumbraba, 
vio  bajar  por  el  Aire,  una  pelota  pequena,  hecha  de  plumas,  k  rnanera  de 
ovillo,  hecho  de  hilado,  que  se  le  vino  a.  los  manos,  la  qual  tom6,  y  metio 
entre  los  Nahuas,  6  Faldellin,  y  la  carne,  debajo  de  la  faja  que  le  cefiia  el 


DOUGH  STATUE  OF   HUITZILOPOCHTLI.  297 

Upon  this  all  her  children  conspired  against  her  to 
slay  her,  and  came  armed  against  her,  the  daughter 
Coyolxauhqui  being  the  ringleader  and  most  violent 
of  all.  Then  immediately  Huitzilopochtli  was  born, 
fully  armed,  having  a  shield  called  teuehueli  in  his  left 
hand,  in  his  right  a  dart,  or  long  blue  pole,  and  all  his 
face  barred  over  with  lines  of  the  same  color.  His 
forehead  was  decorated  with  a  great  tuft  of  green 
feathers,  his  left  leg  was  lean  and  feathered,  and  both 
thighs  and  the  arms  barred  with  blue.  He  then 
caused  to  appear  a  serpent  made  of  torches,  teas,  called 
xiuhcoatl;  and  he  ordered  a  soldier  named  Tochau- 
calqui  to  light  this  serpent,  and  taking  it  with  him,  to 
embrace  Coyolxauhqui.  From  this  embrace  the  matri- 
cidal  daughter  died,  and  Huitzilopochtli  himself  slew 
all  her  brethren  and  took  their  spoil,  enriching  his 
mother  therewith.  After  this  he  was  surnamed 
Tetzahuitl,  that  is  to  say,  Fright,  or  Amazement,  and 
held  as  a  god,  born  of  a  mother,  without  a  father — as 
the  great  god  of  battles,  for  in  these  his  worshippers 
found  him  very  favorable  to  them.  Besides  the  ordi- 
nary image  of  this  god,  permanently  set  up  in  the  great 
temple  of  Mexico,  there  was  another,  renewed  every 
year,  made  of  grains  and  seeds  of  various  kinds.  In 
one  of  the  halls  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  temple  the 
priests  collected  and  ground  up  with  great  devotion  a 
mass  of  seeds,  of  the  amaranth  and  other  plants,  mois- 
tening the  same  with  the  blood  of  children,  and  mak- 
ing a  dough  thereof,  which  they  shaped  into  a  statue 
of  the  form  and  stature  of  a  man.  The  priests  carried 
this  image  to  the  temple  and  the  altar,  previously 
arranged  for  its  reception,  playing  trumpets  and  other 
instruments,  and  making  much  noise  and  ado  with 
dancing  and  singing  at  the  head  of  the  procession. 
All  this  during  the  night;  in  the  morning  the  high- 
priest  and  the  other  priests  blessed  and  consecrated 

cuerpo  (porque  siempre  traen  fajado  este  genero  de  vestido)  no  imaginando 
ningun  misterio,  ni  fin  de  aquel  caso.  Acabo  de  barrer,  y  bused  la  pelota 
de  pluma,  para  ver  de  qu<b  podria  aprovecharla  en  servicio  de  sus  Dioses,  y 
no  la  halld.  Quedo  de  esto  admirada,  y  mucho  mas  de  conocer  en  si,  qua 
desde  aquel  punto  se  avia  hecho  preuada. '  Torqriemada,  Uonarq.  Ind.t  toin. 
ii.,  pp.  41-2. 


298          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

the  image,  with  such,  blessing  and  consecration  as 
were  in  use  among  them.  This  done  and  the  people 
assembled,  every  person  that  could  come  at  the  image 
touched  it  wherever  he  could,  as  Christians  touch  a 
relic,  and  made  offerings  thereto,  of  jewels  of  gold  and 
precious  stones,  each  according  to  his  means  and  de- 
votion, sticking  the  said  offerings  into  the  soft  fresh 
dough  of  which  the  idol  was  confected.  After  this 
ceremony  no  one  was  allowed  to  touch  the  image  any 
more,  nor  to  enter  the  place  where  it  was,  save  only 
the  high-priest.  After  that  they  brought  out  the 
image  of  the  god  Paynalton9 — who  is  also  a  war-god, 
being  vicar  or  sub-captain  of  the  said  Huitzilopochtli, 
— an  image  made  of  wood.  It  was  carried  in  the 
arms  of  a  priest  who  represented  the  god  Quetzal- 
coatl,  and  who  was  decorated  with  ornaments  rich 
and  curious.  Before  this  priest  there  marched  an- 
other carrying  (the  image  of)  a  great  snake,  large 
and  thick,  twisted  and  of  many  coils.  The  procession 
filed  along  at  great  length,  and  here  and  there  at  vari- 
ous temples  and  altars  the  priests  offered  up  sacri- 
fices, immolating  human  captives  and  quails.  The 
first  station,  or  stopping-place,  was  at  the  ward  of 
Teotlachco.  Thence  the  cortege  passed  to  Tlatelulco 
(where  I,  Torquemada,  am  now  writing  this  history); 
then  to  Popotlan;  then  to  Chapultepec — nearly  a 
league  from  the  city  of  Mexico;  then  to  Tepetoca; 
then  to  Acachinanco ;  then  back  again  to  the  temple 

9  This  Paynalton,  or  Paynal,  was  a  kind  of  deputy  god,  or  substitute  for 
Huitzilopochtli;  used  in  cases  of  urgent  haste  and  immediate  emergency, 
where  perhaps  it  might  be  thought  there  was  not  time  for  the  lengthened 
ceremonies  necessary  to  the  invocation  of  the  greater  war  diety.  Sahagun's 
account  of  Paynal  is  concise,  and  will  throw  light  on  the  remarks  of 
Torquemada,  as  given  above  in  the  text.  Sahagun  says,  in  effect:  This  god 
Paynal  was  a  kind  of  sub-captain  to  Huitzilopochtli.  The  latter,  as  chief- 
captain,  dictated  the  deliberate  undertaking  of  war  against  any  province;  the 
former,  as  vicar  to  the  other,  served  when  it  became  unexpectedly  necessary 
to  take  up  arms  and  make,  front  hurriedly  against  an  enemy.  Then  it  was 
that  Paynal— whose  name  means  '  swift,  or  hurried ' — when  living  on  earth 
sat  out  in  person  to  stir  up  the  people  to  repulse  the  enemy.  Upon  his  death 
he  was  deified  and  a  festival  appointed  in  his  honor.  In  this  festival,  his 
image,  richly  decorated,  was  carried  in  a  long  procession,  every  one,  bearer 
of  the  idol  or  not,  running  as  fast  as  he  could;  all  of  which  represented  the 
promptness  that  is  many  times  necessary  to  resist  the  assault  of  a  foe  attack- 
ing by  surprise  or  ambuscade.  Sakayun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  p.  2. 


SYMBOLIC  DEATH   OF   HUITZILOPOCHTLL  299 

whence  it  had  set  out;  and  then  the  image  of  Paynal- 
ton  was  put  on  the  altar  where  stood  that  of  Huit- 
zilopochtli,  being  left  there  with  the  banner,  called 
ezpaniztli,  that  had  been  carried  before  it  during  the 
march:  only  the  great  snake,  mentioned  above,  was 
carried  away  and  put  in  another  place,  to  which  it 
belonged.  And  at  all  these  places  where  the  proces- 
sion appeared,  it  was  received  with  incensings,  sacri- 
fices, and  other  ceremonies. 

This  procession  finished,  it  having  occupied  the 
greater  part  of  the  day,  all  was  prepared  for  a  sac- 
rifice. The  king  himself  acted  the  part  of  priest; 
taking  a  censer,  he  put  incense  therein,  with  certain 
ceremonies,  and"  incensed  the  image  of  the  god.  This 
done,  they  took  down  again  the  idol,  Paynalton,  and 
set  out  in  march,  those  going  in  front  that  had  to  be 
sacrificed,  together  with  all  things  pertaining  to  the 
fatal  rite.  Two  or  three  times  they  made  the  circle 
of  the  temple,  moving  in  horrid  cortege,  and  then  as- 
cended to  the  top,  where  they  slew  the  victims,  be- 
ginning with  the  prisoners,  and  finishing  with  the  fat- 
tened slaves,  purchased  for  the  occasion,  rending  out 
their  hearts  and  casting  the  same  at  the  feet  of  the  idol. 

All  through  this  day  the  festivities  and  the  re- 
joicings continued,  and  all  the  day  and  night  the 
priests  watched  vigilantly  the  dough  statue  of  Huit- 
zilopochtli,  so  that  no  oversight  or  carelessness  should 
interfere  with  the  veneration  and  service  due  thereto. 
Early  next  week  they  took  down  said  statue  and  set 
it  on  its  feet  in  a  hall.  Into  this  hall  there  entered 
the  priest,  called  after  Quetzalcoatl,  who  had  carried 
the  image  of  Paynalton  in  his  arms  in  the  procession, 
as  before  related;  there  entered  also  the  king,  with 
one  of  the  most  intimate  servants,  called  Tehua,  of 
the  god  Huitzilopochtli,  four  other  great  priests,  and 
four  of  the  principal  youths,  called  Telpochtlatoque, 
out  of  the  number  of  those  that  had  charge  of  the 
other  youths  of  the  temple.  These  mentioned,  and 
these  alone,  being  assembled,  the  priest  named  after 
Quetzalcoatl  took  a  dart  tipped  with  flint  and  hurled 


300          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

it  into  the  breast  of  the  statue  of  dough,  which  fell  on 
receiving  the  stroke.  This  ceremony  was  styled  '  kill- 
ing the  god  Huitzilopochtli,  so  that  his  body  might  be 
eaten.'  Upon  this,  the  priests  advanced  to  the  fallen 
image,  and  one  of  them  pulled  the  heart  out  of  it  and 
gave  the  same  to  the  king.  The  other  priests  cut  the 
pasty  body  into  two  halves.  One  half  was  given  -to 
the  people  of  Tlatelulco,  who  parted  it  out  in  crumbs 
among  all  their  wards,  and  specially  to  the  young  sol- 
diers— no  woman  being  allowed  to  taste  a  morsel.  The 
other  half  was  allotted  to  the  people  of  that  part  of 
Mexico  called  Tenochtlitlan ;  it  was  divided  among 
the  four  wards,  Teopan,  Atzaqualco,  Quepopan,  and 
Moyotlan;  and  given  to  the  men,  to"  both  small  and 
great,  even  to  the  men-children  in  the  cradle.  All 
this  ceremony  was  called  teoqualo,  that  is  to  say,  'god 
is  eaten/  and  this  making  of  the  dough  statue  and  eat- 
ing of  it  was  renewed  once  every  year.10 

Closely  as  J.  G.  Miiller  studied  the  character  of 
Quetzal coatl,  his  examination  of  that  of  Huitzilopochtli 
has  been  still  more  minute,  and  was,  indeed,  the  sub- 
ject of  a  monograph  published  by  him  in  1847.  A 
student  of  the  subject  cannot  afford  to  overlook  this 
study,  and  I  translate  the  more  important  parts  of  it 
in  the  paragraphs  which  follow;  not,  indeed,  either 
for  or  against  the  interests  of  the  theory  it  supports, 
but  for  the  sake  of  the  accurate  and  detailed  handling, 
rehandling,  and  grouping  there,  by  a  master  in  this 
department  of  mythological  learning,  of  almost  all  the 
data  relating  to  the  matter  in  hand. 

Huitzilopochtli  has  been  already  referred  to  as  an 
original  god  of  the  air  and  of  heaven.  He  agrees  also 
with  Quetzalcoatl  in  a  second  capital  point,  in  having 
become  the  anthropomorphic  national  god  of  the  Az- 
tecs, as  Quetzalcoatl  of  the  Toltecs.  On  their  marches 
and  in  their  wars,  in  the  establishment  of  codes  and 
towns,  in  happiness  as  well  as  in  misfortune,  the  Az- 
tecs were  guided  by  his  oracle,  by  the  spirit  of  his 
being.  As  the  Toltecs,  especially  in  their  later 

10  Torqaemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  p.  293,  torn.  iL,  pp.  41-3,  71-3. 


THE  NAME  HUITZILOPOCHTLI.  301 

national  character,  differ  from  the  Aztecs,  so  differ 
their  two  chief  national  gods.  If  the  capital  of  the 
Toltecs,  Cholula,  resembled  modern  Rome  in  its  reli- 
gious efforts,  so  the  god  enthroned  there  was  trans- 
formed into  the  human  form  of  a  high-priest,  in  whom 
this  people  saw  his  human  ideal.  In  the  same  man- 
ner one  might  be  led  to  compare  the  capita]  of  the, 
Aztecs  with  ancient  Rome,  on  account  of  its  warlike 
spirit,  and  therefore  it  was  right  to  make  the  national 
god  of  the  Aztecs  a  war-god,  like  the  Roman  Mars. 

We  will  commence  with  the  name  of  the  god  which, 
according  to  Sahagun,  Acosta,  Torquemada,  and  most 
of  the  writers,  signifies  '  on  the  left  side  a  humming- 
bird;' from  huitzilin,  'a  humming-bird/ and  opochtli, 
'left.'  In  connecting  the  Aztec  words,  the  ending  is 
cut  off.  The  image  of  the  god  had  in  reality,  fre- 
quently, the  feathers  of  the  humming-bird  on  the  left 
foot.  The  connection  of  this  bird  with  the  god  is  in 
many  ways  appropriate.  It  no  doubt  appeared  to 
them  as  the  most  beautiful  of  birds,  and  as  the  most 
worthy  representant  of  their  chief  deity.  Does  not 
its  crest  glitter  like  a  crown  set  with  rubies  and  all 
kinds  of  precious  stones?  The  Aztecs  have  accord- 
ingly, in  their  way,  called  the  humming-bird,  '  sun- 
beam,' or  ' sun-hair;'  as  its  alighting  upon  flowers  is 
like  that  of  a  sun-beam.  The  chief  god  of  the  Caribs, 
Juluca,  is  also  decorated  with  a  band  of  its  feathers 
round  the  forehead.  The  ancient  Mexicans  had,  as 
their  most  noble  adornment,  state-mantles  of  the  same 
feathers,  so  much  praised  by  Cortes;  and  even  at  the 
present  time  the  Aztec  women  adorn  their  ears  with 
these  plumes.  This  humming-bird  decoration  on  the 
left,  foot  of  the  god  was  not  the  only  one ;  he  had  also 
a  green  bunch  of  plumage  upon  his  head,  shaped  like 
the  bill  of  a  small  bird.  The  shield  in  his  left  hand 
was  decorated  with  white  feathers,  and  the  whole 
image  was  at  times  covered  with  a  mantle  of  feathers. 
To  the  general  virtues  which  make  comprehensible 
the  humming-bird  attribute  as  a  divine  one  must  be 
added  the  special  virtue  of  bravery  peculiar  to  this 


302          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

bird,  which,  is  specially  suited  to  the  war-god.  The 
English  traveller  Bullock  tells  how  this  bird  distin- 
guishes itself  for  its  extraordinary  courage,  attacking 
others  ten  times  its  own  size,  flying  into  their  eyes, 
and  using  its  sharp  bill  as  a  most  dangerous  weapon. 
Nothing  more  daring  can  be  witnessed  than  its  attack 
upon  other  birds  of  its  own  species,  when  it  fears  dis- 
turbance during  the  breeding  season.  The  effects  of 

O  O 

jealousy  transform  these  birds  into  perfect  furies, 
the  throat  swells,  the  crest  on  their  head,  the  tail,  and 
the  wings  are  expanded;  they  fight  whistling  in  the 
air,  until  one  of  them  falls  exhausted  to  the  ground. 
That  such  a  martial  spirit  should  exist  in  so  small  a 
creature  shows  the  intensity  of  this  spirit;  and  the 
religious  feeling  is  the  sooner  aroused,  when  the  in- 
strument of  a  divine  power  appears  in  so  trifling  and 
weak  a  body.  The  small  but  brave  and  warlike  wood- 
pecker stood  in  a  similar  relation  to  Mars,  and  is  ac- 
cordingly termed  picus  martins. 

This,  the  most  common  explanation  of  the  name 
Huitzilopochtli,  as  'humming-bird,  left  side,'  is  not 
followed  by  Yeytia,  with  whom  Pritchard  agrees.  He 
declares  the  meaning  of  the  name  to  be  'left  hand,' 
from  huitzitoc,  'hand,'  because  Huitzilopochtli,  accord- 
ing to  the  fable,  after  his  death  sits  on  the  left  side 
of  the  god  Tezcatlipoca.  Now,  Huitzilopochtli  is  in 
another  place  considered  as  the  brother  of  this  god; 
he  also  stands  higher,  and  can  therefore  scarcely  have 
obtained  his  name  from  his  position  with  respect  to 
the  other  deity.  Besides,  hand  in  Aztec  is  properly 
translated  as  maitl,  or  toma. 

Over  and  above  this  attribute  which  gives  the  god 
his  name,  there  are  others  which  point  toward  the 
conception  of  a  war-god.  Huitzilopochtli  had,  like 
Mars  and  Odin,  the  spear,  or  a  bow,  in  his  right  hand, 
and  in  the  left,  sometimes  a  bundle  of  arrows,  some- 
times a  round  white  shield,  on  the  side  of  which  were 
the  four  arrows  sent  him  from  heaven  wherewith  to 
perform  the  heroic  deeds  of  his  people.  On  these 
weapons  depended  the  welfare  of  the  state,  just  as  on 


KINDRED   OF  HUITZILOPOCHTLI.  303 

the  ancile  of  the  Roman  Mars,  which  had  fallen  from 
the  sky,  or  on  the  palladium  of  Pallas  Athena. 

By-names  also  point  out  Huitzilopochtli  as  war-god ; 
for  he  is  called  the  terrible  god,  Tetzateotl,  or  the 
raging,  Tetzahuitl.  These  names  he  received  at  his 
birth,  when  he,  just  issued  from  his  mother's  womb, 
overthrew  his  adversaries. 

Not  less  do  his  connections  indicate  his  warlike 
nature.  His  youngest  brother,  Tlacahuepancuextot- 
zin,  was  also  a  war-god,  whose  statue  existed  in  Mex- 
ico, and  who  received  homage,  especially  in  Tezcuco. 
In  still  closer  relationship  to  him  stands  his  brother 
in  arms,  or,  as  Bernal  Diaz  calls  him,  his  page,  Pay- 
nalton,  that  is,  'the  fleet  one;'  he  was  the  god  of  the 
sudden  war  alarm,  tumultus,  or  general  levee  en  masse; 
his  call  obliged  all  capable  of  bearing  arms  to  rush  to 
the  defence.  He  is  otherwise  considered  as  the  rep- 
resentant  of  Huitzilopochtli  and  subordinate  to  him, 
for  he  was  only  a  small  image,  as  Diaz  says,  and  as 
the  ending  ton  denotes.  The  statue  of  this  little  war- 
crier  was  always  placed  upon  the  altar  of  Huitzilo- 
pochtli, and  sometimes  carried  round  at  his  feast. 

Other  symbolic  attributes  establish  Huitzilopochtli, 
as  the  general  national  god  of  this  warlike  people,  and 
symbolized  his  personal  presence.  On  the  march  from 
the  ancient  home,  the  priests  took  their  turn,  in  fours, 
to  carry  his  wooden  image,  with  the  little  flag  fallen 
from  heaven,  and  the  four  arrows.  The  litter  upon 
which  the  image  was  carried  was  called  the  'chair  of 
god,'  teoicpalli,  and  was  a  holy  box,  such  as  was  used 
among  the  Etruscans  and  Egyptians,  the  Greeks  and 
the  Romans,  in  Ilium,  among  the  Japanese,  among 
the  Mongols.  In  America,  the  Cherokees  are  also 
found  with  such  an  ark.  The  ark  of  the  covenant 
carried  by  the  Levites  through  the  desert  and  in  bat- 
tle was  of  a  similar  kind.  Wherever  the  Aztecs 
halted  for  some  time  during  their  wanderings,  they 
erected  an  altar  or  a  sacrifice  mound  to  their  god,  upon 
which  they  placed  this  god's-litter  with  the  image; 
which  ancient  observance  they  kept  up,  in  later  times, 


304          GOBS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

in  their  temples.  By  its  side  they  erected  a  movable 
tent,  tabernaculum  (Stiftshutte),  in  the  open  country, 
as  is  customary  among  nomadic  people,  such  as  the 
Mongols.  The  god,  however,  gave  them  the  codes 
and  usages  of  a  cultured  people,  and  received  offerings 
of  prisoners,  hawks,  and  quails. 

As  the  head  of  a  sparrow  on  a  human  body  points 
to  the  former  worship  of  Quetzalcoatl  under  the  form 
of  a  sparrow,  so  the  humming-bird  attribute,  on  the  im- 
age and  in  the  name  of  Huitzilopochtli,  points  him  out 
as  an  original  animal  god.  The  general  mythological 
rule,  that  such  animal  attributes  refer  to  an  ancient 
worship  of  the  god  in  question  under  the  form  of  an 
animal,  points  this  out  in  this  case,  and  the  special 
myth  of  Huitziton  assists  here  in  the  investigation  of 
the  foundation  of  this  original  nature. 

When  the  Aztecs  still  lived  in  Aztlan,  a  certain 
Huitziton  enjoyed  their  highest  esteem,  as  the  fable 
tells.  This  Huitziton  heard  the  voice  of  a  bird,  which 
cried  "tihui,"  that  is,  'let  us  go.'11  He  thereupon 
asked  the  people  to  leave  their  home,  which  they  ac- 
cordingly did.  When  we  consider  the  name  Huitzi- 
ton, the  nature  of  the  story,  and  the  mythical  time  to 
which  it  refers,  no  doubt  remains  as  to  who  this  Huit- 
ziton is  supposed  to  be.  It  is  evident  that  he  is  none 
other  than  the  little  bird  itself,  which,  in  our  later  form 
of  the  myth,  as  an  anthropomorphic  fable,  is  separated 
from  him;  separated  euhemeristically,  just  as  the 
Latin  Picus  was  separated  from  his  woodpecker.  This 
Picus,  whose  songs  and  flight  were  portentous,  was  rep- 
resented as  a  youth  with  a  woodpecker  on  his  head,  of 
which  he  made  use  for  his  seer  art;  but  was  originally, 
as  denoted  by  his  name,  nothing  else  than  a  wood- 
pecker, which  was  adored  on  the  wooden  pillar  from 
which  it  sent  its  sayings.  This  woodpecker  placed 
itself  upon  the  vexillum  of  the  Sabines,  and  guided 
them  to  the  region  which  has  been  named  Picenum 
after  it.  As  this  bird  guided  its  people  to  their  new 
abode,  like  Huitziton,  so  many  other  animal  gods  have 

11  See  this  vol.,  p.  60,  note. 


HUITZITON  AND  PAYNALTOK  305 

led  those  who,  in  ancient  times,  sought  new  homes. 
Thus  a  crow  conducted  Battus  to  Gyrene;  a  dove  led 
the  Chalcidians  to  Gyrene ;  Apollo,  in  the  form  of  a 
dolphin,  took  the  Cretans  to  Pytho;  Antinous  founded 
a  new  settlement,  to  which  a  snake  had  pointed  the 
way ;  a  bull  carried  Cadmus  to  Thebes ;  a  wolf  led  the 
Hirpinians.  The  original  stock  of  the  South  Ameri- 
can people,  the  Mbayas,  received  the  divine  order, 
through  the  bird  Caracara,  to  roam  as  enemies  in  the 
territories  of  other  people  instead  of  settling  down  in  a 
fixed  habitation — this  is  an  anti-culture  myth.  As 
the  founding  of  towns  favors  the  birth  of  myths  like 
the  preceding,  so  also  does  the  founding  of  convents, 
whose  sites,  according  to  the  numerous  fables  of  the 
Christian  mediaeval  age,  were  pointed  out  by  animals 
— one  of  the  remnants  of  old  heathenism  then  existing 
in  the  popular  fancy.  To  resume  the  subject,  Huitzi- 
ton  is,  therefore,  the  humming-bird  god,  who,  as  orac- 
ular god,  commanded  the  Aztecs  to  emigrate.  His 
name  signifies  nothing  else  than  '  small  humming-bird,' 
the  ending  ton  being  a  diminutive  syllable,  as  in  Pay- 
nalton.  Thus  the  humming-bird  was  the  bearer,  at 
the  time  of  the  great  flood,  of  the  divine  message  of 
joy  to  the  Tezpi  of  the  Michoacans,  a  people  related 
to  the  Aztecs.  It  had  been  let  loose  as  the  water 
receded,  and  soon  returned  with  a  small  twig  to  the 
ark.12  On  the  Catherine  Islands  (islands  of  Santa 
Catalina),13  in  California,  crows  were  adored  as  inter- 
preters of  the  divine  will.  From  the  above  it  is  also 
self-evident  that  Huitziton  and  Huitzilopochtli  were 
one,  which  is  the  conclusion  arrived  at  by  the  learned 
researcher  of  Mexican  languages  and  traditions,  the 
Italian  Boturini.  The  name,  myth,  and  attributes 
of  Huitzilopochtli  point  then  to  the  humming-bird. 
Previous  to  the  transformation  of  this  god,  by  anthro- 
pomorphism, he  was  merely  a  small  hurnming-bird, 
huitziton;  by  anthropomorphism,  the  bird  became,  how- 

12  See  this  vol.,  p.  67. 

13  See  this  vol.,  p.  134. 


VOL.  in.    20 


306          GOBS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

ever,  merely  the  attribute,  emblem  or  symbol,  and  name 
of  the  god — a  name  which  changed  with  his  form  into 
'humming-bird  on  the  left,'  or  Huitzilopochtli. 

The  identity  of  the  two,  in  spite  of  the  different 
explanations  of  the  name,  is  accepted  by  Veytia,  who 
gives  Huitzitoc  as  the  name  of  the  chief  who  led  the 
Aztec  armies  during  their  last  wanderings  from  Chi- 
comoztoc,  or  the  Seven  Caves,  into  Andliuac.  Under 
his  leadership,  the  Aztecs  were  everywhere  victorious, 
and  for  this  reason  he  was  placed,  after  his  death,  on 
the  left  side  of  the  god  Tezcatlipoca ;  since  which 
time  he  was  called  Huitzilopochtli. 

The  identity  of  Huitziton  and    Huitzilopochtli  is 
also  shown  by  other  facts  besides  the  name,  the  attri- 
bute, and  the  mythological  analogy;  the  same  impor- 
tant acts  are  ascribed  to  both.     We  have  seen  that 
Huitziton  commanded  the  Aztecs  to  leave  their  home ; 
according  to  another  account  of  Acosta,  this  was  done 
on  the  persuasion  of  Huitzilopochtli.     If  other  Span- 
ish authors  state  that  this  was  done  by  instigation  of 
the  devil,  they  mean  none  other  than  Huitzilopochtli, 
using  a  mode  of  speech  which  had  become  an  estab- 
lished one.     This  name  became  a  common  title  of  the 
devil,  in  Germany,  under  the  form  of  Vizliputzli,  soon 
after  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  old 
popular  drama  of  Faust.     The  fable  further  relates  of 
Huitziton  that  he  taught  the  Aztecs  to  produce  fire  by 
friction,  during  their  wanderings.     The  gift  of  fire  is 
usually  ascribed   to  a  culture-god.      Huitzilopochtli 
was  such  a  deity;  he  introduced  dress,  laws,  and  cere- 
monies among  his  people.     The  statement  that  Huit- 
ziton had,  at  some  time,  given  fire  to  the  people,  has 
no  historical  meaning;  there  is  no  people  without  fire, 
and  a  formerly  told  myth  mentions  that  man  made 
fire  even  before  the  existence  of  the  present  sun.     The 
signification  of  the  fable  is  a  religious  one,  in  which  the 
Aztecs  ascribe   the  origin  of  all   human   culture   to 
Huitziton,  their  culture-god,  afterward  Huitzilopochtli. 
This  god  wore  also  a  band  of  human  hearts  and 
faces  of  gold  and  silver;  while  various  bones  of  dead 


SACRIFICE  MYTHS  307 

men,  as  well  as  a  man  torn  in  pieces,  were  depicted  on 
his  dress.  These  attributes,  like  those  of  the  Indian 
Schiwa  and  Kali,  clearly  point  him  out  as  the  god  to 
whom  human  sacrifices  were  made.  It  was  extensively 
belisved  among  the  nations  composing  the  Mexican 
empire  that  human  sacrifices  had  been  introduced  by 
the  Aztecs  within  the  last  two  centuries.  Before 
that  time  'only  bloodless  offerings  had  been  made.  A 
myth  places  the  commencement  of  human  sacrifices  in 
the  fourteenth  century,  in  which  the  three  first  suc- 
cessive cases  thereof  are  said  to  have  occurred. 

The  Colhuas,  the  ruling  nation  at  that  time  in  the 
valley  of  Andliuac,  are  said  to  have  fought  a  battle 
with  their  enemies  of  Xochimilco,  which  was  decided 
in  favor  of  the  Colhuas,  owing  to  the  impetuous  attack 
made  by  the  tributary  Aztecs  in  their  aid.  While  the 
Colhuas  were  presenting  a  large  number  of  prisoners 
before  their  king,  the  Aztecs  had  only  secured  four, 
whom  they  kept  secreted,  but  exhibited,  in  token  of 
their  bravery,  a  number  of  ears  that  they  had  cut  from 
their  slain  enemies,  boasting  that  the  victory  would 
have  been  much  delayed  had  they  lost  time  in  making 
prisoners.  Proud  of  their  triumph,  they  erected  an 
altar  to  Huitzilopochtli,  in  Huitzilopochco,  and  made 
known  to  their  lord,  the  king  of  the  Colhuas,  that 
they  desired  to  offer  this  god  a  costly  and  worthy  sac- 
rifice. The  king  sent  them,  by  the  hands  of  priests, 
a  dead  bird,  which  the  messengers  laid  irreverently 
upon  the  altar,  and  departed.  The  Aztecs  swallowed 
their  chagrin,  and  set  a  fragrant  herb  with  a  knife  of 
iztli  beside  the  bird.  As  the  king  with  his  suite 
arrived  at  the  festival,  more  for  the  sake  of  mocking 
the  proceedings  than  to  grace  them,  the  four  prisoners 
taken  from  the  Xochimilcos  were  brought  out,  placed 
upon  the  stone  of  sacrifice,  their  breasts  cut  open  with 
the  iztli,  and  the  palpitating  heart  torn  out.  This 
sacrifice  brought  consternation  upon  the  Colhuas,  they 
discharged  the  Aztecs  from  their  service  and  drove 
them  away.  The  Aztecs  wandered  about  the  coun- 
try, and  then,  at  the  command  of  their  god,  founded 


308          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

the  town  of  Tenochtitlan,  or  Mexico,  on  a  site  where 
they  had  found  a  nopal  (Opuntie)  growing  upon  a  rock. 

At  the  second  sacrifice,  a  Colhua  was  the  victim,, 
An  Aztec  was  hunting  on  the  shore  of  the  lake  for  an 
animal  to  offer  his  patron  deity,  when  he  met  a  Colhua 
called  Xomimitl;  he  attacks  him  furiously,  bears  him 
down,  and  the  defeated  man  is  sacrificed. 

Both  myths  are  aitiological,  and  explained  by  the 
sacrifice  system  (Opferkultus).  This  is  shown  in  the 
case  of  the  four  prisoners,  of  whom  we  shall  learn  more 
in  the  third  story.  The  second  story  personifies  the 
Aztec  and  the  Colhua  peoples  in  the  two  men,  the 
second  nation  supplying  the  first  with  human  sacrifices. 
With  the  sacrifice  of  Xomimitl,  the  parallelism  of 
which  to  the  four  Xochimilcos  cannot  be  overlooked 
by  any  one,  the  first  temple  of  Huitzilopochtli,  in 
Tenochtitlan,  was  inaugurated. 

The  third  sacrifice  shows  still  more  closely  the  reli- 
gious basis  (Kultusgrundlage)  of  the  myth.  Here  also, 
as  in  the  former,  we  have  to  do  with  a  Colhua.  The 
Aztecs  offered  the  Colhua  king  to  show  divine  honors 
to  his  daughter  and  to  apotheosize  her  into  the  mother 
of  their  national  god,  declaring  that  such  was  the 
will  of  the  deity.  The  king,  rejoicing  at  the  honor 
intended  for  his  daughter,  let  her  go,  and  she  was 
brought  to  Tenochtitlan  with  great  pomp.  No  sooner, 
however,  had  she  arrived  than  she  was  sacrificed, 
flayed,  and  one  of  the  bravest  youths  dressed  in  her 
skin.  The  king  was  invited  to  the  solemn  act  of  the 
deification  of  his  daughter,  and  only  became  aware  of 
her  death  when  the  flame  from  the  copal  gum  revealed 
to  him  the  bloody  skin  about  the  youth  placed  at  the 
side  of  the  god.  The  daughter  was  at  once  formally 
declared  mother  of  Huitzilopochtli  and  of  all  the  gods. 

This  aitiological  cultus-myth  is  easily  explained. 
The  name  of  the  daughter  is  Teteionan,  whom  we 
have  learned  to  know  as  the  gods'-mother,  and  as 
Tocitzin,  'our  grandmother.'14  She  was  never  the 

14  If  some  of  the  names  and  myths  mentioned  or  alluded  to  from  time  to 
time,  by  Muller  and  others,  are  yet  unknown  to  the  reader,  he  will  remem- 


TETEIONAN.  309 

daughter  of  a  human  king,  but  has  been  transformed 
into  one  by  euhemerisin,  somewhat  as  Iphigenia  is  to 
be  considered  as  originally  Artemis.  The  goddess 
Teteionan  had  her  special  festival  in  Mexico,  when  a 
woman,  dressed  as  goddess,  was  sacrificed;  while  held 
on  the  back  of  another  woman  her  head  was  cut  off, 
then  she  was  flayed,  and  the  skin  carried  by  a  youth, 
accompanied  by  a  numerous  retinue,  as  a  present  to 
Huitzilopochtli.  Four  prisoners  of  war  were,  more- 
over, previously  sacrificed. 

Similar  to  this  story,  told  by  Clavigero,  is  another, 
narrated  by  Acosta.  According  to  the  latter,  Tozi 
was  the  daughter  of  the  king  of  Culhuacan,  and  was 
made  the  first  human  sacrifice  by  order  of  Huitzilo- 
pochtli, who  desired  her  for  a  sister.  Tozi  is,  however, 
none  other  than  Tocitzin,  and  is  also  shown  to  be  '  our 
grandmother.'  According  to  the  Aztec  version,  the 
custom  of  dressing  priests  in  the  skin  of  sacrificed  be- 
ings dates  from  her;  such  representations  are  often 
seen,  especially  in  Humboldt;  the  Basle  collection  of 
Mexican  antiquities  possesses  also  the  stone  image  of 
a  priest  dressed  in  a  human  skin.  The  fourth  month 
Tlacaxipehualitzli,  this  is,  'to  flay  a  man/  derived  its 
name  from  this  custom,  which  is  said  to  have  been 
most  frequent  at  this  period  of  the  year. 

Goddesses,  or  beings  representing  goddesses,  are 
sacrificed  in  both  of  these  fables.  We  have  met  with 
human  sacrifices  among  the  Muyscas  in  Central  Amer- 
ica, and  in  connection  with  many  deities  of  the  Mexi- 
cans, in  which  the  human  victim  represents  the  god  to 
whom  he  is  to  be  sacrificed.  Slaves  impersonating 
gods  were  also  sacrificed  among  the  northern  Indians, 
the  so-called  Indios  bravos.  The  person  sacrificed  is 
devoured  by  the  god,  is  given  over  to  him,  is  already 
part  of  him,  is  the  god  himself.  Such  was  the  case 
with  the  slave  that  personated  Quetzalcoatl  in  the 
merchants'  festival  in  Cholula. 

ber  the  impossibility  of  any  arrangement  of  these  mixed  and  far-involved 
legends  by  which,  without  infinite  verbiage,  this  trouble  could  be  wholly 
obviated.  In  good  time,  and  with  what  clearness  is  possible,  the  list  uf  gods 
and  legends  will  be  made  as  nearly  as  may  be  complete. 


310          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

The  critic  is  only  able  to  admit  the  relative  truth  of 
the  recentness  of  the  period  in  which  the  origin  of 
Mexican  human  sacrifices  is  placed  by  these  three 
myths.  We  already  know  that  human  sacrifices  are 
very  ancient  in  all  America,  and  that  they  have  only 
been  put  aside  at  a  few  places  by  humane  efforts ;  as 
in  Peru  to  some  extent  by  means  of  the  Incas.  We 
have  met  with  them  throughout  all  South  America. 

The  statement  so  generally  made  that  the  Toltec 
Quetzalcoatl  preached  against  human  sacrifices  cer- 
tainly implies  the  previous  existence  of  such  sacrifices. 
This  statement  about  Quetzalcoatl  also  points  out  the 
way  to  the  assimilation  of  the  varying  accounts,  fables, 
and  myths.  In  very  ancient  times,  human  sacrifices 
predominated  everywhere.  The  Toltecs,  like  the 
Incas,  endeavored  more  or  less  to  abolish  them,  and 
even  if  not  altogether  successful,  they  reduced  them 
considerably.  The  Aztecs  reintroduced  them .  In  the 
East  Indies,  these  sacrifices  date  back  to  the  era  before 
the  flood,  and  the  Greeks  there  met  with  remains  of 
anthropophagy,  the  basis  thereof. 

Brahmanism  sought  to  exterminate  these  ancient 
sacrifices,  and  the  Vedas  forbade  them,  a  prohibition 
which,  in  connection  with  the  custom  of  pretending  to 
sacrifice  human  beings,  gives  evidence  of  a  former  use 
of  actual  sacrifices.  The  later  sect  of  Shiwaits  agai] 
introduced  them. 

However  ancient  the  national  political  phase  oi 
Huitzilopochtli  may  be,  the  nature-phase  is  still  older. 
This  god,  too,  has  a  nature-basis  which  not  only  ex- 
plains his  being,  but  throws  light  upon  his  furthei 
unfolding  as  a  national  or  war  god.  All  searchers  wh( 
do  not  begin  with  this  basis,  see  nothing  but  inexpli- 
cable riddles  and  contradictions  before  them. 

This  nature-basis  is  first  seen  in  the  myth  about  his 
birth.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Tulla,  there  was  a  place 
called  Coatepec,  where  lived  a  god-fearing  woman, 
called  Coatlicue.  One  day  as  she  was  going  to  the 
temple,  according  to  her  custom,  a  gayly  colored  ball 
of  feathers  fell  down  from  heaven ;  she  picked  it  up, 


TWO  MOTHERS  OF  HUITZILOPOCHTLI.  311 

and  hid  it  in  her  bosom,  intending  to  decorate  the 
altar  therewith.  As  she  was  on  the  point  of  pro- 
ducing it  for  this  purpose  it  could  not  be  found.  A 
few  days  afterward  she  was  aware  of  being  pregnant. 
Her  children,  the  Centzunhuitznahuas,  also  noticed 
this,  and  in  order  to  avoid  their  own  disgrace,  they 
determined  to  kill  her  before  she  was  delivered.  Her 
sorrow  was,  however,  miraculously  consoled  by  a  voice 
that  made  itself  heard  from  within  her  womb,  saying : 
Fear  not,  O  mother,  I  will  save  thee  to  thy  great 
honor,  and  to  my  great  fame!  The  brothers,  urged 
on  by  their  sister,  were  on  the  point  of  killing  her, 
when,  behold,  even  as  the  armed  Athena  sprang  from 
her  father's  head,  Huitzilopochtli  was  born ;  the  shield 
in  his  left  hand,  the  spear  in  his  right,  the  green  plu- 
mage on  his  head,  and  humming-bird  feathers  on  his 
left  leg;  his  face,  arms,  and  legs  being,  moreover, 
striped  with  blue.  At  once  he  slew  his  opponents, 
plundered  their  dwellings,  and  brought  the  spoils  to 
his  mother.  From  this  he  was  called  Terror  and  the 
Frightful  God. 

If  we  dissect  this  myth,  we  notice  that  another 
mother  appears  than  the  one  formerly  sacrificed  in  his 
honor,  Teteionan.  Two  mothers  present  nothing  re- 
markable in  mythology ;  I  have  only  to  mention  Aphro- 
dite and  Athena,  who,  according  to  different  accounts, 
had  different  fathers.  So  long  as  the  formation  of 
myths  goes  on,  founded  upon  fresh  conceptions  of 
nature,  somewhat  different  ideas  (for  wholly  different, 
even  here,  the  two  mothers  are  not)  from  distinct  points 
of  view,  are  always  possible.  It  is  the  anthropomor- 
phism of  the  age  that  fixes  on  the  one-sided  conclu- 
sion. Teteionan  is  Huitzilopochtli's  mother,  because 
she  is  the  mother  of  all  the  gods.  The  mother,  in 
this  instance,  is  the  Flora  of  the  Aztecs,  euhemer- 
ized  into  a  god-fearing  woman,  Coatlicue,  or  Coatlan- 
tana,  of  whose  worship  in  Coatepec  and  Mexico  we 
have  already  spoken. 

The  second  point  prominent  in  the  myth  is  the 
close  connection  of  Huitzilopochtli  with  the  botanical 


312          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

kingdom.  The  humming-bird  is  the  messenger  of 
spring,  sent  by  the  south  to  the  north,  by  the  hot  to 
the  temperate  region.  It  is  the  means  of  fructifying 
the  flowers,  its  movements  causing  the  transfer  of  the 
pollen  from  the  stamens  to  the  germ-shells.  It  sticks 
its  long,  thin,  little  bill  deep  into  the  flower,  and  rum- 
maging beneath  the  stamens,  drinks  the  nectar  of  the 
flower,  while  promoting  the  act  of  plant-reproduction. 
In  the  Latin  myth,  also,  Mars  stands  in  close  connec- 
tion with  Flora;  Juno  gives  him  birth  with  Flora's 
aid,  without  the  assistance  of  Jupiter.  In  our  my- 
thology of  the  north,  Thor  is  on  a  friendly  footing 
with  Nanna,  the  northern  Flora.  We  are  already 
acquainted  also  with  a  fable  of  the  Pimas,  according 
to  which  the  goddess  of  maize  became  pregnant  by  a 
raindrop,  and  bore  the  forefather  of  the  people,  he  who 
built  the  great  houses. 

The  question  why  Huitzilopochtli  should  be  the 
son  of  the  goddess  of  plants,  and  what  his  real  con- 
nection with  the  botanical  kingdom  consists  in,  is 
solved  by  examining  his  worship  at  the  three  ancient 
yearly  feasts,  which  take  place  exactly  at  those  periods 
of  the  year  that  are  the  most  influential  for  the  Mexi- 
can climate,  the  middle  of  May,  the  middle  of  August, 
and  the  end  of  December.  As  a  rule,  in  the  first  half 
of  May  the  rain  begins.  Previous  to  this,  the  great- 
est drought  and  torpidness  reign;  the  plants  appear 
feeble  and  drooping;  nature  is  bare,  the  earth  gray 
with  dry,  withered  grass.  After  a  few  days  of  rain, 
however,  the  trees  appear  in  a  fresh  green,  the  ground 
is  covered  with  new  herbs,  all  nature  is  reanimated. 
Trees,  bushes,  plants  develop  their  blossoms ;  a  vapory 
fragrance  rises  over  all.  The  fruit  shoots  from  the 
cultivated  field,  the  juicy,  bright  green  of  the  maize 
refreshes  the  eye.  Mtihlenpfordt,  who  stayed  a  long 
time  in  these  regions,  gives  this  description  of  the 
season.  Volker's  statement  that  rain  and  water  stand 
as  fructifying  principles  in  the  first  rank  in  ancient 
physics,  and  that  they  meet  us  in  innumerable  myths, 
holds  doubly  good  for  the  tropics.  It  requires  little 


SISTERS  OF  HUITZILOPOCHTU.  313 

imagination  to  understand  what  a  powerful  impression 
transformed  nature,  with  all  its  beauty  and  blessings, 
must  produce  in  the  soul  of  the  child  of  nature.  It  is 
on  this  account  that  the  ancient  Tlaloc  came  to  enjoy 
so  high  a  regard  among  the  Aztecs,  nor  has  Quetzal- 
coatl  disdained  to  adorn  his  mantle  with  the  crosses 
of  a  rain-god.  And  so  Huitzilopochtli's  first  feast  of 
the  year,  the  festival  of  the  arrival  of  the  god,  of  the 
offering  of  incense,  stands  at  the  beginning  of  the  sea- 
son of  the  reinvigorating  of  nature  by  the  rain.  The 
pagan  Germans  used  to  say  that  Nerthus,  Freya, 
Hulda,  Bertha,  Frieg,  and  other  divinities,  entered 
the  country  at  this  period.  The  Aztecs  prepared 
especially  for  this  feast  an  image  of  their  chief  god, 
made  of  edible  plants  and  honey,  of  the  same  size  as 
the  wooden  image ;  and  the  youths  sang  the  deeds  of 
their  god  before  it,  and  hymns  praying  for  rain  and 
fertility.  Offering  of  multitudes  of  quails,  incense- 
burning,  and  the  significant  dance  of  priests  and  vir- 
gins followed.  The  virgins,  who  on  this  day  were 
called  sisters  of  Huitzilopochtli,  wore  garlands  of  dry 
"maize  leaves  on  their  heads,  and  carried  split  reeds  in 
their  hands ;  by  this,  representing  the  dry  season.  The 
priests,  on  the  contrary,  represented  the  quickened 
nature,  having  their  lips  smeared  with  honey. 

Now,  although  according  to  Max  von  Wied,  there 
were  no  bees  in  America  before  the  arrival  of  the 
Europeans,  the  bees  are  here  represented  by  hum- 
ming-birds, also  called  honey  or  bee  birds,  which, 
hovering  and  humming  like  bees,  gather  their  food 
from  the  tube-shaped  flowers.  This  food  consists  of 
a  small  insect  that  lives  on  honey,  and  they  feed  their 
young  by  letting  them  suck  at  the  tongue  covered 
with  this  honey.  The  priests  bore,  further,  another 
symbol  of  spring :  each  one  held  a  staff  in  his  hand, 
on  which  a  flower  of  feathers  was  fixed,  having 
another  bunch  of  feathers  fixed  over  it;  thus,  too, 
Freya's  hawk-plumage  denoted  the  advent  of  the  fine 
season.  A  prisoner  had  been  selected  a  year  in  ad- 
vance as  a  victim,  and  was  called  'wise  lord  of  the 


314          GOBS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

heaven/  for  he  personated  the  god,  and  had  the  priv- 
ilege of  choosing  the  hour  of  the  sacrifice;  he  did  not 
die,  like  the  other  prisoners,  on  the  sacrifice  stone,  but 
on  the  shoulders  of  the  priests.  The  little  children 
were  consecrated  to  the  god  of  their  country  at  this 
festival,  by  a  small  incision  on  the  breast. 

So  also  Mars  appears  as  god  of  spring,  he  to  whom 
the  grass  and  the  sacred  spring-time  of  the  birth 
of  animals  (ver  sacrum)  were  dedicated,  whose  chief 
festival  and  whose  month  are  placed  at  the  commence- 
ment of  spring,  at  which  time  the  Salii  also  sang 
their  old  religious  songs,  and  a  man  personated  the 
god.  The  Tyrian  festival  of  the  awaking  of  Hercules 
fell  also  in  spring,  for  the  same  reason.  Thus,  in  the 
myth  of  the  birth  of  Huitzilopochtli,  and  in  his  first 
festival,  spring,  or  the  energy  that  produces  spring,  is 
made  the  basis  of  his  being.  His  warlike  attributes 
are  appendages  of  the  anthropomorphized  national  and 
war  god. 

The  second  great  festival  of  the  deity  takes  place  in 
the  middle  of  August.  The  rains  which  have  lasted 
and  refreshed  up  to  this  time,  become  intermittent, 
and  the  fine  season  approaches,  during  which  the 
azure  sky  of  the  tropics  pours  its  splendor  and  its  ben- 
eficial warmth  upon  men,  animals,  and  plants,  scat- 
tered over  a  plain  situated  8,500  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea.  This  is  the  twelfth  month  there,  the 
month  of  ripe  fruits.  The  idols  in  all  temples  and 
dwellings  are  decorated  with  flowers.  It  is  now  no 
longer  the  rain  which  is  the  blessing,  but  the  blue 
sky  which  cherishes  the  variegated  flower- world.  For 
this  reason,  the  image  of  Huitzilopochtli  was  blue,  his 
head  was  wound  round  with  an  azure  ribbon,  in  his 
right  hand  he  held  an  azure  staff  or  club,  and  he  sat 
on  an  azure  stool,  which,  according  to  ancient  accounts, 
represents  heaven  as  his  dwelling-place.  His  arms  and 
legs  had  also  blue  stripes,  and  costly  blue  stones  hung 
round  his  neck.  The  Egyptian  god  of  fertility,  Khem, 
was  also  represented  in  blue. 

The  third  festival  of  Huitzilopochtli  takes  place  dur- 


DEATH  OF  VEGETATION.  315 

ing  the  winter  solstice,  a  period  which  plays  a  great 
role  in  all  worships  and  myths.  The  best-known  fes- 
tival of  this  kind  is  the  one  held  on  the  25th  of  De- 
cember throughout  the  Roman  Empire,  to  celebrate 
the  birth  of  Mithras,  the  invincible  sun.  The  Chipe- 
was  in  North  America  call  December  the  month  of 
the  small  spirit,  and  January  that  of  the  great  spirit. 
The  Mexican  festival  of  this  month  represented  the 
character  of  the  entering  season,  and  the  new  state  of 
nature.  The  cold  sets  in,  the  mountains  are  covered 
with  snow,  the  ground  dries  up,  the  plants  search  in 
vain  for  their  nourishment,  many  trees  lose  their  foli- 
age— in  a  word,  nature  seems  dead.  And  so  it  hap- 
pened with  their  god.  The  priests  prepared  his  image 
of  various  seeds  kneaded  with  the  blood  of  sacrificed 
children.  Numerous  religious  purifyings  and  penances, 
washings  with  water,  blood-lettings,  fasts,  processions, 
burning  of  incense,  sacrifices  of  quails  and  human 
beings,  inaugurated  the  festival.  One  of  Quetzalcoatl's 
priests  then  shot  an  arrow  at  this  image  of  Huitzilo- 
pochtli,  which  penetrated  the  god  who  was  now  con- 
sidered as  dead.  His  heart  was  cut  out,  as  with  hu- 
man victims,  and  eaten  by  the  king,  the  representative 
of  the  god  on  earth.  The  body,  however,  was  divided 
among  the  various  quarters  of  the  city,  so  that  every 
man  received  a  piece.  This  was  called  teoqualo  '  the 
god  who  is  eaten.' 

The  meaning  of  the  death  of  this  god  is,  on  the 
whole,  evident ;  it  corresponds  with  the  death  of  vege- 
tation ;  and  a  comparison  of  the  myth  of  his  birth 
with  the  two  other  feasts  of  Huitzilopochtli  leads  to 
the  same  conclusion.  This  third  feast  is,  therefore,  at 
the  same  time,  a  festival  in  honor  of  the  brother  of 
this  god,  Tezcatlipoca,  the  god  of  the  under-world,  of 
death,  of  drought,  and  of  hunger,  whose  rule  com- 
mences where  that  of  his  brother  ends.  The  myth 
gives  a  similar  form  and  sense  to  the  death  of  Osiris, 
who  is  killed  by  Typhon,  and  the  death  of  Dionysos 
and  Hercules  in  the  Phoenician  colonies.  Adonis 
lives  with  Aphrodite  during  one  half  of  the  year,  and 


316          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

with  Persephone  the  other  half;  the  Indian  Krishna 
leaves  for  the  under- world;  thus,  too,  Brahma,  and 
the  Celtic  sun -god,  Hu,  died  yearly,  and  were  yearly 
born  again.  The  festival  of  the  self-burning  of  the 
Tyrian  Heracles  is  also  of  this  kind;  it  takes  place  at 
the  time  of  the  dying  off  of  vegetation,  even  if  this 
should  be  in  the  summer. 

As  regards  the  custom  of  eating  the  god,  this  also 
occurs  at  another  feast  which  is  celebrated  during  this 
season,  in  honor  of  the  gods  of  the  mountains  and  the 
water.  Small  idols  of  seeds  and  dough  were  then  pre- 
pared, their  breasts  were  opened  like  those  of  human 
victims,  the  heart  was  cut  out,  and  the  body  distrib- 
uted for  eating.  The  time  at  which  this  occurs  shows 
that  it  stands  in  necessary  connection  with  the  death 
of  the  god.  When  the  god  dies  it  must  be  as  a  sacri- 
fice in  the^fashion  of  his  religion,  and  when  the  anthro- 
pomorphized god  dies,  it  is  as  a  human  sacrifice  amid 
all  the  necessary  usages  pertaining  thereto :  he  is 
killed  by  priests,  the  heart  is  torn  out,  and  his  body 
eaten  at  the  sacrifice  meal,  just  as  was  done  with  every 
human  sacrifice.  Could  it  be  meant  that  the  god,  in 
being  eaten,  is  imparted  to,  or  incorporated  with,  the 
person  eating  him?  This  is  no  doubt  so,  though  not 
in  the  abstract,  metaphysical,  Christian,  or  moral  sense, 
but  only  with  regard  to  his  nature-sense  (seiner  Na- 
turseite),  which  is  the  real  essence  of  the  god.  He 
gives  his  body,  in  seed,  to  be  eaten  by  his  people,  just 
as  nature,  dying  at  the  approach  of  the  winter,  at  this 
very  period,  has  stored  up  an  abundance  of  its  gifts 
for  the  sustenance  of  man.  It  gives  man  its  life-fruit, 
or  its  fruit  of  life,  as  a  host  or  holy  wafer.  As  a  rule, 
the  god,  during  the  time  of  sacrifice,  regales  with  the 
offering  those  bringing  sacrifices:  and  the  eating  of 
the  flesh  of  the  slave,  who  so  often  represents  the  god 
to  whom  he  is  sacrificed,  is  the  same  as  eating  the 
god.  We  have  heard  of  the  custom  among  some  na- 
tions of  eating  the  ashes  of  their  forefathers,  to  whom 
they  give  divine  honors,  in  order  to  become  possessors 
of  their  virtues.  The  Arkansas  nation,  west  of  the 


YEARLY  LIFE  OF  THE  PLANT-WORLD.  317 

Mississippi,  which  worshipped  the  dog,  used  to  eat  dog- 
flesh  at  one  of  its  feasts.  Many  other  peoples  solemnly 
slaughter  animals,  consume  their  flesh,  and  moreover 
pay  divine  honors  to  the  remains  of  these  animals. 
Here  the  eating  of  the  god,  in  seeds,  is  made  clear — 
this  custom  also  existed  among  the  Greeks.  The 
division  of  the  year-god  by  the  ancients,  in  myth  and 
religious  system,  has,  for  the  rest,  no  other  sense  than 
has  this  distribution  of  the  body  of  Huitzilopochtli. 
This  is  done  with  the  sun:bull  at  the  festival  of  the 
Persian  Mithras,  as  at  the  feast;  and  in  the  myth  of 
the  Dionysos-Zagreus,  of  Osiris  and  Attys. 

The  three  yearly  festivals,  as  well  as  the  myth  of 
his  birth,  all  tend  to  show  the  positive  connection  of 
Huitzilopochtli  with  the  yearly  life  of  the  plant-world. 
The  first  festival  is  the  arrival  of  the  god,  as  the  plant- 
world  is  ushered  in,  with  its  hymns  praying  for  rain, 
its  virgins  representing  the  sisters  of  the  god  and  the 
inimical  drought,  in  the  same  sense  as  the  brothers 
and  sister,  especially  the  latter,  are  his  enemies  in  the 
myth  of  his  birth,  and  as  Tezcatlipoca,  the  god  of 
drought,  is  his  brother.  Brothers  and  sisters  not  sel- 
dom represent  parallel  contrasts  in  mythology  and 
worship.  The  second  celebration  presents  the  god  as 
the  botanical  kingdom  in  its  splendor,  for  which  rea- 
son the  Mexicans  call  the  humming-bird  the  sunbeam, 
from  the  form  assumed  by  the  god  at  this  time.  The 
humming-bird,  moreover,  takes  also  his  winter  sleep, 
and  thus  the  god  dies  in  winter  with  the  plants.  The 
Greenlanders  asked  the  younger  Egede  if  the  god  of 
heaven  and  earth  ever  died,  and  when  answered  in 
the  negative,  they  were  much  surprised,  and  said  that 
he  must  surely  be  a  great  god.  This  intimate  con- 
nection with  the  plant- world  is  also  shown  in  the  birth- 
myth  of  Huitzilopochtli,  who  here  appears  as  the  son 
of  the  goddess  of  plants.  It  now  becomes  easier  to 
answer  the  question  of  Wuttke:  Has  the  fable  of  this 
birth  reference  merely  to  the  making  a  man  out  of  a 
god  already  existing,  or  to  the  actual  birth  of  the  god? 
The  Aztecs,  it  is  true,  were  undecided  on  this  point, 


318          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

some  conceding  to  him  a  human  existence  on  earth, 
others  investing  him  with  a  consciousness  of  his  nature 
being.  We,  however,  answer  this  question  simply, 
from  the  preceding:  the  birth  of  the  god  is  annual, 
and  the  myth  has  therefrom  invented  one  birth,  said 
to  have  taken  place  at  some  period,  while  the  anthropo- 
morphism fables  very  prettily  the  transformation  into 
a  man.  Of  the  former  existence  of  a  born  god,  the 
myth  knows  nothing,  for  it  is  only  afterward  that  it 
raises  the  god  into  heaven.  It  has  not,  however,  come 
to  euhemerism  in  the  case  of  Huitzilopochtli,  though 
it  has  with  Huitziton.  In  placing  the  god  in  the  posi- 
tion of  son  to  the  plant-goddess,  the  myth  separates 
his  being  from  that  of  the  mother,  consequently,  Huit- 
zilopochtli is  not  the  plant-world  himself,  however 
closely  he  may  be  related  to  it.  This  is  made  clearer 
by  following  up  the  birth-myth,  which  makes  him  out 
to  be  not  only  the  son  of  Coatlicue,  but  also  of  the 
force  causing  her  fructification.  The  variegated  ball 
of  feathers  which  fell  from  heaven  is  none  other  than 
Huitzilopochtli  himself,  the  little  humming-bird,  which 
is  the  means  of  fructifying  the  plants,  and  the  virile, 
fructifying  nature-force  manifested  by  and  issuing  from 
him  in  the  spring.  He  is  also  born  with  the  feather- 
tuft,  and  this  symbol  of  the  fine  season  never  leaves 
him  in  any  of  his  forms ;  it  remains  his  attribute. 

The  Tapuas  in  South  America  have,  after  a  similar 
symbolism,  the  custom,  at  their  yearly  seed-sowing 
festivals,  of  letting  some  one  hang  a  bunch  of  ostrich- 
feathers  on  his  back,  the  feathers  being  spread  over 
like  a  wheel.  This  feather-bunch  is  their  symbol  of. 
the  fructifying  power  which  comes  from  heaven.  Their 
belief  that  bread  falls  from  heaven  into  this  tuft  of 
feathers  is  thus  made  clear.  In  this  myth,  we  find 
the  natural  basis  of  such  a  birth-myth.  In  our  north- 
ern mythology,  Neekris,  the  ball,  is,  in  the  same  man- 
ner, the  father  of  Nanna,  the  northern  Flora.  That 
this  virile  power  of  heaven  is  made  to  appear  as  a  ball 
of  feathers,  suits  the  humming-bird  god.  The  Esths 
also  imagined  their  god  of  thunder,  as  the  god  of 


THE   VIRILE  NATURE-POWER.  319 

warmth,  in  the  form  of  a  bird.  In  the  same  sense, 
doves  were  consecrated  to  Zeus,  in  Dodona  and  Arca- 
dia, and  a  flying  bird  is  a  symbol  of  heaven  among  the 
Chinese.  This  force  may,  however,  be  symbolized  in 
another  form,  and  give  rise  to  a  birth-myth  of  exactly 
the  same  kind.  Thus  the  daughter  of  the  god  San- 
garius,  in  the  Phrygian  myth,  hid  in  her  bosom  the 
fruit  of  an  almond-tree,  which  had  grown  out  of  the 
seed  of  the  child  of  the  earth,  Agdistis:  the  fruit 
disappeared,  the  daughter  became  pregnant  and  bore 
the  beautiful  boy  Attes.  According  to  Arnobius,  it 
was  the  fruit  of  a  pomegranate-tree,  which  fructified 
Nanna.  Among  the  Chinese,  a  nymph,  called  Puzza, 
the  nourisher  of  all  living  things,  became  pregnant 
by  eating  a  lotus-flower,  and  gave  birth  to  a  great 
law-giver  and  conqueror.  Danae,  again,  becomes 
pregnant  from  the  golden  shower  of  Zeus — an  easily 
understood  symbolism.  It  is  always  the  virile  nature- 
power,  either  as  seen  in  the  sun  or  in  the  azure  sky 
(for  which  reason  Huitzilopochtli  is  called  the  lord  of 
the  heaven,  Ochibus,  or  Huchilobos),  which  puts  the 
•variegated  seed  into  the  womb  of  the  plant- world,  '  at 
the  same  time  bringing  himself  forth  again,  and  mak- 
ing himself  manifest  in  the  plant-world.'  This  heav- 
enly life-force  no  sooner  finds  an  earthly  mother-womb 
than  its  triumph  is  assured,  even  before  birth,  while 
developing  its  bud;  just  as  the  inner  voice,  in  the 
myth,  consoled  the  mother,  and  protected  her  against 
all  her  enemies.  It  is  only  after  his  birth  that  the 
myth  holds  Huitzilopochtli  as  a  personal  anthropo- 
morphic god. 

This  is  the  natural  signification  of  Huitzilopochtli, 
which  we  have  accepted  as  the  basis  of  all  other  de- 
velopments of  the  god,  and  for  this  universal  reason, 
namely,  that  the  most  ancient  heathen  gods  are 
nature-gods,  mythologic  rules  being  followed,  and 
that  the  pagan  religion  is  essentially  a  nature- worship 
as  well  as  a  polytheism.  The  special  investigation 
and  following  up  of  the  various  virtues  have  led  to 
the  same  result.  But  as  this  view  has  not  yet  been 


320          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

generally  accepted  in  regard  to  this  god,  a  few  words 
concerning  the  union  of  the  anthropomorphic  national 
aspect  of  Huitzilopochtli  with  his  natural  one  may  be 
added.  It  has  been  thought  necessary  to  make  the 
martial  phase  of  Huitzilopochtli  the  basis  of  the  others, 
as  with  Mars.  War  is,  from  this  point  of  view,  a 
child  of  spring,  because  weapons  are  then  resumed 
after  the  long  winter  armistice.  This  is  not  at  all  the 
case  with  Huitzilopochtli,  because  the  rainy  season, 
setting  in  in  spring,  when  the  arrival  arid  birth  of  the 
god  are  celebrated,  renders  the  soft  roads  of  Mexico 
unsuitable  for  war  expeditions.  Wars  were  originally 
children  of  autumn,  at  which  time  the  ripe  fruits  were 
objects  of  robbery.  But  the  idea  of  a  war  and  national 
god  is  easily  connected  with  the  basis  of  a  fructifying 
god  of  heaven.  This  chief  nature-god  may  either 
be  god  of  heaven,  as  Huitzilopochtli,  as  the  rain-giving 
Zeus  is  made  the  national  god  by  Homer,  to  whom 
human  sacrifices  were  brought  in  Arcadia  down  to  a 
late  period,  or  he  may  be  a  sun-god,  like  Baal,  to 
whom  prayers  for  rain  were  addressed  in  Phoenicia, 
to  further  the  growth  of  the  fruit,  and  who  also' 
received  human  sacrifices.  The  Celtic  Hu  is  also 
an  ethereal  war-god,  properly  sun-god,  who  received 
human  sacrifices  in  honor  of  the  victory  of  spring; 
none  the  less  is  Odin's  connection  with  war,  bat- 
tle, and  war  horrors;  he  is  a  fire-god,  like  Moloch 
and  Shiva,  to  whom  human  sacrifices  were  made  for 
fear  of  famine  and  failure  of  crops.  The  apparent 
basis  of  such  a  god  has  not  to  be  considered  so  much 
as  the  point  that  the  people  ascribed  to  him  the  chief 
government  of  the  course  of  the  year.  In  such  a  case, 
the  chief  ruler  also  becomes  the  national  god,  the  life 
of  the  nation  depending  immediately  on  the  yearly 
course  of  nature.  Is  the  nation  warlike,  then,  the 
national  god  naturally  becomes  a  war-god  as  well.  As 
anthropomorphism  connects  itself  with  the  nature-god 
only  at  a  later  period,  so  does  his  worship  as  war-god 
and  national  god.  In  the  case  of  Mars,  as  well  as  of 
Picus  and  Faunus,  the  same  succession  is  followed. 


SXAKE  SYMBOLISM.  321 

Mars,  for  example,  is  called  upon  in  a  prayer  which 
has  been  preserved  by  Cato,  to  protect  shepherds  and 
flocks,  and  to  avert  bad  weather  and  misgrowth ; 
Virgil  refers  to  him  as  a  god  of  plants.  In  the  song 
of  the  Arvalian  brothers,  he  is  called  upon  as  the  pro- 
tector of  the  flowers.  Thus,  in  his  case  also,  the 
nature  side  is  the  basis.  The  Chinese  symbolism  of 
the  union  of  the  two  sides  or  phases  is  expressed  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  make  spears  and  weapons  repre- 
sentations of  the  germs  of  plants.  This  union  has 
already  been  illustrated  among  the  Aztecs  in  the 
humming-bird,  the  sunbeam  which  plays  round  the 
flowers,  in  whose  little  body  the  intensest  war  spirit 
burns.  Among  the  Egyptians,  the  beetle  was  placed 
upon  the  ring  of  the  warrior,  with  whom  it  signified 
world  and  production. 

It  remains  to  speak  of  another  attribute  of  Huitzil- 
opochtli,  the  snake  attribute.  Huitzilopochtli  is  also 
a  snake-god.  We  have  already,  when  treating  of  the 
snake- worship  of  the  Mayas,  referred  to  the  numer- 
ous snakes  with  which  this  god  is  connected  by  myth 
and  image,  and  how  this  attribute  was  added  to  the 
original  humming-bird  attribute,  in  Coatepec,  where 
the  snake-goddess  Coatlicue  gave  him  birth.  If  the 
snake  signifies  in  one  case  time,  in  another  world, 
and  in  another  instance  water,  or  the  yearly  rejuve- 
nation of  germs  and  blossoms,  the  eternal  circle  of 
nature,  domination,  soothsaying — it  is  quite  proper; 
for  all  these  qualities  are  found  united  in  the  god. 
Still  other  qualities,  not  seemingly  possessed  by  him, 
we  pass  over,  such  as  a  connection  with  the  earth  and 
with  the  healing  power,  to  be  found  in  other  Mexican 
gods,  or  the  evil  principle,  which  is  entirely  wanting. 
Just  as  the  snake  changes  its  skin  every  year,  and 
takes  its  winter  sleep,  so  does  Huitzilopochtli,  whose 
mother,  Flora,  is,  therefore,  a  snake-goddess.  Even 
so  the  snake  represents  the  seed-corn  in  the  mysteries 
of  Demeter.  In  the  Sabazii  it  represents  the  fructi- 
fying Zeus  and  the  blessing.  It  is  also  the  symbol  of 

VOL.  III.    21 


322          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND   WORSHIP. 

productive  power  and  heat,  or  of  life,  attribute  of  the 
life-endowing  Shiva;  among  the  Egyptians  it  repre- 
sents the  yearly  rejuvenation  of  germs  and  blossoms. 
The  snake  Agathodssmon  appears  with  ears  of  grain 
and  poppies,  as  the  symbol  of  fertility.  If  the  god 
exhibits  this  nature  of  his,  in  spring,  in  the  rain,  then 
the  snake  is  a  suitable  attribute.  In  India,  snakes 
are  genii  of  seas,  and  the  Punjab,  whose  fertility  is 
assured  by  the  yearly  inundations,  has  the  name  of 
snake  lands  (Nagakhanda),  and  claims  an  ancient  wor- 
ship. The  sustaining  water-god,  Vishnu,  also  received 
the  snake  attribute.  Among  the  Chinese,  the  water 
could  be  represented  by  a  snake.  The  Peruvians  call 
the  boa-constrictor  the  mother  of  nature. 

The  idea  of  the  yearly  renewal  of  nature  is  also  con- 
nected with  that  of  time  forever  young,  and  the  Az- 
tecs, therefore,  encircle  their  cycle  with  a  snake  as  the 
symbol  of  time.  The  more  positive  signification  which 
the  snake,  placed  by  the  side  of  the  humming-bird, 
gives  to  Huitzilopochtli,  is  that  of  a  soothsaying  god, 
like  the  snake  Python  among  the  Greeks.  The  snake 
signified  'king'  among  the  Egyptians,  and  this  suits 
Huitzilopochtli  also,  who  may  properly  enough  be 
considered  the  real  king  of  his  people.  If,  as  con- 
nected with  Huitzilopochtli,  the  snake  also  represents 
the  war-god,  on  account  of  its  spirited  mode  of  attack, 
I  cannot  with  certainty  say  but  the  myth  as  well  as 
the  worship  places  it  in  this  relation  to  the  war-god- 
dess Athene.  Although  the  idea  of  a  national  and  a 
war-god  is  not  quite  obscured  in  the  snake  attribute, 
yet  the  nature  side  is  especially  denoted  by  it,  as  in 
the  southern  countries,  where  snake  worship  prevailed ; 
the  reference  to  the*  southern  nature  of  this  god  is 
quite  evident  in  the  snake  attribute.  In  the  north, 
moisture,  represented  by  the  snake,  has  never  attained 
the  cosmological  import  which  it  has  in  the  hot  coun- 
tries of  the  south.  There,  the  snake  rather  represents 
an  anticosmogonic  or  a  bad  principle.15 

Mr  Tylor,  without  committing  himself  to  any  ex- 

15  Mutter,  Amemkanische  Urreligionen,  pp.  591-612. 


WINTER-SOLSTICE  FESTIVAL.  323 

tent  in  details,  yet  agrees,  as  far  as  he  goes,  with 
Mtiller.  He  says :  "  The  very  name  of  Mexico  seems 
derived  from  Mexitli,  the  national  war-god,  identical 
or  identified  with  the  hideous  gory  Huitzilopochtli. 
Not  to  attempt  a  general  solution  of  the  enigmatic 
nature  of  this  inextricable  compound  parthenogenetic 
deity,  we  may  notice  the  association  of  his  principal 
festival  with  the  winter  solstice,  when  his  paste  idol 
was  shot  through  with  an  arrow,  and  being  thus  killed, 
was  divided  into  morsels  and  eaten,  wherefore  the 
ceremony  was  called  the  teoqualo,  or  l god-eating.' 
This  and  other  details  tend  to  show  Huitzilopochtli 
as  originally  a  nature-deity,  whose  life  and  death  were 
connected  with  the  year's,  while  his  functions  of  war- 
god  may  be  of  later  addition."16 

Of  this  festival  of  the  winter  solstice,  the  date  and 
further  particulars  are  given  by  the  Vatican  Codex  as 
follows : 

The  name  Panquetzaliztli,  of  the  Mexican  month 
that  began  on  the  first  of  December,  means,  being 
interpreted,  'the  elevation  of  banners.'  For,  on  the 
first  day  of  December  every  person  raised  over  his 
house  a  small  paper  flag  in  honor  of  this  god  of  battle ; 
and  the  captains  and  soldiers  sacrificed  those  that 
they  had  taken  prisoners  in  war,  who,  before  they 
were  sacrificed,  being  set  at  liberty,  and  presented 
with  arms  equal  to  their  adversaries,  were  allowed  to 
defend  themselves  till  they  were  either  vanquished  or 
killed,  and  thus  sacrificed.  The  Mexicans  celebrated 
in  this  month  the  festival  of  their  first  captain,  Vichi- 
lopuchitl.  They  celebrated  at  this  time  the  festival 
of  the  wafer  or  cake.  They  made  a  cake  of  the  meal 
of  bledos,  which  is  called  tzoalli,  and  having  made  it, 
they  spoke  over  it  in  their  manner,  and  broke  it  into 
pieces.  These  the  high  priest  put  into  certain  very 
clean  vessels,  and  with  a  thorn  of  maguey,  which  re- 
sembles a  thick  needle,  he  took  up  with  the  utmost 
reverence  single  morsels,  and  put  them  into  the  mouth 
of  each  individual,  in  the  manner  of  a  communion — 

16  Tylor's  Prim.  Cult.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  279. 


324          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

and  I  am  willing  to  believe  that  these  poor  people 
have  had  the  knowledge  of  our  mode  of  communion 
or  of  the  preaching  of  the  gospel ;  or  perhaps  the 
devil,  most  envious  of  the  honor  of  God,  may  have 
led  them  into  this  superstition  in  order  that  by  this 
ceremony  he  might  be  adored  and  served  as  Christ 
our  Lord.  On  the  twenty-first  of  December  they 
celebrated  the  festival  of  this  god — through  whose 
instrumentality,  they  say,  the  earth  became  again 
visible  after  it  had  been  drowned  with  the  waters  of 
the  deluge:  they  therefore  kept  his  festival  during 
the  twenty  following  days,  in  which  they  offered  sac- 
rifices to  him.17 

The  deity  Tlaloc,  or  Tlalocateuchtli,  whom  we  have 
several  times  found  mentioned  as  seated  beside  Huit- 
zilopochtli  in  the  great  temple,  was  the  god  of  water 
and  rain,  and  the  fertilizer  of  the  earth.  He  was 
held  to  reside  where  the  clouds  gather,  upon  the  high- 
est mountain-tops,  especially  upon  those  of  Tlaloc. 
Tlascala,  and  Toluca,  and  his  attributes  were  the 
thunderbolt,  the  flash,  and  the  thunder.  It  was  also 
believed  that  in  the  high  hills  there  resided  other 
gods,  subaltern  to  Tlaloc — all  passing  under  the  same 
name,  and  revered,  not  only  as  gods  of  water,  but  also 
as  gods  of  mountains.  The  prominent  colors  of  the 
image  of  Tlaloc  were  azure  and  green,  thereby  sym- 
bolizing the  various  shades  of  water.  The  decorations 
of  this  image  variec}  a  good  deal  according  to  locality 
and  the  several  fancies  of  different  worshippers:  the 
description  of  Garna,  founded  on  the  inspection  of 
original  works  of  Mexican  religious  art,  is  the  most 
authentic  and  complete.  In  the  great  temple  of  Mex- 
ico, in  his  own  proper  chapel,  called  epeoatl,  adjoining 
that  of  Huitzilopochtli,  this  god  of  water  stood  upon 
his  pedestal.  In  his  left  hand  was  a  shield  orna- 
mented with  feathers;  in  his  right  were  certain  thin, 
shining,  wavy  sheets  of  gold  representing  his  thunder- 
bolts, or  sometimes  a  golden  serpent  representing 

17  Spiegazione  delle  TavoU  del  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano),  tav.  lxxi.-ii., 
in  KingsboraugKs  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  195-6. 


DECORATIONS  OF  TLALOC.  325 

either  the  thunderbolt  or  the  moisture  with  which 
this  deity  was  so  intimately  connected.  On  his  feet 
were  a  kind  of  half-boots,  with  little  bells  of  gold 
hanging  therefrom.  Round  his  neck  was  a  band  or 
collar  set  with  gold  and  gems  of  price ;  while  from  his 
wrists  depended  strings  of  costly  stones,  even  such  as 
are  the  ornaments  of  kings.  His  vesture  was  an 
azure  smock  reaching  to  the  middle  of  the  thigh, 
cross-hatched  all  over  with  ribbons  of  silver  forming 
squares ;  and  in  the  middle  of  each  square  was  a  circle 
also  of  silver,  while  in  the  angles  thereof  were  flowers, 
pearl-colored,  with  yellow  leaves  hanging  down.  And 
even  as  the  decoration  of  the  vesture,  so  was  that  of 
the  shield;  the  ground  blue,  covered  with  crossed 
ribbons  of  silver  and  circles  ol  silver ;  and  the  feathers 
of  yellow,  and  green,  and  flesh-color  and  blue,  each 
color  forming  a  distinct  band.  The  body  was  naked 
from  mid-thigh  down,  and  of  a  gray  tint,  as  was  also 
the  face.  This  face  had  only  one  eye,  of  a  somewhat 
extraordinary  character:  there  was  an  exterior  circle 
of  blue,  the  interior  was  white  with  a  black  line  across 
it  and  a  little  semicircle  below  the  line.  Either  round 
the  whole  eye  or  round  the  mouth  was  a  doubled  band 
or  ribbon  of  blue ;  this,  although  unnoticed  by  Torque- 
mada,  is  affirmed  by  Gama  to  have  been  never  omitted 
from  any  figure  of  Tlaloc,  to  have  been  his  most 
characteristic  device,  and  that  which  distinguished 
him  specially  from  the  other  gods.  In  his  open 
mouth  were  to  be  seen  only  three  grinders;  his  front 
teeth  were  painted  red,  as  was  also  the  pendant,  with 
its  button  of  gold,  that  hung  from  his  ear.  His  head 
adornment  was  an  open  crown,  covered  in  its  circum- 
ference with  white  and  green  feathers,  and  from  be- 
hind it  over  the  shoulder  depended  other  plumes  of 
red  and  white.  Sometimes  the  insignium  of  the 
thunderbolt  is  omitted  with  this  god,  and  Ixtlilxochitl 
represents  him,  in  the  picture  of  the  month  Etzalli, 
with  a  cane  of  maize  in  the  one  hand,  and  in  the  other 
a  kind  of  instrument  with  which  he  was  digging  in 
the  ground.  In  the  ground  thus  dug  were  put  maize 


326          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

leaves  filled  with  a  kind  of  food,  like  fritters,  called 
etzalli;  from  this  the  month  took  its  name.18 

A  prayer  to  this  god  has  been  preserved  by  Saha- 
gun,  in  which  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  word  Tlaloc 
is  used  sometimes  in  the  singular  and  sometimes  in 
the  plural. 

()  our  Lord,  most  clement,  liberal  giver,  and  lord 
of  verdure  and  coolness,  lord  of  the  terrestrial  para- 
dise, odorous  and  flowery,  and  Jord  of  the  incense  of 
copal,  woe  are  we  that  the  gods  of  water,  thy  subjects, 
have  hid  themselves  away  in  their  retreat,  who  are 
wont  to  serve  us  with  the  things  we  need,  and  who 
are  themselves  served  with  ulli  and  auchtli  and  copal. 
They  have  left  concealed  all  the  things  that  sustain 
our  lives,  and  carried  away  with  them  their  sister,  the 
goddess  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  carried  away  also 
the  goddess  of  pepper.  O  our  Lord,  take  pity  on  us 
that  live ;  our  food  goes  to  destruction,  is  lost,  is  dried 
up ;  for  lack  of  water  it  is  as  if  turned  to  dust  and 
mixed  with  spiders'  webs.  Woe  for  the  miserable 
laborers  and  for  the  common  people ;  they  are  wasted 
with  hunger,  they  go  about  unrecognizable  and  dis- 
figured, every  one.  They  are  blue  under  the  eyes  as 
with  death;  their  mouths  are  dry  as  sedge;  all  the 
bones  of  their  bodies  may  be  counted  as  in  a  skeleton. 
The  children  are  disfigured  and  yellow  as  earth;  not 
only  those  that  begin  to  walk,  but  even  those  in  the 
cradle.  There  is  no  one  to  whom  this  torment  of 
hunger  does  not  come;  the  very  animals  and  birds 
suffer  hard  want  by  the  drought  that  is.  It  is  pitiful 
to  see  the  birds,  some  dragging  themselves  along  with 
drooping  wings,  others  falling  down  utterly  and  unable 
to  walk,  and  others  still  with  their  mouths  open 
through  this  hunger  and  thirst.  The  animals,  0  our 
Lord,  it  is  a  grievous  sight  to  see  them  stumbling  and 
falling,  licking  the  earth  for  hunger,  and  panting  with 
open  mouth  and  hanging  tongue.  The  people  lose 
their  senses  and  die  for  thirst;  they  perish,  none  is 

™Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  14-  Leon  y  Gama,  .Dos 
Piedras,  pt.  i.,  p.  101,  pt.  ii.,  pp.  76-9. 


PRAYER  TO  TLALOC.  327 

like  to  remain.  It  is  woeful,  0  our  Lord,  to  see  all 
the  face  of  the  earth  dry,  so  that  it  cannot  produce  the 
herbs  nor  the  trees,  nor  anything  to  sustain  us — 
the  earth  that  used  to  be  as  a  father  and  mother  to  us, 
giving  us  milk  and  all  nourishment,  herbs  and  fruits 
that  therein  grew.  Now  is  all  dry,  all  lost;  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  Tlaloc  gods  have  carried  all  away  with 
them,  and  hid  in  their  retreat,  which  is  the  terrestrial 
paradise.  The  things,  0  Lord,  that  thou  wert  gra- 
ciously wont  to  give  us,  upon  which  we  lived  and  were 
joyful,  which  are  the  life  and  joy  of  all  the  wrorld,  and 
precious  as  emeralds  or  sapphires — all  these  things  are 
departed  from  us.  O  our  Lord,  god  of  nourishment 
and  giver  thereof,  most  humane  and  most  compassion- 
ate, what  thing  hast  thou  determined  to  do  with  us  ? 
Hast  thou  perad venture  altogether  forsaken  us  ?  Thy 
wrath  and  indignation,  shall  it  not  be  appeased?  Hast 
thou  determined  on  the  perdition  of  all  thy  servants 
and  vassals,  and  that  thy  city  and  kingdom  shall  be 
left  desolate  and  uninhabited  ?  Peradventure  this  has 
been  determined  and  settled  in  heaven  and  hades.  O 
our  Lord,  concede  at  least  this,  that  the  innocent  chil- 
dren, who  cannot  so  much  as  walk,  who  are  still  in 
the  cradle,  may  have  something  to  eat,  so  that  they 
may  live  and  not  die  in  this  so  great  famine.  What 
have  they  done  that  they  should  be  tormented  and 
should  die  of  hunger?  No  iniquity  have  they  com- 
mitted, neither  know  they  what  thing  it  is  to  sin ; 
they  have  neither  offended  the  god  of  heaven  nor  the 
god  of  hell.  We,  if  we  have  offended  in  many  things, 
if  our  sins  have  reached  heaven  and  hades,  and  the 
stink  thereof  gone  out  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  just  it 
is  that  we  be  destroyed  and  made  an  end  of;  we  have 
nothing  to  say  thereto,  nor  to  excuse  ourselves  withal;r 
nor  to  resist  what  is  determined  against  us  in  heaven 
and  in  hades.  Let  it  be  done:  destroy  us  all,  and 
that  swiftly,  that  we  may  not  suffer  from  this  long 
weariness,  which  is  worse  than  if  we  burned  in  fire. 
Certainly  it  is  a  horrible  thing  to  suffer  this  hunger ;  it 
is  like  a  snake  lacking  food,  it  gulps  down  its  saliva,  it 


328          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

hisses,  it  cries  out  for  something  to  devour.  It  is  a 
fearful  thing  to  see  the  anguish  of  it  demanding  some- 
what to  eat;  this  hunger  is  intense  as  burning  fire, 
flinging  out  sparks.  Lord,  let  the  thing  happen  that 
many  years  ago,  we  have  heard  said  by  the  old  men 
and  women  that  have  passed  away  from  us,  let  the 
heavens  fall  on  us  and  the  demons  of  the  air  come 
down,  the  Izitzimites,  who  are  to  come  to  destroy  the 
earth  with  all  that  dwell  on  it;  let  darkness  and  ob- 
scurity cover  the  whole  world,  and  the  habitation  of  men 
be  nowhere  found  therein.  This  thing  was  known  to 
the  ancients,  and  they  divulged  it,  and  from  mouth 
to  mouth  it  has  come  down  to  us,  all  this  that  has  to 
happen  when  the  world  ends  and  the  earth  is  weary 
of  producing  creatures.  Our  Lord,  such  present  end 
would  be  now  dear  to  us  as  riches  or  pleasures  once 
were — miserable  that  we  are !  See  good,  0  Lord,  that 
there  fall  some  pestilence  to  end  us  quickly.  Such 
plague  usually  comes  from  the  god  of  hades;  and  if  it 
came,  there  would  peradventure  be  provided  some  al- 
lowance of  food,  so  that  the  dead  should  not  travel  to 
hades  without  any  provision  for  the  way.  O,  that  this 
tribulation  were  of  war,  which  is  originated  by  the 
sun,  and  which  breaks  from  sleep  like  a  strong  and 
valiant  one — for  then  would  the  soldiers  arid  the  brave, 
the  stout  and  warlike  men,  take  pleasure  therein.  In 
it  many  die,  and  much  blood  is  spilt,  and  the  battle- 
field is  filled  with  dead  bodies  and  with  the  bones  and 
skulls  of  the  vanquished;  strewn  also  is  the  face  of 
the  earth  with  the  hairs  of  the  head  of  warriors  that 
rot;  but  this  they  fear  not,  for  they  know  that  their 
souls  go  to  the  house  of  the  sun.  And  there  they  honor 
the  sun  with  joyful  voices,  and  suck  the  various  flowers 
with  great  delight ;  there  all  the  stout  and  valiant  ones 
that  died  in  war  are  glorified  and  extolled;  there  also 
the  little  and  tender  children  that  die  in  war  are  pre- 
sented to  the  Sun,  very  clean  and  well  adorned,  and 
shining  like  precious  stones.  Thy  sister,  the  goddess 
of  food,  provides  for  those  that  go  thither,  supplying 
them  with  provision  for  the  way;  and  this  provision 


PRAYER  FOR  RAIN.  329 

of  necessary  things  is  the  strength  and  the  soul  and 
the  staff  of  all  the  people  of  the  world,  and  without  it 
there  is  no  life.  But  this  hunger  with  which  we  are 
afflicted,  0  our  most  humane  Lord,  is  so  sore  and  in- 
tolerable that  the  miserable  common  people  are  not 
able  to  suffer  nor  support  it;  being  still  alive,  they 
die  many  deaths;  and  not  the  people  alone  suffer, 
but  also  all  the  animals.  0  our  most  compassion- 
ate Lord,  lord  of  green  things  and  gums,  of  herbs 
odorous  and  virtuous,  I  beseech  thee  to  look  with 
eyes  of  pity  on  the  people  of  this  thy  city  and 
kingdom;  for  the  whole  world  down  to  the  very  beasts 
is  in  peril  of  destruction,  and  disappearance,  and  irre- 
mediable end.  Since  this  is  so,  I  entreat  thee  to  see 
good  to  send  back  to  us  the  food-giving  gods,  gods  of 
the  rain  and  storm,  of  the  herbs  and  of  the  trees ;  so 
that  they  perform  again  their  office  here  with  us  on 
the  earth.  Scatter  the  riches  and  the  prosperity  of 
thy  treasures,  let  the  timbrels  of  joy  be  shaken  that 
are  the  staves  of  the  gods  of  water,  let  them  take 
their  sandals  of  India-rubber  that  they  may  walk  with 
swiftness.  Give  succor,  0  Lord,  to  our  lord,  the  god 
of  the  earth,  at  least  with  one  shower  of  water,  for 
when  he  has  water  he  creates  and  sustains  us.  See 
good,  O  Lord,  to  invigorate  the  corn  and  the  other 
foods  much  wished  for  and  much  needed,  now  sown 
and  planted;  for  the  ridges  of  the  earth  suffer  sore 
need  and  anguish  from  lack  of  water.  See  good,  O 
Lord,  that  the  people  receive  this  favor  and  mercy  at 
thine  hand,  let  them  see  and  enjoy  of  the  verdure  and 
coolness  that  are  as  precious  stones;  see  good  that  the 
fruit  and  the  substance  of  the  Tlalocs  be  given,  which 
are  the  clouds  that  these  gods  carry  with  them  and 
that  sow  the  rain  about  us.  See  good,  0  Lord,  that 
the  animals  and  herbs  be  made  glad,  and  that  the 
fowls  and  birds  of  precious  feather,  such  as  the  quechotl 
and  the  caguan,  fly  and  sing  and  suck  the  herbs  and 
flowers.  Arid  let  not  this  come  about  with  thunder- 
ing and  lightnings,  symbols  of  thy  wrath ;  for  if  our 
lords  the  Tlalocs  corne  with  thunder  and  lightning,  the 


330          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

whole  people,  being  lean  and  very  weak  with  hunger, 
would  be  terrified.  If  indeed  some  are  already  marked 
out  to  go  to  the  earthly  paradise  by  the  stroke  of  the 
thunderbolt,  let  this  death  be  restricted  to  them,  and 
let  no  injury  befall  any  of  the  other  people  in  moun- 
tain or  cabin ;  neither  let  hurt  come  near  the  magueys 
or  the  other  trees  and  plants  of  the  earth;  for  these 
things  are  necessary  to  the  life  and  sustenance  of  the 
people,  poor,  forsaken,  and  castaway,  who  can  with 
difficulty  get  food  enough  'to  live,  going  about  through 
hunger  with  the  bowels  empty  and  sticking  to  the  ribs. 
O  our  Lord,  most  compassionate,  most  generous,  giver 
of  all  nourishment,  be  pleased  to  bless  the  earth,  and 
all  the  things  that  live  on  the  face  thereof.  With 
deep  sighing  and  with  anguish  of  heart  I  cry  upon  all 
those  that  are  gods  of  water,  that  are  in  the  four  quar- 
ters of  the  world,  east  and  west,  north  and  south,  and 
upon  those  that  dwell  in  the  hollow  of  the  earth,  or 
in  the  air,  or  in  the  high  mountains,  or  in  the  deep 
caves,  I  beseech  them  to  come  and  console  this  poor 
people  and  to  water  the  earth;  for  the  eyes  of  all  that 
inhabit  the  earth,  animals  as  well  as  men,  are  turned 
toward  you,  and  their  hope  is  set  upon  your  persons. 
O  our  Lord,  be  pleased  to  come.19 

This  is  a  prayer  to  Tlaloc.  But  it  was  not  with 
prayers  alone  that  they  deprecated  his  wrath  and  im- 
plored his  assistance ;  here  as  elsewhere  in  the  Mexi- 
can religion  sacrifices  played  an  important  part.  When 
the  rain  failed  and  the  land  was  parched  by  drought, 
great  processions  were  made,  in  which  a  number  of 
hairless  dogs,  common  to  the  country,  and  good  to  eat, 
were  carried  on  decorated  litters  to  a  place  devoted  to 
this  use.  There  they  were  sacrificed  to  the  god  of 
water  by  cutting  out  their  hearts.  Afterward  the 
carcasses  were  eaten  amid  great  festivities.  All  these 
things  the  Tlascaltec  historian,  Cainargo,  had  seen 
with  his  own  eyes  thirty  years  before  writing  his  book. 
The  sacrifices  of  men,  which  were  added  to  these  in 

l*Sakagun,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  372-6;  Sahagun, 
Hist.  Gen.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  64-70. 


VENGEANCE  OF  TLALOC.  331 

the  days  of  greatness  of  the  old  religion,  he  describes 
as  he  was  informed  by  priests  who  had  officiated 
thereat.  Two  festivals  in  the  year  were  celebrated  to 
Tlaloc,  the  greater  feast  and  the  less.  Each  of  these 
was  terminated  by  human  sacrifices.  The  side  of  the 
victim  was  opened  with  a  sharp  knife :  the  high-priest 
tore  out  the  heart,  and  turning  toward  the  east,  offer  ed- 
it with  lifted  hands  to  the  sun,  crushing  it  at  the  same 
time  with  all  his  strength.  He  repeated  this,  turning 
in  succession  toward  the  remaining  three  cardinal 
points,  the  other  tlamacaxques,  or  priests,  not  ceasing 
the  while  to  darken  with  clouds  of  incense  the  faces 
of  the  idols.  The  heart  was  lastly  burned,  and  the 
body  flung  down  the  steps  of  the  temple.  A  priest, 
who  had  afterward  been  converted  to  Christianity, 
told  Camargo  that  when  he  tore  out  the  heart  of  a 
victim  and  flung  it  down,  it  used  to  palpitate  with  such 
force  as  to  clear  itself  of  the  ground  several  times  till 
it  grew  cold.  Tlaloc  was  held  in  exceeding  respect, 
and  the  priests  alone  had  the  right  to  enter  his  tem- 
ple. Whoever  dared  to  blaspheme  against  him  was 
supposed  to  die  suddenly  or  to  be  stricken  of  thunder ; 
the  thunderbolt,  instrument  of  his  vengeance,  flashed 
from  the  sky,  even  at  the  moment  it  was  clearest. 
The  sacrifices  offered  to  him  in  times  of  drought  were 
never  without  answer  and  result;  for,  as  Camargo 
craftily  insinuates,  the  priests  took  good  care  never  to 
undertake  them  till  they  saw  indications  of  coming 
rain ;  besides,  he  adds — introducing,  in  defiance  of  nee 
deus  intersit,  a  surely  unneeded  personage,  if  we  suppose 
his  last  statement  true — the  devil,  to  confirm  these 
people  in  their  errors,  was  always  sure  to  send  rain.20 
Children  were  also  sacrificed  to  Tlaloc.  Says  Moto- 
linia,  when  four  years  came  together  in  which  there 
was  no  rain,  and  there  remained  as  a  consequence 
hardly  any  green  thing  in  the  fields,  the  people  waited 
till  the  maize  grew  as  high  as  the  knee,  and  then  made 

*  Camargo,  Hist,  de  Tlaxcatlan,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn. 
99,  pp.  133,  135-5.  Camargo,  being  a  Tlascaltec,  most  of  his  writings  have 
particular  reference  to  his  own  province,  but  in  this  as  in  other  places  he 
seems  to  be  describing  general  Mexican  customs. 


332          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

a  general  subscription  with  which  four  slave  children 
of  five  or  six  years  of  age  were  purchased.  These 
they  sacrificed  in  a  cruel  manner  by  closing  them  up 
in  a  cave,  which  was  never  opened  except  on  these 
occasions.21 

According  to  Mendieta,  again,  children  were  some- 
times offered  to  this  god  by  drowning.  The  children 
were  put  into  a  canoe,  which  was  carried  to  a  certain 
part  of  the  lake  of  Mexico  where  was  a  whirlpool, 
which  is  no  longer  visible.  Here  the  boat  was  sunk 
with  its  living  cargo.  These  gods  had,  according  to 
the  same  author,  altars  in  the  neighborhood  of  pools, 
especially  near  springs;  which  altars  were  furnished 
with  some  kind  of  roof,  and  at  the  principal  fountains 
were  four  in  number,  set  over  against  each  other  in  the 
shape  of  a  cross — the  cross  of  the  rain-god.22 

The  Vatican  Codex  says  that  in  April  a  boy  was 
sacrificed  to  Tlaloc,  and  his  dead  body  put  into  the 
maize-granaries  or  maize-fields — it  is  not  clearly  appar- 
ent which — to  preserve  the  food  of  the  people  from 
spoiling.23  It  is  to  Sahagun,  however,  that  we  must 
turn  for  the  most  complete  and  authentic  account  of 
the  festivals  of  Tlaloc,  with  their  attendant  sacrifices. 

In  the  first  days  of  the  first  month  of  the  year, 
whbh  month  is  called  in  some  parts  of  Mexico  Qua- 
vitleloa,  but  generally  Atlcaoalo,  and  begins  on  the 
second  of  our  February,  a  great  feast  was  made  in 
honor  of  the  Tlalocs,  gods  of  rain  and  water.  For 

21  The  text,  without  saying  directly  that  these  unfortunate  children  were 
closed  there  alive,  appears  to  infer  it:  'Cuando  el  maiz  estaba  a  la  rodilla, 
para  un  dia  repartian  y  echaban  pecho,  con  que  compraban  cuatro  ninos 
esclavos  de  edad  de  cinco  a  seis  afios,  y  sacrificabanlos  a  Tlaloc,  dios  del 
agua,  poniendolos  en  una  cueva,  y  cerrabanla  hasta  otro  afio  que  hacian  lo 
mismo.  Este  cruel  sacrificio  '  Motolinia,  in  Icazbalceta,  Col.  de  Doc.,  torn,  i., 
p.  45. 

22 '  Tambien  tenian  idolos  junto  a  los  aguas,  mayormente  cerca  de  las 
fuentes,  a  do  hacian  sus  altares  con  sus  gradas  cubiertas  por  encima,  y  en 
muchas  principales  fuentes  cuatro  altares  de  estos  £  manera  de  cruz  unos 
enfrente  de  otros,  y  alii  en  el  agua  echaban  mucho  encienso  ofrecido  y  papel. ' 
Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  pp.  87,  102. 

23  'In  questo  mese  ritornavano  ad  ornare  li  tempj,  e  le  immagim  come 
nello  passato,  ed  in  fine  delli  venti  di  sacrificavano  un  putto  al  Dio  dell'  ac- 
qua,  e  lo  mettevano  infra  il  maiz,  a  fine  che  non  si  guastasse  la  provisione 
di  tutto  1'  anno.'  Spiegazione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano,  tav.  lx.,  in 
Ktnyoborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  191. 


SACRIFICES  OF  CHILDREN.  333 

this  occasion  many  children  at  the  breast  were  pur- 
chased from  their  mothers;  those  being  chosen  that 
had  two  whirls  (remolinos)  in  their  hair,  and  that  had 
been  born  under  a  good  sign ;  it  being  said  that  such 
were  the  most  agreeable  sacrifice  to  the  storm  gods, 
and  most  likely  to  induce  them  to  send  rain  in  due 
season.  Some  of  these  infants  were  butchered  for 
this  divine  holiday  on  certain  mountains,  and  some 
were  drowned  in  the  lake  of  Mexico.  With  the  be- 
ginning of  the  festival,  in  every  house,  from  the  hut 
to  the  palace,  certain  poles  were  set  up,  and  to  these 
were  attached  strips  of  the  paper  of  the  country, 
daubed  over  with  India-rubber  gum,  said  strips  be- 
ing called  amateteuitl ;  this  was  considered  an  honor  to 
the  water-gods.  And  the  first  place  where  children 
were  killed  was  Quauhtepetl,  a  high  mountain  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Tlatelulco ;  all  infants,  boys  or  girls, 
sacrificed  there  were  called  by  the  name  of  the  place, 
Quauhtepetl,  and  were  decorated  with  strips  of  paper 
dyed  red.  The  second  place  where  children  were 
killed  was  Yoaltecatl,  a  high  mountain  near  Guada- 
lupe.  The  victims  were  decorated  with  pieces  of 
black  paper  with  red  lines  on  it,  and  were  named 
after  the  place,  Yoaltecatl.  The  third  death  halt 
was  made  at  Tepetzingo,  a  well-known  hillock  that 
rose  up  from  the  waters  of  the  lake  opposite  Tlate- 
lulco; there  they  killed  a  little  girl,  decking  her  with 
blue  paper,  and  calling  her  Quetzalxoch,  for  so  was 
this  hillock  called  by  another  name.  Poiauhtla,  on 
the  boundary  of  Tlascala,  was  the  fourth  hill  of  sac- 
rifice. Here  they  killed  children,  named  as  usual  after 
the  locality,  and  decorated  with  paper  on  which  were 
lines  of  India-rubber  oil.  The  fifth  place  of  sacrifice 
was  the  no  longer  visible  whirlpool  or  sink  of  the 
lake  of  Mexico,  Pantitlan.  Those  drowned  here  were 
called  Epcoatl,  and  their  adornment  epuepaniuhqui. 
The  sixth  hill  of  death  was  Cocotl,24  near  Chalcoa- 
tenco ;  the  infant  victims  were  named  after  it  and  deco- 

24 '  Whence  is  derived  the  name  cocoles,  by  which  the  boys  of  the  choir  of 
the  cathedral  of  Mexico  are  now  known. '  Bmtamante,  note  to  Sahagun,  Hist. 
Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  p.  85. 


334          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

rated  with  strips  of  paper  of  which  half  the  number 
were  red  and  half  a  tawny  color.  The  mount  Yiauh- 
queme,  near  Atlacuioaia,  was  the  seventh  station;  the 
victims  being  named  after  the  place,  and  adorned  with 
paper  of  a  tawny  color. 

All  these  miserable  babes  before  being  carried  to 
their  death  were  bedecked  with  precious  stones  and 
rich  feathers,  and  with  raiment  and  sandals  wrought 
curiously;  they  put  upon  them  paper  wings  (as  if  they 
were  angels) ;  they  stained  their  faces  with  oil  of  India- 
rubber,  and  on  the  middle  of  each  tiny  cheek  they 
painted  a  round  spot  of  white.  Not  able  yet  to  walk, 
the  victims  were  carried  in  litters  shining  with  jewels 
and  awave  with  plumes ;  flutes  and  trumpets  bellowed 
and  shrilled  around  the  little  bedizened  heads,  all  so 
unfortunate  in  their  two  whirls  of  hair,  as  they  passed 
along ;  and  everywhere  as  the  litters  were  borne  by, 
all  the  people*  wept.  When  the  procession  reached 
the  temple  near  Tepetzinco,  on  the  east  called  Tozocan, 
the  priests  rested  there  all  night,  watching  and  singing 
songs,  so  that  the  little  ones  could  not  sleep.  In  the 
morning  the  march  was  again  resumed;  if  the  children 
wept  copiously,  those  around  them  were  very  glad, 
saying  it  was  a  sign  that  much  rain  would  fall;  while 
if  they  met  any  dropsical  person  on  the  road  it  was 
taken  for  a  bad  omen,  and  something  that  would  hinder 
the  rain.  If  any  of  the  temple  ministers,  or  of  the 
others  called  quaquavitli,  or  of  the  old  men,  turned  back 
to  their  houses  before  they  came  to  the  place  where 
the  sacrifice  was  done,  they  were  held  for  infamous  and 
unworthy  of  any  public  office ;  thenceforward  they 
were  called  mocauhque,  that  is  to  say,  *  deserters. >2i 

More  ludicrous  than  diabolical  are  the  ceremonies 
of  the  next  feast  of  Tlaloc.  In  the  sixth  Aztec  month, 
the  month  Etzalqualixtli,  there  was  held  a  festival  in 
honor  of  the  gods  of  water  and  rain.  Before  the 
commencement  of  this  festival  the  idol  priests  fasted 
four  days,  and  before  beginning  to  fast  they  made  a 

25 Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  37-8;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn. 
i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  84-7. 


SPOLIATION  OF  CAESAR  FOR  THE  CHURCH.  335 

procession  to  a  certain  piece  of  water,  near  Citlaltepec, 
to  gather  tules;  for  at  that  place  these  rushes  grew 
very  tall  and  thick,  and  what  part  of  them  was  under 
water  was  very  white.  There  they  pulled  them  up, 
rolled  them  in  bundles  wrapped  about  with  their 
blankets,  and  so  carried  them  back  on  their  shoulders. 
Both  on  going  out  for  these  rushes  and  on  coming 
back  with  them,  it  was  the  custom  to  rob  any  one  that 
was  met  on  the  road;  and  as  every  one  knew  of  this 
custom,  the  roads  were  generally  pretty  clear  of  strag- 
glers about  this  time.  No  one,  not  even  a  king's 
officer  returning  to  his  master  with  tribute,  could  hope 
to  escape  on  such  an  occasion,  nor  to  obtain  from  any 
court  or  magistrate  any  indemnification  for  loss  or 
injury  so  sustained  in  goods  or  person ;  and  if  he  made 
any  resistance  to  his  clerical  spoilers,  they  beat  and 
kicked  and  dragged  him  over  the  ground.  When  they 
reached  the  temple  with  their  rushes  they  spread  them, 
out  on  the  ground  and  plaited  them,  white  with  green, 
into,  as  it  were,  painted  mats,  sewing  them  firm  with 
threads  of  maguey  root;  of  these  mats  they  made 
stools,  and  chairs  with  backs.  The  first  day  of  the 
fast  arrived,  all  the  idol  ministers  and  priests  retired 
to  their  apartments  in  the  temple  buildings.  There 
retired  all  those  called  tlamacaztequioagueSj  that  is  to 
say,  'priests  that  have  done  feats  in  war,  that  have 
captured  three  or  four  prisoners;'  these,  although  they 
did  not  reside  continually  in  the  temple,  resorted 
thither  at  set  times  to  fulfil  their  offices.  There 
retired  also  those  called  tlamacazcayiaque,  that  is, 
'priests  that  have  taken  one  prisoner  in  war;'  these 
also,  although  not  regular  inmates  of  the  cues,  resorted 
thither,  when  called  by  their  duties.  There  retired 
also  those  that  are  called  tlamacazquecuicanime,  i  priest 
singers,'  who  resided  permanently  in  the  temple  build- 
ing because  they  had  as  yet  captured  no  one  in  war. 
Last  of  all,  those  also  retired  that  were  called  tlama- 
caztezcahoan,  which  means  'inferior  ministers,'  and 
those  boys,  like  little  sacristans,  who  were  called  tlamar 
catoton,  'little  ministers.' 


336          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP 

Next,  all  the  rush  mats  that  had  been  made,  which 
were  called  aztapilpetlatl,  'jaspered  mats  of  rushes  or 
mats  of  white  and  green,'  were  spread  round  about 
the  hearths  (hogares)  of  the  temple,  and  the  priests 
proceeded  to  invest  themselves  for  their  offices.  They 
put  on  a  kind  of  jacket  that  they  had,  called  xicolli,  of 
painted  cloth ;  on  the  left  arm  they  put  a  kind  of  scarf, 
macataxtli;  in  the  left  hand  they  took  a  bag  of  copal, 
and  in  the  right  a  censer,  temaitl,  which  is  a  kind  of 
sauce-pan  or  frying-pan  of  baked  clay.  Then  they 
entered  into  the  court-yard  of  the  temple,  took  u'p 
their  station  in  the  middle  of  it,  put  live  coals  into 
their  censers,  added  copal,  and  offered  incense  toward 
the  four  quarters  of  the  world,  east,  north,  west, 
and  south.  This  done,  they  emptied  the  coals  from 
their  incense-pans  into  the  great  braziers  that  were 
always  burning  at  night  in  the  court,  braziers  some- 
what less  in  height  than  the  height  of  a  man,  and  so 
thick  that  two  men  could  with  difficulty  clasp  them. 

This  over,  the  priests  returned  to  the  temple  build- 
ings, calmecac,  and  put  off  their  ornaments.  Then 
they  offered  before  the  hearth  little  balls  of  dough, 
called  veutelolotli;  each  priest  offering  four,  arranging 
them  on  the  aforementioned  rush  mats,  and  putting 
them  down  with  great  care,  so  that  they  should  not 
roll  nor  move;  and  if  the  balls  of  any  one  stirred,  it 
was  the  duty  of  his  fellows  to  call  attention  to  the 
matter  and  have  him  punished  therefor.  Some  offered 
instead  of  dough  four  little  pies  or  four  pods  of  green 
pepper.  A  careful  scrutiny  was  alsov  observed  to  see 
if  any  one  had  any  dirt  on  his  blanket,  or  any  bit  of 
thread  or  hair  or  feather,  and  that  no  one  should  trip 
or  fall ;  for  in  such  a  case  he  had  to  be  punished ;  and 
as  a  consequence,  every  man  took  good  heed  to  all  his 
steps  and  ways  during  these  four  days.  At  the  end 
of  each  day's  offerings,  certain  old  men,  called  quaqua- 
cuiltin,  came,  their  faces  dyed  black,  and  their  heads 
shaved,  save  only  the  crown  of  the  head,  where  the 
hair  was  allowed  to  grow  long,  the  reverse  of  the  cus- 
tom of  the  Christian  priests.  These  old  men  daily 


BATHING  IN  THE  FESTIVAL  OF  TLALOO.  337 

collected  the  offerings  that  had  been  made,  dividing 
them  among  themselves.  It  was  further  the  custom 
with  all  the  priests  and  in  all  the  temples,  while  fast- 
ing these  four  days,  to  be  wakened  at  midnight  by  the 
blast  of  horns  and  shells  and  other  instruments;  when 
all  rose  up,  and,  utterly  naked,  went  to  where  were 
certain  thorns  of  maguey,  cut  for  the  purpose  the  day 
before,  and  with  little  lancets  of  stone  they  hacked 
their  ears,  staining  the  prepared  thorns  of  maguey  and 
besmearing  their  faces  with  the  blood  that  flowed ;  each 
man  staining  maguey  thorns  with  his  blood  in  number 
proportioned  to  his  devotion — some  five,  others  more, 
others  less.  This  done  all  the  priests  went  to  bathe 
themselves-,  how  cold  soever  it  might  be,  attended  by 
the  music  of  marine  shells  and  shrill  whistles  of  baked 
clay.  Every  one  had  a  little  bag  strapped  to  his  shoul- 
ders, ornamented  with  tassels  or  strips  of  painted  paper ; 
in  these  bags  was  carried  a  sort  of  herb  ground  fine 
and  made  up  with  a  kind  of  black  dye  into  little  longish 
pellets.26  The  general  body  of  the  priests  marched 
along,  each  one  carrying  a  leaf  of  maguey  in  which  the 
thorns  were  stuck,  as  in  a  pin  cushion,  which  he  had  to 
use.  Before  these  went  a  priest  with  his  censer  full  of 
live  coals  and  a  bag  of  copal;  and  in  advance  of  all 
these  walked  one  carrying  a  board  on  his  shoulder  of 
about  a  span  broad  and  two  yards  long,  hollowed  ap- 
parently in  some  way,  and  filled  with  little  rollers  of 
wood  that  rattled  and  sounded  as  the  bearer  went  along 
shaking  them.27  All  the  priests  took  part  in  this  pro- 
cession, only  four  remaining  behind  to  take  care  of  the 

26  '  En  aquellas  talegas  llevaban  una  manera  de  harina  hecha  £  la  manera 
de  estiercol  de  ratone3,  que  ellos  llamaban  yyaqualli,  que  era  conficionada 
con  tiiita  y  con  polvos  de  una  yerva  que  ellos  llaman  yietll;  es  como  veleuos 
de  Castilla.    Kmysborou'jlis  Mex,  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  51. 

27  Sahagun  gives  two  different  accounts  of  this  instrument:  '  Una  tabla  tan 
larga  como  dos  varas,  y  ancha  como  un  palmo  6  poco  mas.     Yvan  dentro  da 
eatan  tablaa  uiias  sonajas,  y  el  que  le  llevaba  iva  sonando  con  ellas.     Llama- 
ban  a  esta  tabla  Axochicaoaliztli,  6  Nacatlquoavitl. '     The  second  description 
is:  '  Una  tabla  de  anchura  de  un  palmo  y  de  largura  de  dos  brazas;  a  trechos 
ivan  unos  sonajas  en  esta  tabla  unos  pedazuelos  de  madero  rollizos  y  atados 
a  la  misma  tabla,  y  dentro  de  ella  ivan  sonando  los  unos  con  los  otros.     Esta 
tabla  se  llarnaba  aiauhchicaoaztli. '  Kinysborouylia  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp. 
51,  53. 

VOL.  III.    22 


338          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

temple  building,  or  calmecac,  which  was  their  monas- 
tery. These  four  during  the  absence  of  the  others 
remained  seated  in  the  calmecac,  and  occupied  them- 
selves in  devotion  to  the  gods,  in  singing,  and  in  rattling 
with  a  hollow  board  of  the  sort  mentioned  above.  At 
the  piece  of  water  where  the  priests  were  to  bathe, 
there  were  four  houses,  called  axaucalli,  'fog  houses/ 
set  each  toward  one  of  the  four  quarters  of  the  com- 
pass; in  the  ablutions  of  the  first  night  one  of  these 
houses  was  occupied,  on  the  second  night  another,  and 
so  on  through  all  the  four  nights  and  four  houses  of 
the  fog.  Here  also  were  four  tall  poles  standing  up 
out  of  the  water.  And  the  unfortunate  bathers, 
naked  from  the  outset  as  we  remember,  reached  this 
place  trembling  and  their  teeth  chattering  with  cold. 
One  of  their  number  mumbled  a  few  words,  which 
being  translated  mean:  This  is  the  place  of  snakes, 
the  place  of  mosquitoes,  the  place  of  ducks,  and  the 
place  of  rushes.  This  said,  all  flung  themselves  into 
the  water  and  began  to  splash  with  their  hands  and 
feet,  making  a  great  noise,  and  imitating  the  cries  of 
various  aquatic  birds.28  When  the  bathing  was  over, 
the  naked  priests  took  their  way  back,  accompanied 
by  the  music  of  pipes  and  shells.  Half  dead  with 
cold  and  weariness  they  reached  the  temple,  where, 
drawing  their  mantles  over  them,  they  flung  them- 
selves down  in  a  confused  heap  on  the  rush  mats  so 
often  mentioned,  and  slept  as  best  they  could.  We 
are  told  that  some  talked  in  their  sleep,  and  some 
walked  about  in  it,  and  some  snored,  and  some  sighed 
in  a  painful  manner.  There  they  lay  in  a  tangled 
weary  heap,  not  rising  till  noon  of  the  next  day. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  on  waking  was  to  array 
themselves  in  their  canonicals,  take  their  censers,  and 
to  follow  an  old  priest  called  Quaquacuilti  to  all  the 

28  '  Comenzaban  d  vocear  y  a  gritar  y  a  contrahacer  las  aves  del  agua,  unos 
a  los  anades,  otros  a  unas  aves  zancudas  del  agua  que  llama  pipititi,  otros  a 
los  cuervos  marines,  otros  a  las  garzotas  blancas,  otros  a  las  garzas.  Aque- 
llas  palabras  que  decia  el  satrapa  parece  •  que  eran  invocacion  del  Demonio 
para  hablar  aquellos  lenguages  de  aves  en  al  agua.'  Kinysborourjtis  Mex. 
Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  51. 


RELIGIOUS  DISCIPLINE.  S39 

chapels  and  altars  of  the  idols,  incensing  them.     After 
this  they  were  at  liberty  to  eat;  they  squatted  down 
in  groups,  and  to  each  one  was  given  such  food  as  had 
been  sent  to  him  from  his  own  house ;  and  if  any  one 
took  any  of  the  portion  of  another,  or  even  exchanged 
his  for  that  of  another,  he  was  punished  for  it.     Pun- 
ishment also  attended  the  dropping  of  any  morsel 
while  eating,  if  the  fault  were  not  atoned  for  by  a  fine. 
After  this  meal,  they  all  went  to  cut  down  branches 
of  a  certain  kind  called  acxoiatl,  or,  where  these  were 
not  to  be  found,  green  canes  instead,  and  to  bring  them 
to  the   temple   in   sheaves.     There  they  sat   down, 
every  man  with  his  sheaf,  and  waited  for  an  arranged 
signal.     The  signal  given,  every  one   sprang   up  to 
some  appointed  part  of  the  temple  to  decorate  it  with 
his  boughs;  and  if  any  one  went  to  a  place  not  his,  or 
wandered  from  his  companions,  or  lagged  behind  them, 
they  punished  him — a  punishment  only  to  be  remitted 
by  paying  to  his  accuser,  within  the  four  days  of  which 
we  are  now  speaking,  either  a  hen  or  a  blanket  or  a 
breech-clout,  or,  if  very  poor,  a  ball  of  dough  in  a  cup. 
These  four  days  over,  the  festival  was  come,  and 
every  man  began  it  by  eating  etzalli,  a  kind  of  maize 
porridge,  in  his  own  house.     For  those  that  wished  it, 
there    was    general    dancing    and    rejoicing.     Many 
decked  themselves  out  like  merry-andrews  and  went 
about  in  parties  carrying  pots,  going  from  house  to 
house,  demanding  etzalli.     They  sang  and  danced  be- 
fore the  door,  and  said,  "  If  you  do  not  give  me  some 
porridge,  I  will  knock  a  hole  in  your  house;"  where- 
upon the  etzalli  was  given.     These  revels  began  at 
midnight  and  ceased  at  dawn.     Then  indeed  did  the 
priests  array  themselves  in  all  their  glory :  underneath 
was  a  jacket,  over  that  a  thin  transparent  mantle 
called  aiauhquemitl,  decorated  with  parrot-feathers  set 
crosswise.     Between  the  shoulders    they  fastened   a 
great  round  paper  flower,  like  a  shield.     To  the  nape 
of  the  neck  they  attached  other  flowers  of  crumpled 
paper  of  a  semi-circular  shape;  these  hung  down  on 
both  sides  of  the  head  like  ears.     The  forehead  was 


340          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINCIS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

painted  blue,  and  over  the  paint  was  dusted  powder  of 
marcasite.  In  the  right  hand  was  carried  a  bag  made 
of  tiger-skin,  and  embroidered  with  little  white  shells 
which  clattered  as  one  walked.  The  bag  seems  to 
have  been  three-cornered;  from  one  angle  hung  down 
the  tiger's  tail,  from  another  his  two  fore  feet,  from 
another  his  two  hind  feet.  It  contained  incense  made 
from  a  certain  herb  called  yiauhtli.29  There  went  one 
priest  bearing  a  hollow  board  filled  with  wooden  rat- 
tles, as  before  described.  In  advance  of  this  person- 
age there  marched  a  number  of  others,  carrying  in 
their  arms  images  of  the  gods  made  of  that  gum  that 
is  black  and  leaps,  called  ulli  (India-rubber);  these 
images  were  called  ulteteu,  that  is  to  say,  'gods  of  ulli/ 
Other  ministers  there  were  carrying  in  their  arms 
lumps  of  copal,  shaped  like  sugar  loaves ;  each  pyramid 
having  a  rich  feather,  called  quetzal,  stuck  in  the  peak 
of  it  like  a  plume.  In  this  manner  went  the  procession 
with  the  usual  horns  and  shells,  and  the  purpose  of  it 
was  to  lead  to  punishment  those  that  had  transgressed 
in  any  of  the  points  we  have  already  discussed.  The 
culprits  were  marched  along,  some  held  by  the  hair  at 
the  nape  of  the  neck,  others  by  the  breech-clout;  the 
boy  offenders  were  held  by  the  hand,  or,  if  very  small, 
were  carried.  All  these  were  brought  to  a  place  called 
Totecco,  where  water  was.  Here  certain  ceremonies 
were  performed,  paper  was  burned  in  sacrifice,  as  were 
also  the  pyramids  of  copal  and  images  of  ulli,  incense 
being  thrown  into  the  fire  and  other  incense  scattered 
over  the  rush  mats  with  which  the  place  was  adorned. 
While  this  was  going  on,  those  in  charge  of  the  cul- 
prits had  not  been  idle,  but  were  flinging  them  into 
the  water.  Great  was  the  noise,  it  is  said,  made  by  the 
splash  of  one  tossed  in,  and  the  water  leaped  high  with 
the  shock.  As  any  one  came  to  the  surface  or  tried 
to  scramble  out  he  was  pushed  in  or  pushed  down 
again — well  was  it,  then,  for  him  who  could  swim,  and 
by  long  far  diving  keep  out  of  the  reach  of  his  tor- 
mentors. For  the  others  they  were  so  roughly 

29  '  Yauhtlaulli  or  Yauitl,  mayz  moreno  o  negro. '  Molina,  Vocabulario. 


THE  FOUR  BALLS.  341 

handled  that  they  were  often  left  for  dead  on  the 
water's  edge,  where  their  relatives  would  come  and 
hang-  them  up  by  the  feet  to  let  the  water  they  had 
swallowed  run  out  of  them;  a  method  of  cure  surely 
as  bad  as  the  malady. 

The  shrill  music  struck  up  again  and  the  procession 
returned  by  the  way  it  had  come,  the  friends  of  the 
punished  ones  carrying  them.  The  monastery  or  cal- 
mecac  reached,  there  began  another  four  days'  fast, 
called  netlacacaoaliztli;  but  in  this  the  sharp  religious 
etiquette  of  the  first  four  days'  fast  was  not  observed, 
or  at  least,  one  was  not  liable  to  be  informed  upon  or 
punished  for  a  breach  of  such  etiquette.  The  conclu- 
sion of  this  fast  was  celebrated  by  feasting.  Again 
the  priests  decorated  themselves  in  festal  array.  All 
the  head  was  painted  blue,  the  face  was  covered  with 
honey  (miel)  mixed  with  a  black  dye.  Over  the 
shoulders  were  carried  the  incense-bags  embroidered 
with  little  white  shells — bags  made  of  tiger-skins,  as 
before  described,  for  the  chief  priests,  and  of  paper 
painted  to  imitate  tiger-skin  in  the  case  of  the  inferior 
priests.  Some  of  these  satchels  were  fashioned  to 
resemble  the  bird  called  atzitzicuilotl,  others  to  resemble 
ducks.  The  priests  marched  in  procession  to  the  tem- 
ple, and  before  all  marched  the  priest  of  Tlaloc.  He 
had  on  his  head  a  crown  of  basket-work,  fitting  close  to 
the  temples  below  and  spreading  out  above,  with  many 
plumes  issuing  from  the  middle  of  it.  His  face  was 
anointed  with  melted  India-rubber  gum,  black  as  ink, 
and  concealed  by  an  ugly  mask  with  a  great  nose,  and 
a  wig  attached,  which  fell  as  low  as  the  waist.  All 
went  along  mumbling  to  themselves  as  if  they  prayed, 
till  they  came  to  the  cu  of  Tlaloc.  There  they  stopped 
and  spread  tule  mats  on  the  ground,  and  dusted  them 
over  with  powdered  tule  leaves  mixed  with  yiauhtli 
incense.  Upon  this  the  acting  priest  placed  four  round 
chalchiuites,  like  little  balls;  then  he  took  a  small 
hook  painted  blue,  and  touched  each  ball  with  it;  and 
as  he  touched  each  he  made  a  movement  as  if  drawing 
back  his  hand,  and  turned  himself  completely  round. 


342          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

He  Scattered  more  incense  on  the  mats,  then  he  took 
the  board  with  the  rattles  inside  and  sounded  with  it 
—perhaps  a  kind  of  religious  stage  thunder,  in  imita- 
tion of  the  thunder  of  his  god.  Upon  this  every  one 
retired  to  his  house  or  to  his  monastery  and  put  off 
his  ornaments;  and  the  unfortunates  who  had  been 
ducked  were  carried  at  last  to  their  own  dwellings  for 
the  rest  and  recovery  that  they  so  sorely  needed. 
That  night  the  festivities  burst  out  with  a  new  glory, 
the  musical  instruments  of  the  cu  itself  were  sounded, 
the  great  drums  and  the  shrill  shells.  Well  watched 
that  night  were  the  prisoners  who  were  doomed  to 
death  on  the  morrow.  ^TVlien  it  came,  they  were 
adorned  with  the  trappings  of  the  Tlaloc  gods — for  it 
was  said  they  were  the  images  of  these  gods — and 
those  that  were  killed  first  were  said  to  be  the  foun- 
dation of  the  others,  which  seemed  to  be  symbolized 
by  those  who  had  to  die  last  being  made  to  seat  them- 
selves on  those  who  had  been  first  killed.30 

The  slaughter  over,  the  hearts  of  the  victims  were 
put  into  a  pot  that  was  painted  blue  and  stained  with 
ulli  in  four  places.  Together  with  this  pot  offerings 
were  taken  of  paper  and  feathers  and  precious  stones 
and  chalchiuites,  and  a  party  set  out  with  the  whole 
for  that  part  of  the  lake  where  the  whirlpool  is,  called 
Pantitlan.  All  who  assisted  at  this  offering  and  sacri- 
fice were  provided  with  a  supply  of  the  herb  called 
iztauhiattj  which  is  something  like  the  incense  used  in 
Spain,  and  they  puffed  it  with  their  mouths  over  each 
other's  faces  and  over  the  faces  of  their  children. 
This  they  did  to  hinder  maggots  getting  into  the  eyes, 
and  also  to  protect  against  a  certain  disease  of  the 
eyes  called  exocuillo-o-alixtli;  some  also  put  this  herb 
into  their  ears,  and  others  for  a  certain  superstition 
they  had  held  a  handful  of  it  clutched  in  the  hand. 
The  party  entered  a  great  canoe  belonging  to  the  king, 

80  '  Comenzaban  luego  a  matar  a  los  captives;  aquellos  que  primero  mata- 
ban  decian  que  eran  el  f undamento  de  los  que  eran  imagen  de  los  Tlaloques-, 
que  ivan  aderezados  con  los  ornamentos  de  los  mismos  llaloques  que  (ivaii 
aderezados)  decian  eran  sus  imagenes,  y  asi  los  que  morian  &  la  postre  ivanse 
a  sentar  sobre  los  que  prirnero  haljiao.  jEUjej'to.  Kinysboroufjh's  MCX.  Antiq., 
vol.  vii.,  r>.  54. 


IMAGES  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS.  343 

furnished  with  green  oars,  or  paddles,  spotted  with 
ulli,  and  rowed  swiftly  to  the  place  Pantitlan,  where 
the  whirlpool  was.  This  whirlpool  was  surrounded 
by  logs  driven  into  the  bottom  of  the  lake  like  piles  — 
probably  to  keep  canoes  from  being  drawn  into  the 
sink.  These  logs  being  reached,  the  priests,  standing 
in  the  bows  of  the  royal  vessel,  began  to  play  on  their 
horns  and  shells.  Conspicuous  among  them  stood 
their  chief  holding  the  pot  containing  the  hearts;  he 
flung  them  far  into  the  whirling  hollow  of  water,  and 
it  is  said  that  when  the  hearts  plunged  in,  the  waters 
were  strangely  moved  and  stirred  into  waves  and  foam. 
The  precious  stones  were  also  thrown  in,  and  the 
papers  of  the  offering  were  fastened  to  the  stakes  with 
a  number  of  the  chalchiuites  and  other  stones.  A 
priest  took  a  censer  and  put  four  papers  called  telhuitl 
into  it,  and  burned  them,  offering  them  toward  the 
whirlpool;  then  he  threw  them,  censer  and  all,  still 
burning,  into  the  sink.  That  done,  the  canoe  was  put 
about  and  rowed  to  the  landing  of  Tetamacolco,  and 
every  one  bathed  there. 

All  this  took  place  between  midnight  and  morning, 
and  when  the  light  began  to  break,  the  whole  body  of 
the  priests  went  to  bathe  in  the  usual  place.  They 
washed  the  blue  paint  off  their  heads,  save  only  on  the 
forehead  ;  and  if  there  were  any  offences  of  any  priest 
to  be  punished,  he  was  here  ducked  and  half  drowned, 
as  described  above.  Lastly,  all  returned  to  their 
monasteries,  and  the  green  rush  mats  spread  there 
were  thrown  out  behind  each  house.31 

We  have  given  the  description  of  two  great  festi- 
vals of  the  Tlalocs  —  two  being  all  that  are  mentioned 
by  many  authorities  —  there  still  remain,  however,  two 
other  notable  occasions  on  which  they  were  propitiated 
and  honored. 

In  the  thirteenth  month,  which  was  called  Tepeil- 
huitl,  and  which  began,  according  to  Clavigero,  on  the 
24th  of  October,  it  was  the  custom  to  cut  certain  sticks 


fj^s  Mex.   Anliq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  49-55;  Sahagun,  Hist.   Gen.t 
torn,  i.,  LI>.  ii.,  pp.  111-24. 


344          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP 

into  the  shape  of  snakes.  Certain  images,  as  of  chil- 
,  dren,  were  also  cut  out  of  wood,  and  these  dolls,  called 
hecatotonti,  together  with  the  wooden  snakes,  were 
used  as  a  foundation  or  centre  round  which  to  build 
up  little  effigies  of  the  mountains;  wherein  the  Tlalocs 
were  honored  as  gods  of  the  mountains,  and  wherein 
memorial  was  had  of  those  that  had  been  drowned,  or 
killed  by  thunderbolts,  or  whose  bodies  had  been 
buried  without  cremation — the  dolls  perhaps  repre- 
senting the  bodies  of  these,  and  the  snakes  the  thun- 
derbolts. Having  then  these  wooden  dolls  and  snakes 
as  a  basis,  they  were  covered  with  dough  mixed  from 
the  seeds  of  the  wild  amaranth ;  over  each  doll  certain 
papers  were  put;  round  one  snake  and  one  doll,  set 
back  to  back,  there  appears  next  to  have  been  bound 
a  wisp  of  hay  (which  wisp  was  kept  from  year  to 
year  and  washed  on  the  vigil  of  every  feast),  till  the 
proper  shape  of  a  mountain  was  arrived  at ;  over  the 
whole  was  then  daubed  a  layer  of  dough,  of  the  kind 
already  mentioned.  We  have  now  our  image  of  the 
mountain,  with  two  heads  looking  opposite  ways,  stick- 
ing out  from  its  summit.  Round  this  summit  there 
seem  to  have  been  stuck  rolls  of  dough  representing 
the  clouds  usually  formed  about  the  crests  of  high 
mountains.  The  face  of  the  human  image  that  looked 
out  over  these  dough  clouds  was  daubed  with  melted 
ulli;  and  to  both  cheeks  of  it  were  stuck  little  tortillas, 
or  cakes  of  the  everywhere-present  dough  of  wild 
amaranth  seeds.  On  the  head  of  this  same  image  was 
put  a  crown  with  feathers  issuing  from  it.32  These 

32  This  passage  relating  to  the  making  of  images  of  the  mountains  is  such 
a  chaotic  jumble  in  the  original  that  one  is  forced  to  use  largely  any  con- 
structive imagination  one  may  possess  to  reproduce  even  a  comprehensible 
description.  I  give  the  original;  if  any  one  can  make  rhyme  or  reason  out 
of  it  by  a  closer  following  of  the  words  of  Sahagun,  he  shall  not  want  the 
opportunity.  'Al  trece  mes  llamaban  Tepeilhuitl.  En  la  fiesta  que  se  hacia 
en  este  mes  cubriah  de  masa  de  bledos  unos  palos  que  tenian  hechos  coino 
culebras,  y  hacian  imagenes  de  montes  fumladas  sobre  unos  palos  hechos  & 
manera  de  niflos  que  llamaban  Hecatotonti:  era  la  imagen  del  monte  de 
masa  de  bledos.  Ponianle  delante  junto  unas  masas  rollizas  y  larguillas  de 
masa  de  bledos  a  manera  de  bezos,  y  estos  llamaban  Yomiio.  Hacian  estas 
imagenes  £  honra  de  los  montes  altos  donde  se  juntan  las  nubes,  y  en  memo- 
ria  de  los  que  habian  muerto  en  agua  6  heridos  de  rayo,  y  de  los  que  no  se 
quemaban  sus  cuerpos  sino  que  los  enterraban.  Estos  montes  hacianloa 
sobre  unos  rodeos  6  roscas  hechas  de  heno  atadas  con  zacate,  y  guardabanlaa 


SACRIFICES  TO  TLALOC.  345 

images  were  made  at  night,  and  in  the  morning  they 
were  carried  to  their  '  oratories/  and  laid  down  on 
beds  of  rushes  or  reeds;  then  food  was  offered  to  them, 
small  pies  or  tarts,  a  porridge  of  maize-flour  and  sugar, 
and  the  stewed  flesh  of  fowls  or  of  dogs.  Incense  was 
burned  before  them,  being  thrown  into  a  censer  shaped 
like  a  hand,  as  it  were  a  great  spoon  full  of  burning 
coals.  Those  who  could  afford  it  sang  and  drank 
pulque  in  honor  of  their  dead  ones  and  of  these  gods. 
In  this  feast  four  wTomen  and  a  man  were  killed  in 
honor  of  the  Tlalocs  and  of  the  mountains.  The  four 
women  were  named,  respectively,  Tepoxch,  Matlalquac, 
Xochetecatl,  and  Mayavel — this  last  was  decorated  to 
appear  as  the  image  of  the  magueyes.  The  man  was 
called  Milnaoatl ;  he  stood  for  an  image  of  '  the  snakes.' 
These  victims,  adorned  with  crowns  of  paper  stained 
with  ulli,  were  borne  to  their  doom  in  litters.  Being 
carried  to  the  summit  of  the  cu,  they  were  thrown  one 
by  one  on  the  sacrificial  stone,  their  hearts  taken  out 
with  the  flint  and  offered  to  Tlaloc,  and  their  bodies 
allowed  to  slide  slowly  down  the  tein  pie-steps  to  the 
earth — a  too  rapid  descent  being  hindered  by  the 
priests.  The  corpses  were  carried  to  a  place  where 
the  heads  were  cut  off  and  preserved,  spitted  on  poles 
thrust  through  the  temples  of  each  skull.  The  bodies 
were  lastly  carried  to  the  wards  from  which  they  had 
set  out  alive,  and  there  cut  in  pieces  and  eaten.  At 
the  same  time  the  images  of  the  mountains,  which  we 

de  un  ano  para  otro.  La  vigilia  de  esta  fiesta  llevaban  a  lavar  estas  roscas 
al  rio  6  a  la  fuente,  y  quaiulo  las  llevaban  ivanlas  taiiendo  con  unos  pitos 
hechos  de  barro  cocido  6  con  unos  caracoles  mariscos.  Lavabanlas  en  unas 
casas  11  oratorias  que  estaban  hechos  a  la  orilla  del  agua  que  se  llama  Ayauh 
calli.  Lavabanlas  con  unas  ojas  de  canas  verdes;  algunos  con  el  agua  que 
pasaba  por  su  casa  las  lavabau.  En  acabandolas  de  lavar  volvianlas  a  su 
casa  con  la  misina  rnusica;  luego  hacian  sobre  ellas  las  imagenes  de  los 
montes  como  esta  dicho.  Algunos  hacian  estas  imagenes  de  noche  antes  de 
amanecer  cerca  del  dia;  la  cabeza  de  cada  un  monte,  tenia  dos  caras,  una  de 
persona  y  otra  de  culebra,  y  untaban  la  cara  de  persona  con  ulli  derreticlo,  y 
hacian  unas  tortillas  prequcnuelas  de  masa  de  bledos  amarillos,  y  ponianlas 
en  las  mexillas  de  la  cara  de  persona  de  uaa  parte  y  de  otra;  cubrianlos  con 
unos  papeles  que  llamaban  Tei;cuiUi;  ponianlos  unas  coronas  en  las  cabezas 
con  sus  penachos.  Tambien  a  los  imagenes  de  los  muertos  las  ponian  sobre 
aquellas  roscas  de  zacate,  y  luego  en  amaneciendo  ponian  estas  imagines  en 
sus  oratorios,  sobre  unoo  lechos  de  espadanas  6  de  juncias  6  juncos.'  Kinys- 
borouytis  Hex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  71-2. 


348          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

have  attempted  to  describe,  were  broken  up,  the  dough 
with  which  they  were  covered  was  set  out  to  dry  in 
the  sun,  and  was  eaten,  every  day  a  piece.  The  pa- 
pers with  which  the  said  images  had  been  adorned 
were  then  spread  over  the  wisps  of  hay,  above  men- 
tioned, and  the  whole  was  fastened  up  in  the  rafters 
of  the  oratory  that  every  one  had  in  his  house,  there 
to  remain  till  required  for  the  next  year's  feast  of  the 
same  kind;  on  which  occasion,  and  as  a  preliminary 
to  the  other  ceremonies  which  we  have  already  de- 
scribed in  the  first  part  of  this  feast,  the  people  took 
down  the  paper  and  the  wisp  from  their  private  ora- 
tories, and  carried  them  to  the  public  oratory,  called 
the  acaucalli,  left  the  paper  there,  and  returned  with 
the  wisp  to  make  of  it  anew  the  image  of  a  mountain.33 
The  fourth  and  last  festival  of  Tlaloc  which  we  have 
to  describe  fell  in  our  December,  and  in  the  sixteenth 
Aztec  month,  called  the  month  Atemuztli.  About 
this  time  it  began  to  thunder  round  the  mountain-tops, 
and  the  first  rains  to  fall  there;  the  common  people 
said,  "  Now  come  the  Tlalocs,"  and  for  ]ove  of  the 
water  they  made  vows  to  make  images  of  the  moun- 
tains— not,  however,  as  it  would  appear,  such  images 
as  have  been  described  as  appertaining  to  the  preced- 
ing festival.  The  priests  were  very  devout  at  this 
season  and  very  earnest  in  prayer,  expecting  the  rain. 
They  took  each  man  his  incense-pan,  or  censer,  made 
like  a  great  spoon  with  a  long,  round,  hollow  handle 
filled  with  rattles  and  terminating  in  a  snake's  head, 
and  offered  incense  to  all  the  idols.  Five  days  before 
the  beginning  of  the  feast,  the  common  people  bought 
paper  and  ulli  and  flint  knives  and  a  kind  of  coarse 
cloth  called  nequen,  and  devoutly  prepared  themselves 
with  fasting  and  penance  to  make  their  images  of  the 
mountains  and  to  cover  them  with  paper.  In  this 
holy  season,  although  every  one  bathed,  he  washed  no 
higher  than  the  neck,  the  head  was  left  unwashed; 
the  men,  moreover,  abstained  from  their  wives.  The 

33  Kingsborvuglis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  71-3;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn. 
i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  159-62. 


KILLING  IMAGES  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS.  347 

night  preceding  the  great  feast-day  was  spent  wholly, 
flint  knife  in  hand,  cutting  out  paper  into  various 
shapes.  These  papers,  called  tetevitl,  were  stained  with 
ulli;  and  every  householder  got  a  long  pole,  covered 
it  with  pieces  of  this  paper,  and  set  it  up  in  his  court- 
yard, where  it  remained  all  the  day  of  the  festival. 
Those  that  had  vowed  to  make  images  of  the  moun- 
tains invited  priests  to  their  houses  to  do  it  for  them. 
The  priests  came,  bearing  their  drums  and  rattles,  and 
instruments  of  music  of  tortoise-shell.  They  made 
the  images — apparently  like  human  figures — out  of 
the  dough  of  wild  amaranth  seed,  and  covered  them 
with  paper.  In  some  houses  there  were  made  five  of 
such  images,  in  others  ten,  in  others  fifteen ;  they  were 
figures  that  stood  for  such  mountains  as  the  clouds 
gather  round,  such  as  the  volcano  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 
or  that  of  the  Sierra  of  Tlascala.  These  images  be- 
ing constructed,  they  were  set  in  order  in  the  oratory 
of  the  house,  and  before  each  one  was  set  food — very 
small  pies,  on  small  platters,  proportionate  to  the  little 
image,  small  boxes  holding  a  little  sweet  porridge  of 
maize,  little  calabashes  of  cacao,  and  other  small  green 
calabashes  containing  pulque.  In  one  night  they  pre- 
sented the  figures  with  food  in  this  manner  four  times. 
All  the  night  too  they  sang  before  them,  and  played 
upon  flutes;  the  regular  flutists  not  being  employed 
on  this  occasion,  but  certain  small  boys  who  were  paid 
for  their  trouble  with  something  to  eat.  When  the 
morning  came,  the  ministers  of  the  idols  asked  the 
master  of  the  house  for  his  tzotzopaztli,  a  kind  of  broad 
wooden  knife  used  in  weaving,34  and  thrust  it  into  the 
breasts  of  the  images  of  the  mountains,  as  if  they  were 
living  men,  and  cut  their  throats  and  drew  out  the 
hearts,  which  they  put  in  a  green  cup  and  gave  to 
the  owner  of  the  house.  This  done,  they  took  all  the 
paper  with  which  these  images  had  been  adorned, 
together  with  certain  green  mats  that  had  been  used 
for  the  same  purpose,  and  the  utensils  in  which  the 

34  *  Tzotzopaztli,  palo  ancho  como  cuchilla  con  que  tupen  y  aprietan  la  tela 
que  se  texe. '  Molina,   Vocabularw. 


348          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

offering  of  food  had  been  put,  and  burned  all  in  the 
court-yard  of  the  house.  The  ashes  and  the  mutilated 
images  seem  then  to  have  been  carried  to  a  public 
oratory  called  Aiauhcalco,  on  the  shore  of  the  lake. 
Then  all  who  assisted  at  these  ceremonies  joined  them- 
selves to  eat  and  drink  in  honor  of  the  mutilated 
images,  which  were  called  tepieme.  Women  were 
allowed  to  join  in  this  banquet  provided  they  brought 
fifteen  or  twenty  heads  of  maize  with  them;  they  re- 
ceived every  one  his  or  her  share  of  food  and  pulque. 
The  pulque  was  kept  in  black  jars  and  lifted  out  to  be 
drunk  with  black  cups.  This  banquet  over,  the  paper 
streamers  were  taken  down  from  the  poles  set  up  in 
the  court-yards  of  the  houses,  and  carried  to  certain 
places  in  the  water  that  were  marked  out  by  piles 
driven  in — we  may  remember  that  our  whirlpool  of 
Pantitlan,  in  the  lake  of  Mexico,  was  one  place  so 
marked — and  to  the  tops  of  the  mountains,  and  left 
there,  as  it  would  appear.35 

In  taking  leave  here  of  Tlaloc,  I  may  draw  attention 
to  the  prominence  in  his  cult  of  the  number  four,  the 
cross,  and  the  snake;  and  add  that  as  lord  of  one  of 
the  three  Aztec  divisions  of  the  future  world,  lord  of 
the  terrestrial  paradise,  we  shall  meet  with  him  again 
in  our  examination  of  the  Mexican  ideas  of  a  future  life. 

35 Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  80-1;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  176-9,  198,  210.  Further  notice  of  Tlaloc  and  his  wor- 
ship will  be  found  in  the  Spiegazione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano,  tav. 
xxviii.,  Ivii.,  lx.,  Ixii.,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  179,  190-2; 
Boturini,  Idea,  pp.  12-13,  99,  101;  Amer.  Ethnol  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i  ,  p.  305; 
Motolinia,  Hint.  Ind.,  in  Icazbalceta,  Col  de  Doc.,  torn  i  ,  pp.  32,  39,  42,  44-5; 
Torquemada,  Monarq.  2nd.,  torn,  i  ,  p.  290,  and  torn,  ii.,  pp.  45-6,  119,  121, 
147,  151,  212,  251-4;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  cap.  xv  ,  Gomara, 
Hist.  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  216;  Tylors  Prim.  Cult.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  235,  243;  Mutter, 
Amerikanische  Urreliyionen,  pp.  500-4,  et  passim. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,   AND  WORSHIP. 

THE  MOTHER  OR  ALL-NOURISHING  GODDESS  UNDER  VARIOUS  NAMES  AND  IN 
VARIOUS  ASPECTS— HER  FEAST  IN  THE  ELEVENTH  AZTEC  MONTH  OCH- 
PANIZTLI — FESTIVALS  OF  THE  EIGHTH  MONTH,  HUEYTECUILHUITL,  AND 
or  THE  FOURTH,  HUEYTOZOZTLI— THE  DEIFICATION  OF  WOMEN  THAT  DIED 
IN  CHILD-BIRTH — THE  GODDESS  OF  WATER  UNDER  VARIOUS  NAMES  AND 
IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS— CEREMONIES  OF  THE  BAPTISM  OR  LUSTRATION  OF 
CHILDREN— THE  GODDESS  OF  LOVE,  HER  VARIOUS  NAMES  AND  ASPECTS — 
RITES  OF  CONFESSION  AND  ABSOLUTION — THE  GOD  OF  FIRE  AND  HIS  VARI- 
OUS NAMES — His  FESTIVALS  IN  THE  TENTH  MONTH  XOCOTLVETI  AND  IN 
THE  EIGHTEENTH  MONTH  YZCALI;  ALSO  HIS  QUADRIENNIAL  FESTIVAL  IN 
THE  LATTER  MONTH — THE  GREAT  FESTIVAL  OF  E VERY  FLFTY-TWO  YEARS; 
LIGHTING  THE  NEW  FIRE — THE  GOD  OF  HADES,  AND  TEOYAOMIQUE,  COL- 
LECTOR OF  THE  SOULS  OF  THE  FALLEN  BRAVE — DEIFICATION  OF  DEAD  RUL- 

ERS  AND  HEROES — MIXCOATL,  GOD  OF  HUNTING,  AND  HIS  FEAST  IN  THE 
FOURTEENTH  MONTH  QUECHOLLI — VARIOUS  OTHER  MEXICAN  DEITIES — 
FESTIVAL  IN  THE  SECOND  MONTH,  TLACAXIPEHUALIZTLI,  WITH  NOTICE  OF 
THE  GLADIATORIAL  SACRIFICES — COMPLETE  SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  FESTIVALS  OF 
THE  MEXICAN  CALENDAR,  FIXED  AND  MOVABLE — TEMPLES  AND  PRIESTS. 

CENTEOTL  is  a  goddess,  or  according  to  some  good 
authorities  a  god,  who  held,  under  many  names  and  in 
many  characters,  a  most  important  place  in  the  divine 
world  of  the  Aztecs,  and  of  other  Mexican  and  Cen- 
tral American  peoples.  She  was  goddess  of  maize, 
and  consequently,  from  the  importance  in  America  of 
this  grain,  of  agriculture,  and  of  the  producing  earth 
generally.  Many  of  her  various  names  seem  depend- 
ent on  the  varying  aspects  of  the  maize  at  different 
stages  of  its  growth;  others  seem  to  have  originated 
in  the  mother-like  nourishing  qualities  of  the  grain  of 

(  349  N 


350          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

which  she  was  the  deity.  Mtiller  lays  much  stress  on 
th  is  aspect  of  her  character :  ' '  The  force  wh  ich  sustains 
life  must  also  have  created  it.  Centeotl  was  therefore 
considered  as  bringing  children  to  light,  and  is  repre- 
sented with  an  infant  in  her  arms.  Nebel  gives  us 
such  a  representation,  and  in  our  Mexican  museum  at 
Basel  there  are  many  images  in  this  form,  made  of 
burnt  clay.  Where  agriculture  rules,  there  more  chil- 
dren are  brought  to  mature  age  than  among  the  hunt- 
ing nations,  and  the  land  revels  in  a  large  population. 
No  part  of  the  world  is  so  welt  adapted  to  exhibit  this 
difference  as  America.  Centeotl  is  consequently  the 
great  producer,  not  of  children  merely:  she  is  the 
great  goddess,  the  most  ancient  goddess."1 

Centeotl  was  known,  according  to  Clavigero,  by  the 
titles  Tonacajohua,  'she  who  sustains  us;'  Tzinteotl, 
'original  goddess;'  and  by  the  further  names  Xilonen, 
Iztacacenteotl,  and  Tlatlauhquicenteotl.  She  was  fur- 
ther, according  to  the  same  author,  identical  with  To- 
nantzin,  'our  mother,'  and  according  to  Mliller  and 
many  Spanish  authorities,*  either  identical  or  closely 
connected  with  the  various  deities  known  as  Te- 
teionan,  'the  mother  of  the  gods,'2  Cihuatcoatl,  'the 
snake-woman,'  Tazi  or  Toci  or  Tocitzin,  'our  grand- 
mother,' and  Earth,  the  universal  material  mother. 
Squier  says  of  Tiazolteotl  that  "she  is  Cinteotl,  the 
goddess  of  maize,  under  another  aspect."' 

She  was  particularly  honored  by  the  Totonacs,  with 
whom  she  was  the  chief  divinity.  They  greatly  loved 
her,  believing  that  she  did  not  demand  human  vic- 

1  Midler,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  p.  493. 

2 Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  16,  22,  indeed,  says  that 
Teteionaii and  Tocitzin  are  'certainly  different.' 

*  Squier  s  Serpent  Symbol,  p.  47.  A  passage  which  makes  the  principal  ele- 
ment of  the  character  of  Toci  or  Tocitzin  that  of  Goddess  of  Discord  may 
be  condensed  from  Acosta,  as  follows:  When  the  Mexicans,  in  their 
wanderings,  had  settled  for  a  time  in  the  territory  of  Culhuacan,  they  were 
instructed  by  their  god  Huitzilopochtli  to  go  forth  and  make  wars,  and  first 
to  apotheosize,  after  his  directions,  a  Goddess  of  Discord.  Following  these 
directions,  they  sent  to  the  king  of  Culhuacan  for  his  daughter  to  be  their 
queen.  Moved  by  the  honor,  the  father  sent  his  hapless  daughter,  gorgeously 
attired,  to  be  enthroned.  But  the  wiley,  superstitious,  and  ferocious  Mexicans 
slew  the  girl  and  flayed  her,  and  clothed  a  young  man  in  her  skin,  calling 
him  'their  goddess  and  mother  of  their  god,'  under  the  name  of  Toccy,  that 
is,  'grandmother.'  See  also  Purcfias  his  Pilyrimes,  vol.  iv.,  p.  1004. 


THE   MOTHER-NOURISHER  351 

tims,  but  was  content  with  flowers  and  fruits,  the  fat 
banana  and  the  yellow  maize,  and  small  animals,  such 
as  doves,  quails,  arid  rabbits.  More,  they  hoped  that 
she  would  in  the  end  utterly  deliver  them  from  the 
cruel  necessity  of  such  sacrifices,  even  to  the  other  gods. 

With  very  different  feeling,  as  we  shall  soon  see, 
did  the  Mexicans  proper  approach  this  deity,  making 
her  temples  horrid  with  the  tortured  forms  of  human 
sacrifices.  It  shows  how  deep  the  stain  of  the  blood 
was  in  the  Mexican  religious  heart,  how  poisonous  far 
the  odor  of  it  had  crept  through  all  the  senses  of  the 
Aztec  soul,  when  it  could  be  believed  that  the  great 
sustainer,  the  yellow  waving  maize,  the  very  mother 
of  all,  must  be  fed  upon  the  flesh  of  her  own  children.4 

To  make  comprehensible  various  allusions,  it  seems 
well  here  to  sum  up  rapidly  the  characters  given  of 
certain  goddesses  identical  with  or  resembling  in 
various  points  this  Centeotl.  Chicomecoatl 5  was,  ac- 

iClavigero,  StoriaAnt.  del  Messico,  torn,  i.,  pp.  16-22;  Explicacwn  del  Cod&r, 
Teller iano-Remensis,  lam.  xii.,  in  Kingsborouglis  Hex,  Aidiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  140; 
Spiegazione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano,  tav.  xxx.,  lb.,  p.  180;  Hurriboldt, 
Exsai  PolUique,  torn,  i.,  p.  217;  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  631.  The  sacri- 
fices to  Centeotl,  if  she  be  identical  with  the  earth-mother,  are  illustrated 
by  the  statement  of  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecks.,  p.  81,  that  the  Mexicans  painted 
the  earth-goddess  as  a  frog  with  a  bloody  mouth  in  every  joint  of  her  body 
(which  frog  we  shall  meet  again  by  and  by  in  a  Centeotl  festival),  for  they 
said  that  the  earth  devoured  all  things — a  proof  also,  by  the  bye,  among 
others  of  a  like  kind  which  we  shall  encounter,  that  not  to  the  Hindoos  alone 
(as  Mr  J.  G.  Miiller  somewhere  affirms),  but  to  the  Mexicans  also,  belonged 
the  idea  of  multiplying  the  organs  of  their  deities  to  express  great  powers  in 
any  given  direction.  The  following  note  from  the  Spie-jazione  delle  Tavole 
del  Codice  Mexicano,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.-v.,  pp.  179-80,  illus- 
trates the  last  point  noticed,  gives  another  form  or  relation  of  the  goddess  of 
sustenance,  and  also  the  origin  of  the  name  applied  to  the  Mexican  priests: 
'  They  feign  that  Mayaguil  was  a  woman  with  four  hundred  breasts,  and 
that  the  gods,  on  account  of  her  fruitfulness,  changed  her  into  the  Maguey, 
which  is  the  vine  of  that  country,  from  which  they  make  wine.  She  presided 
over  these  thirteen  signs;  but  whoever  chanced  to  be  born  on  the  first  sign 
of  the  Herb,  it  proved  unlucky  to  him;  for  they  say  that  it  was  applied 
to  the  Tlamatzatzguex,  who  were  a  race  of  demons  dwelling  amongst  them, 
who  according  to  their  account  wandered  through  the  air,  from  whom  the 
ministers  of  their  temples  took  their  denomination.  When  this  sign  arrived, 
parents  enjoined  their  children  not  to  leave  the  house,  lest  any  misfortune  or 
unlucky  accident  should  befall  them.  They  believed  that  those  who  were 
born  in  Two  Canes,  which  is  the  second  sign,  would  be  long  lived,  for  they 
say  that  that  sign  was  applied  to  heaven.  They  manufacture  so  many  things 
from  this  plant  called  the  Maguey,  and  it  is  so  very  useful  in  that  country, 
that  the  devil  took  occasion  to  induce  them  to  believe  that  it  was  a  god,  and 
to  worship  and  offer  sacrifices  to  it.' 

^Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.,  5-6;  G-allatin,  in  Amer.  EthnoL 
Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  341,  349-50,  condensing  from  and  commenting 


352          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

cording  to  Sahagun,  the  Ceres  of  Mexico,  and  the 
goddess  of  provisions,  as  well  of  what  is  drunk  as  of 
what  is  eaten.  She  was  represented  with  a  crown  on 
her  head,  a  vase  in  her  right  hand,  and  on  her  left 
arm  a  shield  with  a  great  flower  painted  thereon;  her 
garments  and  her  sandals  were  red. 

The  first  of  the  Mexican  goddesses  was,  following 
the  same  authority,  Cioacoatl,  or  Civacoatl.  the  god- 
dess of  adverse  things,  such  as  poverty,  down-hearted- 
ness,  and  toil.  She  appeared  often  in  the  guise  of  a 
great  lady,  wearing  such  apparel  as  was  used  in  the 
palace ;  she  was  also  heard  at  night  in  the  air  shouting 
and  even  roaring.  Besides  her  name  Cioacoatl,  which 
means  'snake-woman/  she  was  known  as  Tonantzin, 
that  is  to  say,  'our  mother.'  She  was  arrayed  in 
white  robes,  and  her  hair  was  arranged  in  front,  over 
her  forehead,  in  little  curls  that  crossed  each  other. 
It  was  a  custom  with  her  to  carry  a  cradle  on  her 
shoulders,  as  one  that  carries  a  child  in  it,  and  after 
setting  it  down  in  the  market-place  beside  the  other 
women,  to  disappear.  When  this  cradle  was  ex- 
amined, there  was  found  a  stone  knife  in  it,  and  with 
this  the  priests  slew  their  sacrificial  victims. 

The  goddess  of  Sahagun's  description  most  resem- 
bling the  Toci  of  other  writers  is  the  one  that  he  calls 

upon  the  codices  Vaticanus  and  Tellerianus,  says:  '  Tonacacigua,  alias 
Tuchiquetzal  (plucking  rose),  and  Chicomecouatl  (seven  serpents);  wife  of 

Tonacatlecotle;    the    cause   of   sterility,    famine,    and    miseries   of    life 

Amongst  Sahagun's  superior  deities  is  found  Civacoatl,  the  '  serpent- woman, ' 
also  called  Tonantzin,  '  our  mother; '  and  he,  sober  as  he  is  in  Scriptural 
allusions,  calls  her  Eve,  and  ascribes  to  her,  as  the  interpreters  [of  the 
codices]  to  Tonatacinga,  all  the  miseries  and  adverse  things  of  the  world. 
This  analogy  is,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  the  only  foundation  for  all  the  allu- 
sions to  Eve  and  her  history,  before,  during,  and  after  the  sin,  which  the  in- 
terpreters have  tried  to  extract  from  paintings  which  indicate  nothing  of  the 
kind.  They  were  certainly  mistaken  in  saying  that  their  Tonacacinga  was 
also  called  Chicomecouatl,  seven  serpents.  They  should  have  said  Civacoatl, 
the  serpent-woman.  Chicomecoatl,  instead  of  being  the  cause  of  sterility, 
famine,  etc.,  is,  according  to  Sahagun,  the  goddess  of  abundance,  that  which 
supplies  both  eating  and  drinking:  probably  the  same  as  Tzinteotl,  or  Cin- 
teotl,  the  goddess  of  maize  (from  centli,  maize),  which  he  does  not  mention. 
There  is  no  more  foundation  for  ascribing  to  Tonacacigua  the  name  of  Suchi- 
quetzal. '  Gama,  Dos  Piedras,  pt.  i.,  p.  39,  says  in  effect:  Cihuacohuatl, 
or  snake-woman,  was  supposed  to  have  given  birth  to  two  children,  male  and 
female,  whence  sprung  the  human  race.  It  is  on  this  account  that  twins  are 
called  in  Mexico  cocohua,  '  snakes, '  or  in  the  singular,  cohuatl  or  coatl,  now 
vulgarly  pronounced  coate. 


MEDICINE-GODDESS.  353 

'the  mother  of  the  gods,  the  heart  of  the  earth,  and 
our  ancestor  or  grandmother  (abuela).'  She  is  described 
as  the  goddess  of  medicine  and  of  medicinal  herbs,  as 
worshipped  by  doctors,  surgeons,  blood-letters,  of  those 
that  gave  herbs  to  produce  abortions,  and  also  of  the 
diviners  that  pronounced  upon  the  fortune  of  children 
according  to  their  birth.     They  worshipped  her  also 
that  cast  lots  with  grains  of  maize,  those  that  augured 
by  looking  into  water  in  a  bowl,  those  that  cast  lots 
with  bits  of  cord  tied  together,  those  that  drew  little 
worms  or  maggots  from  the  mouth  or  eyes,  those  that 
extracted  little  stones  from  other  parts  of  the  body, 
and  those  that  had  sweat-baths,  temazcallis,  in  their 
houses.     These  last  always  set  the  image  of  this  god- 
dess in  the  baths,  calling  her  Temazcalteci,  that  is  to 
say,   'the  grandmother  of  the  baths/     Her  adorers 
made  this  goddess  a  feast  every  year,  buying  a  woman 
for  a  sacrifice,  decorating  this  victim  with  the  orna- 
ments proper  to  the  goddess.     Every  evening  they 
danced  with  this  unfortunate,  and  regaled  her  deli- 
cately, praying  her  to  eat  as  they  would  a  great  lady, 
and  amusing  her  in  every  way,  that  she  might  not 
weep  nor  be  sad  at  the  prospect  of  death.     When  the 
dreadful  hour  did  come,  having   slain   her,  together 
with  two  others  that  accompanied  her  to  death,  they 
flayed  her;  then  a  man  clothed  himself  in  her  skin 
and  went  about  all  the  city  playing  many  pranks— 
by  all  of  which  her  identity  with  Tozi  seems   suffi- 
ciently clear.     This  goddess  was  represented  with  the 
mouth  and  chin  stained  with  ulli,  and  a  round  patch 
of  the  same  on  her  face;  on  her  head  she  had  a  kind 
of  turban  made  of  cloth  rolled  round  and  knotted  be- 
hind.    In  this  knot  were  stuck  plumes  which  issued 
from  it  like  flames,  and  the  ends  of  the  cloth  fell  be- 
hind over  the  shoulders.     She  wore  sandals,  a  shirt 
with  a  kind  of  broad  serrated  lower  border,  and  white 
petticoats.     In  her  left  hand  she  held  a  shield  with  a 
round  plate  of  gold  in  the  centre  thereof;  in  her  right 
hand  she  held  a  broom.6 

6 Kingsborougtis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  3-4. 
VOL.  III.    23 


354          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

The  festival  in  which  divers  of  the  various  manifes- 
tations of  the  mother-goddess  were  honored  was  held 
in  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  Aztec  month,  begin- 
ning on  the  14th  of  September;  Centeotl,  or  Cinteotl, 
or  Centeutl,  or  Tzinteutl,  is,  however,  represented 
therein  as  a  male,  and  not  a  female. 

Fifteen  days  before  the  commencement  of  the  fes- 
tival those  that  took  part  in  it  began  to  dance,   if 
dancing  it  could  be  called,  in  which  the  feet  and  body 
were  hardly  moved,  and  in  which  the  time  was  kept 
by  raising  and  lowering  the  hands  to  the  beat  of  the 
drum.     This  went  on  for  eight  days,  beginning  in  the 
afternoon  and  finishing  with  the  set  of  sun,  the  dancers 
being  perfectly  silent,  arranged  in  four  lines,  and  each 
having  both  hands  full  of  flowers,  cut  branches  and 
all.     Some  of  the  youths,  indeed,  too  restless  to  bear 
the  silence,  imitated  with  their  mouths  the  sound  of 
the  drum;  but  all  were  forced  to  keep,  as  well  in  mo- 
tion as  in  voice,  the  exactest  time  and  good  order. 
On   the   expiration   of  these  eight  days  the  medical 
women,  both  old  and  young,  divided  themselves  into 
two  parties,  and  fought  a  kind  of  mock  battle  before 
the  woman  that  had  to  die  in  this  festival,  to  amuse 
her  and  keep  tears  away ;  for  they  held  it  of  bad  au- 
gury if  this  miserable  creature  gave  way  to  her  grief, 
and  as  a  sign  that  many  women  had  to  die  in  child- 
birth.    This  woman,  who  was   called    for   the   time 
being  'the  image  of  the  mother  of  the  gods,'  led  in 
person  the  first  attack  upon  one  of  the  two  parties  of 
fighters,  being  accompanied  by  three  old  women  that 
were  to  her  as  mothers,  and  never  left  her  side,  called 
respectively  Aoa,  Tlavitezqui,  and  Xocuauhtli.7     The 
fight  consisted  in  pelting  each  other  with  handfuls  of 
red  leaves  or  leaves  of  the  nopal,  or  of  yellow  flowers 
called  cempoalsuchitl,  the  same  sort  as  had  been  carried 
by  the  actors  in  the  preceding  dance.     These  women 
all  wore  girdles,  to  which  were  suspended  little  gourds 
filled  with  powder  of  the  herb  called  yietl.     When  the 

7  Or,  according  to  Bustamante's  ed.,  Aba,  Tlavitecqui,  and  Xoquauchtli.' 
n,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  p.  149. 


SACRIFICE  TO  THE  MOTHEB^GODDESS.  355 

pelting-match  was  over,  the  woman  that  had  to  die 
was  led  back  to  the  house  where  she  was  guarded; 
and  all  this  was  repeated  during  four  successive  days. 
Then  the  victim  representing  Toci,  that  is  to  say,  '  our 
grandmother  or  ancestor/  for  so  was  called  the  mother 
of  the  gods,  was  led  for  the  last  time  through  the 
market-place  by  the  medical  woman.  This  ceremony 
was  called  'the  farewell  to  the  market-place;'  for 
never  more  should  she  see  it  who  this  day  passed 
through,  decorated  in  such  mournful  frippery,  sur- 
rounded by  the  pomp  of  such  hollow  mirth.  She  went 
sowing  maize  on  every  side  as  she  walked,  and  having 
passed  through  the  market,  she  was  received  by  the 
priests,  who  took  her  to  a  house  near  the  cu  where  she 
had  to  be  killed.  There  the  medical  women  and  mid- 
wives  consoled  her:  Daughter,  be  joyful,  and  not  sad, 
this  night  thou  shalt  sleep  with  the  king.  Then  they 
adorned  her  with  the  ornaments  of  the  goddess  Toci, 
striving  all  the  while  to  keep  the  fact  of  her  death  in 
the  background,  that  she  might  die  suddenly  and 
without  knowing  it.  At  midnight,  in  darkness,  not 
so  much  as  a  cough  breaking  the  silence,  she  was  led 
to  the  holy  temple-top,  and  caught  up  swiftly  on  the 
shoulders  of  a  man.  There  was  hardly  a  struggle ; 
her  bearer  felt  himself  deluged  with  blood,  while  she 
was  beheaded  with  all  despatch,  and  flayed,  still  warm. 
The  skin  of  the  thighs  was  iirst  taken  off,  and  carried, 
for  a  purpose  to  be  presently  revealed,  to  the  cu  of 
Centeotl,  who  was  the  son  of  Toci.  With  the  remain- 
der of  the  skin,  next  taken  off,  a  priest  clothed  him- 
self, drawing  it  on,  it  would  appear  from  other  records, 
like  a  glove ;  this  priest,  who  was  a  young  man  chosen 
for  his  bodily  forces  and  size,  thus  clothed  represented 
Toci,  the  goddess  herself.  The  Toci  priest,  with  this 
horrible  jacket  sticking  to  his  sinewy  bust,  then  came 
down  from  the  temple  amid  the  chanting  of  the  sing- 
ers of  the  cu.  On  each  side  of  him  went  two  persons, 
who  had  made  a  vow  to  help  him  in  this  service,  and 
behind  came  several  other  priests.  In  front  there  ran 
a  number  of  principal  men  and  soldiers,  armed  with 


356          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

besoms  of  blood-stained  grass,  who  looked  back  from 
time  to  time,  and  struck  their  shields  as  if  provoking 
a  fight;  these  he  pretended  to  pursue  with  great  fury, 
and  all  that  saw  this  play  (which  was  called  cacacatti) 
feared  and  trembled  exceedingly.  On  reaching  the 
cu  of  Huitzilopochtli,  the  Toci  priest  spread  out  his 
arms  and  stood  like  a  cross  before  the  image  of  the 
war-god;  this  he  did  four  times,  and  then  went  on  to 
the  cu  of  Centeotl,  whither,  as  we  remember,  the  skin 
of  the  thighs  of  the  flayed  woman  had  been  sent. 
This  skin  of  the  thighs  another  young  priest,  repre- 
senting the  god  Centeotl,  son  of  Toci,  had  put  on  over 
his  face  like  a  mask.  In  addition  to  this  loathsome 
veil,  he  wore  a  jacket  of  feathers  and  a  hood  of  feath- 
ers attached  to  the  jacket.  This  hood  ran  out  into  a 
peak  of  a  spiral  form  falling  behind;  and  the  back- 
bone or  spine  of  this  spiral  resembled  the  comb  of  a 
cock;  this  hood  was  called  ytztlacoliuhqui,  that  is  to 
say,  'god  of  frost.' 

The  Toci  priest  and  the  Centeotl  priest  next  went 
together  to  the  cu  of  Toci,  where  the  first  waited  for 
the  morning  (for  all  this  already  described  took  place 
at  night),  to  have  certain  trappings  put  on  over  his 
horrid  under-vest.  When  the  morning  broke,  amid 
the  chanting  of  the  singers,  all  the  principal  men,  who 
had  been  waiting  below,  ran  with  great  swiftness  up 
the  steps  of  the  temple,  carrying  their  offerings.  Some 
of  these  principal  men  began  to  cover  the  feet  and  the 
head  of  the  Toci  priest  with  the  white  downy  inner 
feathers  of  the  eagle;  others  painted  his  face  red; 
others  put  on  him  a  rather  short  shirt  with  the  figure 
of  an  eagle  wrought  or  woven  into  the  breast  of  it,  and 
certain  painted  petticoats ;  others  beheaded  quails  and 
offered  copal.  All  this  done  quickly,  these  men  took 
their  departure. 

Then  were  brought  forth  and  put  on  the  Toci  priest 
all  his  rich  vestures,  and  a  kind  of  square  crown  very 
wide  above  and  ornamented  with  five  little  banners, 
one  in  each  corner,  and  in  the  centre  one  higher  than 
the  others.  All  the  captives  that  had  to  die  were 


THE  SKIN-BEARERS.  357 

brought  out  and  set  in  line,  and  he  took  four  of  them, 
one  after  the  other,  threw  them  down  on  the  sacrificial 
stone,  and  took  out  their  hearts;  the  rest  of  the 
captives  he  handed  over  to  the  other  priests  to  com- 
plete the  work  he  had  begun.  After  this  he  set  out 
with  the  Centeotl  priest  for  the  cu  of  the  latter.  In 
advance  of  these  a  little  way  there  walked  a  party 
of  their  devotees,  called  ycuexoan,  decorated  with 
papers,  girt  for  breech-clout  with  twisted  paper, 
carrying  at  their  shoulders  a  crumpled  paper,  round 
like  a  shield,  and  tassels  of  untwisted  cotton.  On 
either  side  also  there  went  those  that  sold  lime8  in 
the  market,  and  the  medical  women,  moving  to  the 
singing  of  the  priests  and  the  beat  of  drum.  Having 
come  to  the  place  where  heads  were  spitted  at  the 
cu  of  Centeotl,  the  Toci  priest  set  one  foot  on  the 
drum  and  waited  there  for  the  Centeotl  priest.  The 
two  being  come  together,  it  would  seem  that  he 
who  represented  Centeotl  now  set  out  alone,  with 
much  haste  and  accompanied  by  many  soldiers  for  a 
place  on  the  enemy's  frontier  where  there  was  a  kind 
of  small  hut  built.  There  at  last  was  deposited  and 
left  the  skin  of  the  thighs  of  the  sacrificed  woman 
which  had  served  such  ghastly  use.  And  often,  it  is 
said,  it  happened,  this  ceremony  taking  place  on  the 
border  of  a  hostile  territory,  that  the  enemy  sallied 
out  against  the  procession,  and  there  was  fighting,  and 
many  were  slain. 

After  this  the  young  man  who  represented  the  goddess 
Toci  was  taken  to  the  house  that  is  called  Atempan. 
The  king  took  his  seat  on  a  throne  with  a  mat  of  eagle- 
skin  and  feathers  under  his  feet,  and  a  tiger-skin  over 
the  back  of  his  seat,  and  there  was  a  grand  review  of 
the  army,  and  a  distribution  from  the  royal  treasury  of 
raiment,  ornaments,  and  arms;  and  it  was  understood 
that  those  who  received  such  arms  had  to  die  with 
them  in  war.  This  done,  dancing  was  begun  in  the 
court-yard  of  the  temple  of  Toci;  and  all  who  had 

*Lime  was  much  used  in.  the  preparation,  of  maize  for  making  various 
articles  of  food. 


358          GODS.  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS.  AND  WORSHIP. 

received  presents,  as  above,  repaired  thither.     This 
dancing,  as  in  the  first  part  of  the  festival,  consisted 
for  the  most  part  in  keeping  time  to  the  beat  of  the 
drum  with  hands  filled  with  flowers ;  so  that  the  whole 
court  looked  like  a  living  garden;  and  there  was  so 
much  gold,  for  the  king  and  all  the  princes  were  there, 
that  the  sun  flashed  through  all  as  on  water.     This 
began  at  midday  and  went  on  for  two  days.     On  the 
evening  of  the  second  day,  the  priests  of  the  goddess 
Chicomecoatl,  clothed  with  the  skins  of  the  captives 
that  had  died  in  a  former  day,  ascended  a  small  cu 
called  the  table  of  Huitzilopochtli  and  sowed  maize  of 
all  kinds,  white  and  yellow  and  red,  and  calabash-seeds, 
upon  the  heads  of  the  people  that  were  below.     The 
people  tried  to   gather  up    these  as   they  fell,   and 
elbowed  each  other  a  good  deal.     The  damsels,  called 
cioatlamacazqiie,  that  served  the  goddess  Chicomecoatl, 
carried  each  one  on  her  shoulder,  rolled  in  a  rich  man- 
tle, seven  ears  of  maize,  striped  with  melted  ulli  and 
wrapped  in  white  paper;  their  legs   and  arms  were 
decorated  with  feathers  sprinkled  over  with  marcasite. 
These  sang  with  the  priest  of  their  goddess.    This  done, 
one  of  the  priests  descended  from  the  above-mentioned 
cu  of  Huitzilopochtli,  carrying    in    his  hand  a  large 
basket  filled  with  powdered  chalk  and  feather-down, 
which  he  set  in  a,  small  chamber,  or  little  cave  called 
coaxalpan,  between  the  temple  stairs  and  the  temple 
itself.     This  cavity  was  reached  from  below  by  four 
or  five  steps,  and  when  the  basket  was  put  down  there 
was  a  general  rush  of  the  soldiers  to  be  first  to  secure 
some  of  the  contents.     Every  one,  as  he  got  his  hands 
filled,  with  much  elbowing,  returned  running  to  the 
place  whence  he  had  set  out.     All  this  time  the  Toci 
priest  had  been  looking  on,  and  now  he  pretended  to 
chase  those  that  ran,  while  they  pelted  him  back  with 
the  down  and  powdered  chalk  they  had  in  their  hands; 
the  king  himself  running  a  little  way  and  pelting  him 
like  the  rest.     After  this  fashion  they  all  ran  away 
from  him  and  left  him  alone,  except  some  priests,  who 
followed  him  to  a  place  called  Tocititlan,  when  he  took 


THE  XILONEN  FESTIVAL.  359 

off  the  skin  of  the  sacrificed  woman  and  hung  it  up  in 
a  little  hut  that  was  there;  taking  care  that  its  arms 
were  stretched  out,  and  that  the  head  (or  surely  the 
neck — for  have  we  not  read  that  the  head  was  cut  eff 
the  woman  on  the  fatal  night  which  terminated  her 
life?)  was  turned  toward  the  road,  or  street.  And 
this  was  the  last  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  feast  of 
Ochpaniztli.9 

The  intimate  connection  of  the  goddess  Xilonen 
(from  ociloll,  a  young  or  tender  ear  of  maize)  with  Cen- 
teotl is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  the  cu  of  Centeotl 
was  killed  the  unfortunate  woman  who  was  decorated 
to  resemble   the  goddess  Xilonen.     The  festival  of 
Xilonen  commenced  on  the  eleventh  day  of  the  eighth 
Mexican  month,  which  month  begins  on  the  16th  of 
July.     The  victim  was  made  to  resemble  the  image 
of  the  goddess  by  having  her  face  painted  yellow  from 
the  nose  downward,  and  her  brow  red.     On  her  head 
was  put  a  crown  of  paper  with  four  corners,  from  the 
centre  and  top  of  which  issued  many  plumes.     Round 
her  neck  and  over  her  breasts  hung  strings  of  precious 
stones,  and  over  these  was  put  a  round  medal  of  gold. 
Her  garments  and  sandals  were  curiously  wrought, 
the  latter  painted  with  red  stripes.     On  her  left  arm 
was  a  shield,  and  in  the  right  hand  she  held  a  stick,  or 
baton,  painted  yellow.      The  women  led  her  to  death 
dancing  round  her,  and  the  priests  and  the  principal 
men  danced  before  them,  sowing  incense  as  they  went. 
The  priest  who  was  to  act  as  executioner  had  on  his 
shoulders  a  bunch  of  feathers,  held  there  in  the  grip 
of  an  eagle's  talons,  artificial;  another  of  the  priests 
carried  the  hollow  board  filled  with  rattles,  so  often 
mentioned.     At  the  foot  of  the  cu  of  Centeotl,  this 
latter  stopped  in  front  of  the  Xilonen  woman,  scat- 
tered incense  before  her,  and  rattled  with  his  board, 
waving  it  from  side  to  side.     They  ascended  the  cu, 
and  one  of  the  priests  caught  the  victim  up,  twisting 
her  backwards,  her  shoulders  against  his  shoulders; 

9 Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  69-70;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn, 
i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  148-56. 


360          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

on  which  living  altar  her  heart  was  cut  out  through 
her  breast,  and  put  into  a  cup.  After  that  there  was 
more  dancing,  in  which  the  women,  old  and  young, 
took  part  in  a  body  by  themselves,  their  arms  and  legs 
decorated  with  red  macaw  feathers,  and  their  faces 
painted  yellow  and  dusted  with  marcasite.  There 
was  also  a  banquet  of  small  pies,  called  xocotamalli, 
during  which  to  the  old  men  and  women  license  was 
given  to  drink  pulque ;  the  young,  however,  being  re- 
strained from  the  bacchanalian  part  of  this  enjoyment 
by  severe  and  sometimes  capital  punishment.10 

Lastly,  the  intimate  connection  or  identity  of  Cen- 
teotl  with  the  earth -mother,  the  all-nourish er,  seems 
clearly  symbolized  in  the  feast  of  the  fourth  month  of 
the  Mexicans,  which  began  on  the  27th  of  April.  In 
it  they  made  a  festival  to  the  god  of  cereals,  under  the 
name  of  Centeotl,  and  to  the  goddess  of  provisions, 
called  Chicomecoatl.  First  they  fasted  four  days,  put- 
ting certain  rushes  or  water-flags  beside  the  images  of 
the  gods,  staining  the  white  part  of  the  bottom  of 
each  rush  with  blood  drawn  from  their  ears  or  legs; 
branches,  too,  of  the  kind  called  acxoiatl,  and  a  kind 
of  bed  or  mattress  of  hay,  were  put  before  the  altars. 
A  sort  of  porridge  of  maize,  called  mazamorra,  was 
also  made  and  given  to  the  youths.  Then  all  walked 
out  into  the  country  and  through  the  maize -fields, 
carrying  stalks  of  maize  and  other  herbs  called  me- 

«/          O 

coatl.  With  these  they  strewed  the  image  of  the  god 
of  cereals  that  every  one  had  in  his  house,  and  they  put 
papers  on  it  and  food  before  it  of  various  kinds;  five 
chiquivites,11  or  baskets,  of  tortillas,  and  on  the  top  of 
each  chiquivitl  a  cooked  frog,  a  basket  of  chian12  flour, 
which  they  called  pinolli;13  and  a  basket  of  toasted 
maize  mixed  with  beans.  They  cut  also  a  joint  from 
a  green  maize-stalk,  stuffed  the  little  tube  with  mor- 

18  Kingsborouglis  Hex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  60-1;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn, 
i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  135-9;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  75;  Tor- 
quemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  269-71. 

11  Chiquiuitl,  cesto  6  canasta.  Molina,   Vocabulario. 

12  Chian,  6  Chia,  cierta  semilla  de  que  sacan  azeite.  Id. 

13  Pinolli,  la  harina  de  mayz  y  chia,  antes  que  la  deslian.  Id. 


BLESSING  THE  SEED-MAIZE.  361 

sels  of  every  kind  of  the  above- mentioned  food,  and 
set  it  carefully  on  the  back  of  the  frog.1*  This  each 
one  did  in  his  own  house,  and  in  the  afternoon  all  this 
offering  of  food  was  carried  to  the  cu  of  the  goddess 
of  provisions,  of  the  goddess  Chicomecoatl,  and  eaten 
there  in  a  general  scramble,  take  who  take  could; 
symbolizing  one  knows  not  what,  if  not  the  laisser- 
faire  and  laisser-aller  system  of  national  commisariat 
much  advocated  by  many  political  enconomists,  savage 
and  civilized. 

In  this  festival  the  ears  of  maize  that  were  preserved 
for  seed  were  carried  in  procession  by  virgins  to  a  cu, 
apparently  the  one  just  mentioned,  but  which  is  here 
called  the  cu  of  Chicomecoatl  and  of  Centeotl.  The 
maidens  carried  on  their  shoulders  not  more  than  seven 
ears  of  corn  apiece,  sprinkled  with  drops  of  oil  of  ulli, 
and  wrapped  first  in  papers  and  then  in  a  cloth.  The 
legs  and  arms  of  these  girls  were  ornamented  with  red 
feathers,  and  their  faces  were  smeared  with  the  pitch 
called  chapopolli  and  sprinkled  with  rnarcasite.  As 
they  went  along  in  this  bizarre  attire,  the  people 
crowded  to  see  them  pass,  but  it  was  forbidden  to 
speak  to  them.  Sometimes,  indeed,  an  irrepressible 
youth  would  break  out  into  words  of  admiration  or 
love  toward  some  fair  pitch-besmeared  face,  but  his 
answer  came  sharp  and  swift  from  one  of  the  old  wo- 
men that  watched  the  younger,  in  some  such  fashion 
as  this-  And  so  thou  speakest,  raw  coward!  thou 
must  be  speaking,  eh?  Think  first  of  performing 
some  man's  feat,  and  get  rid  of  that  tail  of  hair  at  the 
nape  of  thy  neck  that  marks  the  coward  and  the  good- 
for-nothing.  It  is  not  for  thee  to  speak  here ,  thou 
art  as  much  a  woman  as  I  am ;  thou  hast  never  come 
out  from  behind  the  fire !  But  the  young  lovers  of 
Tenochtitlan  were  not  without  insolent  sprmgalls 
among  them,  much  given  to  rude  gibes,  and  retorts 
like  the  following :  Well  said,  my  lady,  I  receive  this 
with  thanks,  I  will  do  what  you  command  me,  will 

11  Apparently  the  earth  symbolized  as  a  frog  (see  this  vol.,  p.  351,  note  4), 
and  bearing  the  fruits  thererr  on  \\QT  hack. 


362  GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND   WORSHIP. 

take  care  to  show  myself  a  man;  but  as  for  you,  I 
value  two  cacao-beans  more  than  you  and  all  your 
lineage ;  put  mud  on  your  body  and  scratch  yourself ; 
fold  one  leg  over  the  other  and  roll  in  the  dust ;  see  ! 
here  is  a  rough  stone,  knock  your  face  against  it;  and 
if  you  want  anything  more,  take  a  red-hot  coal  and 
burn  a  hole  in  your  throat  to  spit  through ;  for  God's 
sake,  hold  your  peace. 

This  the  young  fellows  said,  writes  Sahagun,  to 
show  their  courage ;  and  so  it  went,  give  and  take,  till 
the  maize  was  carried  to  the  cu  and  blessed.  Then 
the  folk  returned  to  their  houses,  and  sanctified  maize 
was  put  in  the  bottom  of  every  granary,  and  it  was 
said  that  it  was  the  heart  thereof,  and  it  remained 
there  till  taken  out  for  seed.  These  ceremonies  were 
specially  in  honor  of  the  goddess  Chicomecoatl.  She 
supplied  provision^,  she  it  was  that  had  made  all  kinds 
of  maize  and  frijoles,  and  whatsoever  vegetables  could 
be  eaten,  and  all  sorts  of  chia;  and  for  this  they  made 
her  that  festival  with  offerings  of  food,  and  with  songs 
and  dances,  and  with  the  blood  of  quails.  All  the 
ornaments  of  her  attire  were  bright  red  and  curiously 
wrought,  and  in  her  hands  they  put  stalks  of  maize.15 

The  Mexicans  deified,  under  the  name  Cioapipilti, 
all  women  that  died  in  childbed.  There  were  ora- 
tories raised  to  their  honor  in  every  ward  that  had 
two  streets.  In  such  oratories,  called  cioateucalli  or 
ciateupan,  there  were  kept  images  of  these  goddesses 
adorned  with  certain  papers,  called  amatetevitl.  The 
eighth  movable  feast  of  the  Mexican  calendar  was 
dedicated  to  them,  falling  in  the  sign  Cequiahuitl,  in 
the  first  house;  in  this  feast  were  slain  in  their  honor 
all  lying  in  the  jails  under  pain  of  death.  These  god- 
desses were  said  to  move  through  the  air  at  pleasure, 
and  to  appear  to  whom  they  would  of  those  that  lived 
upon  the  earth,  and  sometimes  to  enter  into  and  pos- 
sess them.  They  were  accustomed  to  hurt  children 

15  Kingsboraugtis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  43-4;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn. 
i.,  lib.  ii,,  pp.  97-100;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  67;  Tor- 
quemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii ,  pp.  52-3,  60-1,  134,  152-3,  181,  255-6. 


THE  MOTHER-GODDESS  AND  WOMAN  IN  CHILDBED.      363 

with  various  infirmities,  especially  paralysis  and  other 
sudden  diseases.  Their  favorite  haunt  on  earth  was 
the  cross-roads,  and  on  certain  days  of  the  year,  peo  • 
pie  would  not  go  out  of  their  houses  for  fear  of  meet- 
ing them.  They  were  propitiated  in  their  temples 
and  at  the  cross-roads  by  offerings  of  bread  kneaded 
into  various  shapes — into  figures  of  butterflies  and 
thunderbolts,  for  example — by  offerings  of  small 
tamales,  or  pies,  and  of  toasted  maize.  Their  images, 
besides  the  papers  above  mentioned,  were  decorated 
by  having  the  face,  arms,  and  legs  painted  very  white ; 
their  ears  were  made  of  gold ;  their  hair  was  dressed 
like  that  of  ladies,  in  little  curls ;  the  shirt  was  painted 
over  with  black  waves;  the  petticoats  were  worked  in 
divers  colors;  the  sandals  were  white. 

The  mother-goddess,  under  the  form  of  the  serpent- 
woman,  Cioacoatl,  or  Ciuacoatl,  or  Cihuacoatl,  or  lastly, 
Quilaztli,  seems  to  have  been  held  as  the  patroness  of 
women  in  childbed  generally,  and  especially  of  those 
that  died  there.  When  the  delivery  of  a  woman  was 
likely  to  be  tedious  and  dangerous,  the  midwife  ad- 
dressed the  patient  saying:  Be  strong,  my  daughter; 
we  can  do  nothing  for  thee.  Here  are  present  thy 
mother  and  thy  relations,  but  thou  alone  must  conduct 
this  business  to  its  termination.  See  to  it,  my  daugh- 
ter, my  well-beloved,  that  thou  be  a  strong  and  valiant 
and  manly  woman ;  be  like  her  who  first  bore  children, 
like  Cioacoatl,  like  Quilaztli.  And  if  still  after  a  day 
and  a  night  of  labor  the  woman  could  not  bring  forth, 
the  midwife  took  her  away  from  all  other  persons  and 
brought  her  into  a  closed  room  and  made  many  prayers, 
calling  upon  the  goddess  Cioacoatl,  and  upon  the  goddess 
Yoalticitl,18  and  upon  other  goddesses.  If,  notwith- 

16  Yoalticitl,  another  name  of  the  mother-goddess,  of  the  mother  of  the 
gods,  of  the  mother  of  us  all,  of  our  grandmother  or  ancestress;  more  par- 
ticularly that  form  of  the  mother-goddess  described,  after  Sahagun  (this  vol., 
p.  353),  as  being  the  patroness  of  medicine  and  of  doctors  and  of  the  sweat- 
baths.  Sahagun  speaks  in  another  passage  of  Yoalticitl  (Kingsboroug/is 
Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  453):  'La  madre  de  los  Dioses,  que  es  la  Diosa  de  las 
medicinas  y  medicos,  y  es  madre  de  todos  nosotros,  la  cual  se  llama  Yoalti- 
citl, la  qual  tiene  poder  y  autoridad  sobre  los  Temazcales  [sweat-baths]  que 
Hainan  Xuchicalli,  en  el  qual  lugar  esta  Diosa  ve  las  cosas  secretas,  y  adereza 


364          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

standing  all,  the  woman  died,  they  gave  her  the  title 
mociaquezqm,  that  is, '  valiant  woman/  and  they  washed 
all  her  body,  and  washed  with  soap  her  head  and  her 
hair.  Her  husband  lifted  her  on  his  shoulders,  and 
with  her  long  hair  flowing  loose  behind  him,  carried  her 
to  the  place  of  burial.  All  the  old  mid  wives  accom- 
panied the  body,  marching  with  shields  and  swords, 
and  shouting  as  when  soldiers  close  in  the  attack. 
They  had  need  of  their  weapons,  for  the  body  that 
they  escorted  was  a  holy  relic  which  many  were  eager 
to  win;  and  a  party  of  youths  fought  with  these 
Amazons  to  take  their  treasure  from  them ;  this  fight 
was  no  play,  but  a  very  bone-breaking  earnest.  The 
burial  procession  set  out  at  the  setting  of  the  sun,  and 
the  corpse  was  interred  in  the  court-yard  of  the  cu  of 
the  goddesses,  or  celestial  women,  called  Cioapipilti. 
Four  nights  the  husband  and  his  friends  guarded  the 
grave,  and  four  nights  the  youths,  or  rawest  and  most 
inexperienced  soldiers,  prowled  like  wolves  about  the 
little  band.  If,  either  from  the  fighting  midwives  or 
from  the  night-watchers,  they  succeeded  in  securing 
the  body,  they  instantly  cut  off  the  middle  finger  of 
the  left  hand  and  the  hair  of  the  head ;  either  of  these 
things  being  put  in  one's  shield  made  one  fierce,  brave, 
invincible  in  war,  and  blinded  the  eyes  of  one's  ene- 
mies. There  prowled  also  round  the  sacred  tomb  cer- 
tain wizards,  called  temamacpalilotique,  seeking  to  hack 
off  and  steal  the  whole  left  arm  of  the  dead  wife;  for 
they  held  it  to  be  of  mighty  potency  in  their  enchant- 
ments, and  a  thing  that  when  they  went  to  a  house  to 
work  their  malice  thereon  would  wholly  take  away 
the  courage  of  the  inmates,  and  dismay  them  so  that 
they  could  neither  move  hand  or  foot,  though  they 
saw  all  that  passed. 

The  death  of  this  woman  in  childbed  was  mourned 
by  the  midwives,  but  her  parents  and  relations  were 
joyful  thereat;  for  they  said  that  she  did  not  go  to 
hades,  or  the  under-ground  world,  but  to  the  western 

las  cosas  desconcertadas  en  los  cuerpos  de  los  hombres,  y  fortifica  las  cosaa 
tiernas  y  blandas. ' 


THE  HOUSE  OF  THE  SUN.  365 

part  of  the  House  of  the  Sun.  To  the  eastern  part 
of  the  House  of  the  Sun,  as  the  ancients  said,  were 
taken  up  all  the  soldiers  that  died  in  war.  When  the 
sun  rose  in  the  morning  these  brave  men  decorated 
themselves  in  their  panoply  of  war,  and  accompanied 
him  toward  the  mid-heaven,  shouting  and  fighting, 
apparently  in  a  sham  or  review  battle,  until  they 
reached  the  point  of  noon-day,  which  was  called  nepan- 
tlatonatiuh.  At  this  point  the  heroines  whose  home 
was  in  the  west  of  heaven,  the  mocioaquezque,  the 
valiant  women,  dead  in  childbed,  who  ranked  as  equal 
with  the  heroes  fallen  in  war,  met  these  heroes  and  re- 
lieved them  of  their  duty  as  guards  of  honor  of  the 
sun.  From  noon  till  night,  down  the  western  slope 
of  light,  while  the  forenoon  escort  of  warriors'  were 
scattered  through  all  the  fields  and  gardens  of  heaven, 
sucking  flowers  till  another  day  should  call  them  anew 
to  their  duty,  the  women,  in  panoply  of  war,  just  as 
the  men  had  been,  and  fighting  like  them  with  clash- 
ing shields  and  shouts  of  joy,  bore  the  sun  to  his  set- 
ting; carrying  him  on  a  litter  of  quetzales,  or  rich 
feathers,  called  the  quetzal-apanecaiutl.  At  this  set- 
ting-place of  the  sun  the  women  were,  in  their  turn, 
relieved  by  those  of  the  under-world,  who  here  came 
out  to  receive  him.  For  it  was  reported  of  old  by  the 
ancients  that  when  night  began  in  the  upper  world  the 
sun  began  to  shine  through  hades,  and  that  thereupon 
the  dead  rose  up  from  their  sleep  and  bore  his  shining 
litter  through  their  domain.  At  this  hour  too  the  celes- 
tial women,  released  from  their  duty  in  heaven,  scat- 
tered and  poured  down  through  the  air  upon  the  earth, 
w^here,  with  a  touch  of  the  dear  nature  that  makes 
the  world  kin,  they  are  described  as  looking  for  spindles 
to  spin  with,  and  shuttles  to  weave  with,  and  all  the 
old  furniture  and  implements  of  their  housewifely 
pride.  This  thing,  says  Sahagun,  "the  devil  wrought 
to  deceive  withal,  for  very  often,  in  the  form  of  those 
women,  he  appeared  to  their  bereaved  husbands,  giv- 
ing them  petticoats  and  shirts." 

Yerv  beautiful  was  the  form  of  address  before  burial 


366          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

used  by  the  midwife  to  the  dead  woman  who  had  taken 
rank  among  the  mocioaquezque  or  mocioaquetza:  O  wo- 
man, strong  and  warlike,  child  well-beloved,  valiant 
one,  beautiful  and  tender  dove,  strong  hast  thou  been 
and  toil-enduring  as  a  hero;  thou  hast  conquered,  thou 
hast  done  as  did  thy  mother  the  lady  Cioacoatl,  or 
Quilaztli.     Very  valiantly  hast  thou  fought,  stoutly 
hast  thou  handled  the  shield  and  the  spear  that  the 
great  mother  put  in  thine  hand.     Up  with  thee !  break 
from  sleep !  behold,  it  is  already  day ;  already  the  red 
of  morning  shoots  through    the  clouds;  already  the 
swallows  and  all  birds  are  abroad.     Rise,  my  daughter, 
attire  thyself,  go  to  that  good  land  where  is  the  house 
of  thy  father  and  mother  the  Sun;  thither  let  thy 
sisters,  the  celestial  women,  carry  thee,  they  that  are 
always  joyful  and  merry  and  filled  with  delight,  be- 
cause of  the  Sun  with  whom  they  take  pleasure.    My 
tender  daughter  and  lady,  not  without  sore  travail 
hast  thou  gotten  the  glory  of  this  victory;  a  great 
pain  and  a  hard  penance  hast  thou  undergone.     Weil 
and  fortunately  hast  thou  purchased  this  death.     Is 
this,  perad venture,  a  fruitless  death,  and  without  great 
merit  and  honor?     Nay,  verily,  but  one  of  much  honor 
and  profit.     Who  receives  other  such  great  mercy, 
other  such  happy  victory,  as  thou  ?  for  thou  hast  gained 
with  thy  death  eternal  life,  a  life  full  of  joy 'and  de- 
light, with  the  goddesses  called  Cioapipilti,  the  celes- 
tial goddesses.     Go  now,  my  lady,  my  well-beloved; 
little  by  little  advance  toward  them;  be  one  of  them, 
that  they  may  receive  thee  and  be  always  with  thee, 
that  thou  mayest  rejoice  and  be  glad  in  our  father  arid 
mother  the  Sun,  and  accompany  him.  whithersoever 
he  wish  to  take  pleasure.    0  my  lady,  my  well-beloved 
daughter,  thou  hast  left  us  behind,  us  old  people,  un- 
worthy of  such  glory;  thou  hast  torn  thyself  away 
from  thy  father  and  mother,  and  departed.     Not,  in- 
deed, of  thine  own  will,  but  thou  wast  called;   thou 
didst  follow  a  voice   that  called.     We  must  remain 
orphans  and  forlorn,  old  and  luckless  and  poor;  misery 
will  glorify  itself  in  us.     O  my  lady,  thou  hast  left  us 


CHALCHIHUITLICUE,  367 

here  that  we  may  go  from  door  to  door  and  through 
the  streets  in  poverty  and  sorrow;  we  pray  thee  to 
remember  us  where  thou  art,  and  to  provide  for  the 
poverty  that  we  here  endure.  The  sun  wearies  us 
with  his  great  heat,  the  air  with  its  coldness,  and  the 
frost  with  its  torment.  All  these  things  afflict  and 
grieve  our  miserable  earthen  bodies;  hunger  is  lord 
over  us,  and  we  can  do  nothing  against  it.  My  well- 
beloved,  I  pray  thee  to  visit  us,  since  thou  art  a  val- 
orous woman  and  a  lady,  since  thou  art  settled  forever 
in  the  place  of  delight  and  blessedness,  there  to  live 
and  be  forever  with  our  Lord.  Thou  seest  him  with 
thine  eyes,  thou  speakest  to  him  with  thy  tongue, 
pray  to  him  for  us,  entreat  him  that  he  favor  us,  and 
therewith  we  shall  be  at  rest.17 

Chalchihuitlicue,  or  Chalchiuhcyeje,  is  described  by 
Clavigero  as  the  goddess  of  water  and  the  mate  of 
Tlaloc.  She  had  other  names  relating  to  water  in  its 
different  states,  as  Apozonallotl  and  Acuecuejotl,  which 
mean  the  swelling  and  fluctuation  of  water;  Atlaca- 
mani,  or  the  storms  excited  thereon ;  Ahuic  and  Aiauh, 
or  its  motion,  now  to  one  side,  now  to  the  other;  and 
Xixiquipilihui,  the  alternate  rising  and  falling  of  the 
waves.  The  Tlascaltecs  called  her  Matlalcueje,  that 
is,  'clothed  in  a  green  robe;'  and  they  gave  the  same 
name  to  the  highest  mountain  of  Tlascala,  on  whose 
summit  are  found  those  stormy  clouds  which  generally 
burst  over  the  city  of  Puebla.  To  that  summit  the 
Tlascaltecs  ascended  to  perform  their  sacrifices  and 
offer  up  their  prayers.  This  is  the  very  same  goddess  of 
water  to  whom  Torquemada  gives  the  name  of  Hochi- 
quetzal,  and  Boturini  that  of  Macuilxochiquetzalli.18 

Of  the  accuracy  of  the  assertions  of  this  last  sen- 
tence I  am  by  no  means  certain ;  Boturini  and  Torque- 
mada both  describe  their  goddess  of  water  without 
giving  any  support  thereto.  Boturini  says  that  she 

17  Kingsborougtis Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  5,  35,  vol.  v.,  pp.  450-2;  Sahagun, 
Hist.   Gen.,  torn,   i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  8-9,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  78-9;  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  pp. 

18  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  delMessic<\  torn,  ii.,  p.  16. 


368          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

was  metaphorically  called  by- the  Mexicans  the  goddess 
of  the  Petticoat  of  Precious  Stones — chalchihuites,  as 
it  would  appear  from  other  authorities,  being  meant 
—and  that  she  was  represented  with  large  pools  at 
her  feet,  and  symbolized  by  certain  reeds  that  grow  in. 
moist  places.  She  was  particularly  honored  by  fisher- 
men and  others  whose  trade  connected  them  with 
water,  and  great  ladies  were  accustomed  to  dedicate 
to  her  their  nuptials — probably,  as  will  be  seen  imme- 
diately, because  this  goddess  had  much  to  do  with 
certain  lustral  ceremonies  performed  on  new-born, 
children.19 

Many  names,  writes  Torquemada,  were  given  to  this 
goddess,  but  that  of  Chalchihuitlicue  was  the  most 
common  and  usual;  it  meant  to  say,  'petticoat  of 
water,  of  a  shade  between  green  and  blue,'  that  is,  of 
the  color  the  stones  called  chalchihuites.20  She  was 
the  companion,  not  the  wife,  of  Tlaloc,  for  indeed,  as 
our  author  affirms,  the  Mexicans  did  not  think  so 
grossly  of  their  gods  and  goddesses  as  to  marry  them.21 

According  to  Sahagun,  Chalchihuitlicue  was  the 
sister  of  the  Tlalocs.  She  was  honored  because  she 
had  power  over  the  waters  of  the  sea  and  of  the  rivers 
to  drown  those  that  went  down  to  them,  to  raise 
tempests  and  whirlwinds,  and  to  cause  boats  to  founder, 

19  Boturini,  Idea,  pp.  25-6. 

20  '  The  stones  called  chalchiuites  by  the  Mexicans  (and  written  variously 
clialchibetes,  chalchihuis,  and  calcluhuis  by  the  chroniclers)  were  esteemed  of 
high  value  by  all  the  Central  American   and  Mexican  nations.     They  were 
generally  of  green  quartz,  jade,  or  the  stone  known  as  madre  de  Esmerakla. 
....  The  goddess  of  water,  amongst  the  Mexicans,  bore  the  name  of  Ckalchiuil- 
cuye,  the  woman  of  the  Chalchiuites,  and  the  name  of  Chalchmihapan  was  often 
applied  to  the  city  of  Tlaxcalla,  from  a  beautiful  fountain  of  water  found 
near  it,  "  the  color  of  which,  "according  to  Torquemada,  "was  between  blue 
and  green."  '  Squier,  in  Palacio,  Carta,  p.  110,  note  15.     In  the  same  work,  p. 

"  al- 


["this  lake  is  distant  two  leagues 
ward  of  the  present  considerable  town  of  Guatepeque,  from  which  it  takes  its 
name,  LayuiM  de  Guatepue  " — Guatemala],  situated  on  the  flank  of  the  vol- 
cano. Its  water  is  bad;  it  is  deep,  and  full  of  caymans.  In  its  middle  there 
are  two  small  islands.  The  Indians  regard  the  lake  as  an  oracle  of  much 
authority ,  , . .  I  learned  that  certain  negroes  and  mulattoes  of  an  adjacent  estate 
had  been  there  [on  the  islands],  and  had  found  a  great  idol  of  stone  in  the 
form  of  a  woman,  and  some  objects  which  had  been,  offered  in  sacrifice.  Near 
by  were  found  some  stones  called  chalchibites. ' 
21  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  47. 


IDOL  OF  CHALCHIHUITLICUE.  369 

They  worshipped  her,  all  those  that  dealt  in  water^  that 
went  about  selling  it  from  canoes,  or  pedled  jars  of 
it  in  the  market.  They  represented  this  goddess  as  a 
woman,  painted  her  face  yellow,  save  the  forehead, 
which  was  often  blue,  and  hung  round  her  neck  a  collar 
of  precious  stones  from  which  depended  a  medal  of 
gold  On  her  head  was  a  crown  of  light  blue  paper, 
with  plumes  of  green  feathers,  and  tassels  that  fell  to 
the  nape  of  her  neck.  Her  ear-rings  were  of  turquoise 
wrought  in  mosaic.  Her  clothing  was  a  shirt,  or  upper 
body-garment,  clear  blue  petticoats  with  fringes,  from 
which  hung  marine  shells,  and  white  sandals.  In  her 
left  hand  she  held  a  shield  and  a  leaf  of  the  broad 
round  white  water-lily,  called  atlacuezona.22  In  her 
right  hand  she  held  as  a  sceptre  a  vessel  in  the  shape 
of  a  cross,  or  of  a  monstrance  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
This  goddess,  together  with  Chicomecoatl,  goddess  of 
provisions,  and  Vixtocioatl,  goddess  of  salt,  was  held 
in  high  veneration  by  kings  and  lords,  for  they  said 
that  these  three  supported  the  common  people  so  that 
they  could  live  and  multiply.23 

Chalchihuitlicue  was  especially  connected  with  cer- 
tain ceremonies  of  lustration  of  children,  resembling 
in  many  points  baptism  among  Christians.  It  would 
seem  that  two  of  these  lustrations  were  practised  upon 

22  Atlacueqonan,  ninfa  vel  onenufar,  flor  de  yerna  de  agua.  Molina,  Vocab- 
ulario.  The  Abbe  Brasseur  adds,  on  what  authority  I  have  not  been  able  to 
find,  that  this  leaf  was  ornamented  with  golden  flags.  Hist,  des  Nat.  Civ., 
torn,  i.,  p.  324.  He  adds  in  a  note  to  this  passage,  what  is  very  true,  that 
'  suivant  Ixtlilxochitl,  et  apr6s  lui  Veytia,  la  d<§esse  des  eaux  aurait  dte  adoree 
sous  la  forme  d'une  grenouille,  faite  d'une  seule  emeraude,  et  qui,  suivant 
Ixtlilxochitl,  existait  encore  au  temps  de  la  conquete  de  Mexico.  La  seula 
deesse  adoree  sous  la  forme  unique  d'une  grenouille  etait  la  terre.  '  (See 
this  vol.,  p.  351,  note  4.)  Gomara,  Hist.  Conq.  Hex.,  fol.  326,  says  that  the 
figure  of  a  frog  was  held  to  be  the  goddess  of  fishes:  '  Entre  los  idolos  ...  es- 
taua  el  de  la  rama.  A  la  cual  tenian  por  diosa  del  pescado.  '  Motolinia  ex- 
tends this  last  statement  as  follows:  The  Mexicans  had  idols,  he  says,  in 


taua  el  de  la  rama.     A  la  cual  tenian  por  diosa  del  pescado.  '     Motolinia  ex- 

follows:  The  Mexicans  had  idols,  he  say 

Icazbaketa,  Col.  de  Doc.,  torn,  i.,  p.  34,  '  de  los  pescados  grandes  y  de  los  ia- 
gartos  de  agua,  hasta  sapos  y  ranas,  y  de  otros  peces  grandes,  y  estos  deciau 
que  eran  los  dioses  del  pescado.  De  un  pueblo  de  la  laguna  de  Mexico 
llevaron  unos  idolos  de  estos  peces,  que  eran  unos  peces  hechos  de  piedra, 
grandes;  y  despues  volviendo  por  alii  pidieronles  para  comer  algunos  peces, 
y  respondieron  que  habian  llevado  el  dios  del  pescado  y  que  no  podian  tomar 
peces.' 

23  Kinf/sborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  5-6,  36;  Saha'jun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  9-10,  lib.  ii.,  p.  81;  Amer.  EthnoL  Soc*,  Transact,,  vol.  i., 
pp.  342,  350. 

VOL.  III.    24 


370          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

every  infant,  and  the  first  took  place  immediately 
upon  its  birth.  When  the  midwife  had  cut  the  um- 
bilical cord  of  the  child,  then  she  washed  it,  and  while 
washing  it  said,  varying  her  address  according  to  its 
sex :  My  son,  approach  now  thy  mother,  Chalchihui- 
tlicue,  the  goddess  of  water;  may  she  see  good  to  re- 
ceive thee,  to  wash  thee,  and  to  put  away  from  thee 
the  fiithiness  that  thou  takest  from  thy  father  and 
mother;  may  she  see  good  to  purify  thine  heart,  to 
make  it  good  and  clean,  and  to  instil  into  thee  good 
habits  and  manners. 

Then  the  midwife  turned  to  the  water  itself  and 
spoke:  Most  compassionate  lady,  Chalchihuitlicue, 
here  has  come  into  the  world  this  thy  servant,  sent 
hither  by  our  father  and  mother,  whose  names  are 
Ometecutli  and  Omecioatl,24  who  live  on  the  ninth 
heaven,  which  is  the  place  of  the  habitation  of  the 
gods.  We  know  not  what  are  the  gifts  that  this  in- 
fant brings  with  it;  we  know  not  what  was  given  to 
it  before  the  beginning  of  the  world;  we  know  not 
what  it  is,  nor  what  mischief  and  vice  it  brings  with 
it  taken  from  its  father  and  mother.  It  is  now  in 
thine  hands,  wash  and  cleanse  it  as  thou  knowest  to 
be  necessary;  in  thine  hands  we  leave  it.  Purge  it 
from  the  fiithiness  it  inherits  from  its  father  and  its 
mother,  all  spot  and  defilement  let  the  water  carry 
and  undo.  See  good,  O  our  lady,  to  cleanse  and 
purify  its  heart  and  life,  that  it  may  lead  a  quiet  and 
peaceable  life  in  this  world ;  for  indeed  we  leave  this 
creature  in  thine  hands,  who  art  mother  and  lady  of 
the  gods,  and  alone  worthy  of  the  gift  of  cleansing 
that  thou  hast  held  from  before  the  beginning  of  the 
world ;  see  good  to  do  as  we  have  entreated  thee  to 
this  child  now  in  thy  presence. 

Then  the  midwife  spake  again :  I  pray  thee  to  re- 
ceive this  child  here  brought  before  thee.  This  said, 
the  midwife  took  water  and  blew  her  breath  upon  it, 
and  gave  to  taste  of  it  to  the  babe,  and  touched  the 
babe  with  it  on  the  breast  and  on  the  top  of  the  head, 

2*See  this  vol.,  p.  58,  note  15. 


TWO  LUSTRATIONS  OR  BAPTISMS.  371 

Then  she  said:  My  well-beloved  son,  or  daughter,  ap- 
proach here  thy  mother  and  father,  Chalchihuitlicue 
and  Chalchihuitlatonac;  let  now  this  goddess  take 
thee,  for  she  has  to  bear  thee  on  her  shoulders  and  in 
her  arms  through  this  world.  Then  the  midwife 
dipped  the  child  into  water,  and  said :  Enter,  my  son, 
into  the  water  that  is  called  mamatlac  and  tuspalac; 
let  it  wash  thee;  let  him  cleanse  thee  that  is  in  every 
place,  let  him  see  good  to  put  away  from  thee  all  the 
evil  that  thou  hast  carried  with  thee  from  before  the 
beginning  of  the  world,  the  evil  that  thy  father  and 
thy  mother  have  joined  to  thee.  Having  so  washed 
the  creature,  the  midwife  then  wrapped  it  up,  address- 
ing it  the  while  as  follows :  0  precious  stone,  O  rich 
feather,  O  emerald,  0  sapphire,  thou  wert  shaped 
where  abide  the  great  god  and  the  great  goddess  that 
are  above  the  heavens;  created  and  formed  thou  wert 
by  thy  mother  and  father,  Ometecutli  and  Omecioatl, 
the  celestial  woman  and  the  celestial  man.  Thou 
hast  come  into  this  world,  a  place  of  many  toils  and 
troubles,  of  intemperate  heat  and  intemperate  cold 
and  wind,  a  place  of  hunger  and  thirst,  of  weariness 
and  of  tears;  of  a  verity  we  cannot  say  that  this 
world  is  other  than  a  place  of  weeping,  of  sadness,  of 
vexation.  Behold  thy  lot,  weariness  and  weeping 
and  tears.  Thou  hast  come,  my  well-beloved,  repose 
then  and  take  here  thy  rest ;  let  our  Lord  that  is  in 
every  place  provide  for  and  support  thee.  And  in 
saying  all  these  things  the  midwife  spake  softly,  as  one 
that  prays. 

The  second  lustration,  or  baptism,  usually  took  place 
on  the  fifth  day  after  birth,  but  in  every  case  the 
astrologers  and  diviners  were  consulted,  and  if  the 
signs  were  not  propitious,  the  baptism  was  postponed 
till  a  day  of  good  sign  came.  The  ceremony,  when 
the  child  was  a  boy,  began  by  bringing  to  it  a  little 
shield,  bow,  and  arrows;  of  which  arrows  there  were 
four,  one  pointing  toward  each  of  the  four  points  of  the 
world.  There  were  also  brought  a  little  shield,  bow, 
and  arrows,  made  of  paste  or  dough  of  wild  amaranth 


372          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

seeds,  and  a  pottage  of  beans  and  toasted  maize,  and 
a  little  breech-clout  and  blanket  or  mantle.  The  poor 
in  such  cases  had  no  more  than  the  little  shield,  bow, 
and  arrows,  together  with  some  tamales  and  toasted 
maize.  When  the  child  was  a  girl,  there  were  brought 
to  it,  instead  of  mimic  weapons,  certain  woman's 
implements  and  tools  for  spinning  and  weaving,  the 
spindle  and  distaff,  a  little  shirt  and  petticoats.  These 
things  being  prepared,  suiting  the  sex  of  the  infant, 
its  parents  and  relatives  assembled  before  sunrise. 
When  the  sun  rose  the  midwife  asked  for  a  new  vessel 
full  of  water;  and  she  took  the  child  in  her  hands. 
Then  the  by-standers  carried  all  the  implements  and 
utensils  already  mentioned  into  the  court-yard  of  the 
house,  where  the  midwife  set  the  face  of  the  child 
toward  the  west,  and  spake  to  the  child  saying:  0 
grandson  of  mine,  O  eagle,  O  tiger,  0  valiant  man, 
thou  hast  come  into  the  world,  sent  by  thy  father  and 
mother,  the  great  Lord  and  the  great  lady;  thou  wast 
created  and  begotten  in  thy  house,  which  is  the  place 
of  the  supreme  gods  that  are  above  the  nine  heavens. 
Thou  art  a  gift  from  our  son  Quetzalcoatl,  who  is  in 
every  place;  join  thyself  now  to  thy  mother,  the  god- 
dess of  water,  Chalchihuitlicue. 

Then  the  midwife  gave  the  child  to  taste  of  the 
*water,  putting  her  moistened  fingers  in  its  mouth,  and 
said :  Take  this ;  by  this  thou  hast  to  live  on  the  earth, 
to  grow  and  to  flourish;  through  this  we  get  all  things 
that  support  existence  on  the  earth;  receive  it.  Then 
with  her  moistened  fingers  she  touched  the  breast  of 
the  child,  and  said :  Behold  the  pure  water  that  washes 
and  cleanses  thine  heart,  that  removes  all  filthiness; 
receive  it;  may  the  goddess  see  good  to  purify  and 
cleanse  thine  heart.  Then  the  midwife  poured  water 
upon  the  head  of  the  child,  saying:  0  my  grandson, 
my  son,  take  this  water  of  the  Lord  of  the  world, 
which  is  thy  life,  invigorating  and  refreshing,  washing 
and  cleansing.  I  pray  that  this  celestial  water,  blue 
and  light  blue,  may  enter  into  thy  body  and  there  live ; 
I  pray  that  it  may  destroy  in  thee  and  put  away  from 


PRAYER  TO  THE  EARTH-MOTHER.  373 

thee  all  the  things  evil  and  adverse  that  were  given 
thee  before  the  beginning  of  the  world.  Into  thine 
hand,  0  goddess  of  water,  are  all  mankind  put,  because 
thou  art  our  mother,  Chalchihuitlicue.  Having  so 
washed  the  body  of  the  child  and  so  spoken,  the  mid- 
wife said :  Wheresoever  thou  art  in  this  child,  0  thou 
hurtful  thing,  begone,  leave  it,  put  thyself  apart;  for 
now  does  it  live  anew,  and  anew  is  it  born ;  now  again 
is  it  purified  and  cleansed;  now  again  is  it  shaped  and 
engendered  by  our  mother,  the  goddess  of  water. 

All  these  things  being  done  and  spoken,  the  mid- 
wife lifted  the  child  in  both  her  hands  toward  heaven, 
and  said:  O  Lord,  behold  here  thy  creature  that  thou 
hast  sent  to  this  place  of  pain,  of  affliction,  of  anguish, 
to  this  world.  Give  it,  0  Lord,  thy  gifts  and  thine 
inspiration,  forasmuch  as  thou  art  the  great  god,  and 
hast  with  thee  the  great  goddess.  Then  the  midwife 
stooped  again  and  set  the  child  upon  the  earth,  and 
raised  it  the  second  time  toward  heaven,  saying :  O 
our  lady,  who  art  mother  of  the  heavens,  who  art 
called  Citlalatonac,25  to  thee  I  direct  my  voice  and  my 
cry;  I  pray  thee  to  inspire  with  thy  virtue,  what 
virtue  soever  it  may  be,  to  give  and  to  instil  it  into 
this  creature.  Then  the  midwife  stooped  again  and  set 
the  child  on  the  ground,  and  raised  it  the  third  time 

33  See  note  24.  *  Entre  los  Dioses  que  estos  ciegos  Mexicanos  fingieron 
tener,  y  ser  maiores,  que  otros,  fueron  dos;  vno  llamado  Ometecuhtli,  que 
quiere  decir,  dos  hidalgos,  6  cavalleros;  y  el  otro  llamaron  Omecihuatl,  que 
quiere  decir,  dos  mugeres:  los  quales,  por  otros  nombres,  fueron  llamados, 
Citlalatonac,  que  quiere  decir,  Estrella  que  resplandece,  6  resplandeciente; 

y  el  otro,  Citlalicue,  que  quiere  decir,  Faldellin  de  la  Estrella: Estos  dos 

Dioses  fingidos  de  esta  Gentilidad,  creian  ser  el  vno  Hombre,  y  el  otro  Muger; 
y  como  a  dos  naturale9as  distintas,  y  de  distintos  sexos  las  nombraban,  como 
por  los  nombres  dichos  parece.  De  estos  dos  Dioses  (o  por  mejor  decir,  De- 
monios)  tuvieron  creido  estos  naturales,  que  residian  en  vna  Ciudad  gloriosa, 
asentada  sobre  los  once  Cielos,  cuio  suelo  era  mas  alto,  y  supremo  de  ellos;  y 
que  en  aquella  Ciudad  go9abaii  de  todos  los  deleites  imaginables  y  poselan 
todos  las  rique9as  de  el  Mundo;  y  decian,  que  desde  alii  arriba  regian,  y  gov- 
ernaban  toda  esta  maquina  inferior  del  Mundo,  y  todo  aquello  que  es  visible, 
e  invisible,  influiendo  en  todas  las  Animas,  que  criaban  todas  las  inclinaciones 
naturales,  que  vemos  aver  en  todas  las  criaturas  racionales,  e  irracionales;  y 
que  cuidaban  de  todo,  como  por  naturale9a  los  convenia,  atalaindo  desde  aquel 

su  asiento  las  cosas  criadas De  manera,  que  segun  lo  dicho,  esta  mui  claro 

de  entender,  que  tenian  opinion,  que  les  que  regian,  y  governaban  el  Mundo, 
eran  dos  (conviene  a  saber)  vn  Dios,  y  vna  Diosa,  de  los  quales  el  vno  que  era 
el  Dios  Hombre,  obraba  en  todo  el  genero  de  los  Varones;  y  el  otro,  que  era 
la  Diosa,  criaba,  y  obraba  en  todo  el  genero  de  las  Mugeres. '  Torquemada, 
Monarq.  2nd.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  37. 


374          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

toward  heaven,  and  said:  O  our  Lord,  god  and  god- 
dess celestial,  that  are  in  the  heavens,  behold  this  crea- 
ture ;  see  good  to  pour  into  it  thy  virtue  and  thy  breath, 
so  that  it  may  live  upon  the  earth.  Then  a  fourth  and 
last  time  the  midwife  set  the  babe  upon  the  ground,  a 
fourth  time  she  lifted  it  toward  heaven,  and  she  spake 
to  the  sun  and  said:  0  our  Lord,  Sun,  Totonametl, 
Tlaltecutli,  that  art  our  mother  and  our  father,  behold 
this  creature,  which  is  like  a  bird  of  precious  plumage, 
like  a  zaquan  or  a  quechutl;26  thine,  O  our  Lord  the 
Sun,  he  is;  thou  who  art  valiant  in  war  and  painted 
like  a  tiger  in  black  and  gray,  he  is  thy  creature  and 
of  thine  estate  and  patrimony.  For  this  he  was  born, 
to  serve  thee  and  to  give  thee  food  and  drink ;  he  is  of 
the  family  of  warriors  and  soldiers  that  fight  on  the 
field  of  battle. 

Then  the  midwife  took  the  shield,  and  the  bow  and 
the  dart  that  were  there  prepared,  and  spake  to  the  Sun 
after  this  sort :  Behold  here  the  instruments  of  war 

26  Caquantototl,  paxaro  de  pluma  amarillo  y  rica.  Molina,  Vocabulario. 
According  to  Bustamante,  however,  this  bird  is  not  one  in  any  way  remark- 
able for  plumage,  but  is  identical  with  the  tzacua  described  by  Clavigero,  and 
is  here  used  as  an  example  of  a  vigilant  and  active  soldier.  Bustamante  (in 
a  note  to  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  pp.  194-5)  writes:  Tzacua, 
of  this  bird  repeated  mention  has  been  made  in  this  history,  for  the  Indians 
used  it  for  a  means  of  comparison  or  simile  in  their  speeches.  It  is  an  early- 
rising  bird  (madrugador),  and  has  nothing  notable  in  its  plumage  or  in  its 
voice,  but  only  in  its  habits.  This  bird  is  one  of  the  last  to  go  to  rest  at 
night,  and  one  of  the  first  to  announce  the  coming  sun.  An  hour  before  day- 
break a  bird  of  this  species,  having  passed  the  night  with  many  of  his  fel- 
lows on  any  branch,  begins  to  call  them,  with  a  shrill  clear  note  that  he 
keeps  repeating  in  a  glad  tone  till  some  of  them  reply.  The  tzacua  is  about 
the  size  of  a  sparrow,  and  very  similar  in  color  to  the  bunting  (calandria), 
but  more  marvellous  in  its  habits.  It  is  a  social  bird;  each  tree  is  a  town  of 
many  nests.  One  tzacua  plays  the  part  of  chief  and  guards  the  rest;  his  post 
is  in  the  top  of  the  tree,  whence,  from  time  to  time,  he  flies  from  nest  to  nest 
uttering  his  notes;  and  while  he  is  visiting  a  nest  all  within  are  silent.  If 
he  sees  any  bird  of  another  species  approaching  the  tree,  he  sallies  out  upon 
the  invader  and  with  beak  and  wings  compels  a  retreat.  But  if  he  sees  a 
man  or  any  large  object  advancing,  he  flies  screaming  to  a  neighboring 
tree,  and,  meeting  other  birds  of  his  tribe  flying  homeward,  he  obliges  them 
to  retire  by  changing  the  tone  of  his  note.  When  the  danger  is  over,  he  re- 
turns to  his  tree  and  begins  his  rounds  as  before,  from  nest  to  nest.  Tzacuas 
abound  in  Michoacan,  and  to  their  observations  regarding  them  the  Indians 
are  doubtless  indebted  for  many  hints  and  comparisons  applied  to  soldiers 
diligent  in  duty.  The  quecliutl,  or  tlauhquechol,  is  a  large  aquatic  bird  with 
plumage  of  a  beautiful  scarlet  color,  or  a  reddish  white,  except  that  of  the 
neck,  which  is  black.  Its  home  is  on  the  sea-shore  and  by  the  river  banks, 
where  it  feeds  on  live  fish,  never  touching  dead  flesh.  See  Claviyero,  Storia 
Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  i.,  pp.  87,  91-3. 


DEDICATION  OF  THE  CHILD  TO  WAR.  375 

which,  thou  art  served  with,  which  thou  delightest  in; 
impart  to  this  babe  the  gift  that  thou  art  wont  to  give 
to  thy  soldiers,  enabling  them  to  go  to  thine  house  of 
delights,  where,  having  fallen  in  battle,  they  rest  and 
are  joyful,  and  are  now  with  thee  praising  thee.  Will 
this  poor  little  nobody  ever  be  one  of  them?  Have 
pity  upon  him,  O  clement  Lord  of  ours. 

During  all  the  time  of  these  ceremonies  a  great 
torch  of  candlewood  was  burning ;    and  when   these 
ceremonies  were  accomplished,  a  name  was  given  to 
the  child,  that  of  one  of  his  ancestors,  so  that  he  might 
inherit  the  fortune  or  lot  of  him  whose  name  was  so 
taken.     This  name  was  applied  to  the  child  by  the 
midwife,  or  priestess,  who    performed    the    baptism. 
Suppose  the  name  given  was  Yautl.     Then  the  mid- 
wife began  to  shout  and  to  talk  like  a  man  to  the 
child :  O  Yautl,  O  valiant  man,  take  this  shield  and 
this  dart ;  these  are  for  thy  amusement,  they  are  the 
delight  of  the  sun.     Then  she  tied  the  little  mantle 
on  its  shoulders  and  girt  the  breech-clout  about  it. 
Now  all  the  boys  of  the  ward  were  assembled,  and  at 
this  stage  of  the  ceremony  they  rushed  into  the  house 
where  the  baptism  had  taken  place,  and  representing 
soldiers  and  forrayers,  they  took  food  that  was  there 
prepared  for  them,  which  was  called  '  the  navel-string/ 
or  '  navel,'  of  the  child,  and  set  out  with  it  into  the 
streets,  shouting  and  eating.     They  cried :  0  Yautl, 
Yautl,  get  thee  to  the  field  of  battle,  put  thyself  into 
the  thickest  of  the  fight ;  0  Yautl,  Yautl,  thine  office 
is  to  make  glad  the  sun  and  the  earth,  to  give  them 
to  eat  and  to  drink ;  upon  thee  has  fallen  the  lot  of 
the  soldiers  that  are  eagles  and  tigers,  that  die  in 
war,  that  are  now  making  merry  and  singing  before 
the  sun.     And  they  cried  again :  O  soldiers,  O  men 
of  war,  come  hither,  come  to  eat  of  the  navel  of  Yautl. 
Then  the  midwife,  or  priestess,  took  the  child  into  the 
house,  and  departed,  the  great  torch  of  candlewood 
being  carried  burning  before  her,  and  this  was  the 
last  of  the  ceremony. 2/ 

27  Kingsborough  's  Nex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  479-483,  vol.   vii.,  pp.   151-2; 


376          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

The  goddess  (or  god,  as  some  have  it)  connected  by 
the   Mexicans  with  carnal  love  was  variously  called 

Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib  vi  ,  pp.  215-21.  According  to  some  au- 
thors, and  I  think  Boturini  for  one,  this  baptism  was  supplemented  by  pass- 
ing the  child  through  fire.  There  was  such  a  ceremony;  however,  it  was 
not  connected  with  that  of  baptism,  but  it  took  place  on  the  last  night  of 
every  fourth,  year,  before  the  five  unlucky  days.  On  the  last  night  of  every 
fourth  year,  parents  chose  god-parents  for  their  children  born  during  the 
three  preceding  years,  and  these  god-fathers  and  god-mothers  passed  the 
children  over,  or  near  to,  or  about  the  flame  of  a  prepared  fire  (rodearlos  por 
las'  llamas  del  fuego  que  tenian  aparejado  para  esto,  que  en  el  latin  se  dice 
Instrare}.  They  also  bored  the  children's  ears,  which  caused  no  small  up- 
roar (habia  gran  voceria  de  muchachos  y  muchachas  por  el  ahugeramiento 
de  las  ore j as),  as  may  well  be  imagined.  They  clasped  the  children  by  the 
temples  and  lifted  them  up  *  to  make  them  grow; '  wherefore  they  called  the 
feast  izcalli,  'growing.'  They  finished  by  giving  the  little  things  pulque 
in  tiny  cups,  and  for  this  the  feast  was  called  the  '  drunkenness  of  children. ' 
Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii  ,  pp.  189-92  In  the  Spieyazione  delle 
Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano),  tav.  xxxi.,  in  Kinysborouytis  Mex. 
Antiq.;  vol.  v.,  p.  181,  there  is  given  a  description  of  the  water  baptism  dif- 
fering somewhat  from  that  given  in  the  text.  It  runs  as  follows:  'They 
took  some  ficitle;  and  having  a  large  vessel  of  water  near  them,  they  made 
the  leaves  of  the  ficitle  into  a  bunch,  and  dipped  it  into  the  water,  with 
which  they  sprinkled  the  child;  and  after  fumigating  it  with  incense,  they 
gave  it  a  name,  taken  from  the  sign  on  which  it  was  born;  and  they  put  into 
its  hand  a  shield  and  arrow,  if  it  was  a  boy,  which  is  what  the  figure  of 
Xiuatlatl  denotes,  who  here  represents  the  god  of  war;  they  also  uttered 
over  the  child  certain  prayers  in  the  manner  of  deprecations,  that  he 
might  become  a  brave,  intrepid,  and  courageous  man.  The  offering  which 
his  parents  carried  to  the  temple  the  elder  priests  took  and  divided  with  the 
other  children  who  were  in  the  temple,  who  ran  with  it  through  the  whole 
city.  Mendieta,  Hist.  Edes.,  p.  107,  again  describes  this  rite,  in  substance 
as  follows:  *  They  had  a  sort  of  baptism;  thus  when  the  child  was  a  few 
days  old,  an  old  woman  was  called  in,  who  took  the  child  out  into  the  court 
of  the  house  where  it  was  born,  and  washed  it  a  certain  number  of  times 
with  the  wine  of  the  country,  and  as  many  times  again  with  water;  then 
she  put  a  name  on  it,  and  performed  certain  ceremonies  with  the  umbilical 
cord!  These  names  were  taken  from  the  idols,  or  from  the  feasts  that 
fell  about  that  time,  or  from  a  beast  or  bird.'  See  further  Esplicado* 
de  la  Coleccion  de  Mendoza,  pt.  iii.,  in  Kingsborougtis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol. 
v.,  pp.  90-1;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Tnd.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  445,  449-58;  Cla- 
vigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  85-9;  Humboldt,  Vues  des 
Cordill&res,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  311,  318;  Gama,  Dos  Piedras,  pt.  ii.,  pp. 
39-41;  Prescott's  Mex.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  385;  Brintons  Mytlis,  pp.  122,  130; 
Miilkr,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  p.  652;  Biart,  La  Terre  Temp6re6,  p. 
274.  Mr  Tylor,  speaking  of  Mexico,  in  his  Anahuac,  p.  279,  says: 
'Children  were  sprinkled  with  water  when  their  names  were  given 
to  them.  This  is  certainly  true,  though  the  statement  that  they 
believed  that  the  process  purified  them  from  original  sin  is  probably 
a  monkish  fiction.'  Further  reading,  however,  has  shown  Mr  Tylor  the 
injustice  of  this  judgment,  and  in  his  masterly  latest  and  greatest  work  (see 
Primitive  Culture,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  429-30),  he  writes  as  follows:  'The  last  group 
of  rites,  whose  course  through  religious  history  is  to  be  outlined  here,  takes 
in  the  varied  dramatic  acts  of  ceremonial  purification  or  lustration.  With 
all  the  obscurity  and  intricacy  due  to  age-long  modification,  the  primitive 
thought  which  underlies  these  ceremonies  is  still  open  to  view.  It  is  the  tran- 
sition from  practical  to  symbolic  cleansing,  from  removal  of  bodily  impurity 
to  deliverance  from  invisible,  spiritual,  and  at  last  moral  evil.  [See  this  vol., 
p.  119.]. . .  .In  old  Mexico  the  first  act  of  ceremonial  lustration  took  place  at 
birth.  The  nurse  washed  the  infant  in  the  name  of  the  water-goddess,  to  re- 


THE  AZTEC  VENUS.  377 

Tlazolteotl,  Ixcuina,  Tlaclquani,  with  other  names,  and, 
especially  it  would  appear  in  Tlascala,  Xochiquetzal. 
She  had  no  very  prominent  or  honorable  place  in  the 
minds  of  the  people,  and  was  much  more  closely  allied 
to  the  Roman  Cloacina  than  to  the  Greek  Aphrodite. 
Camargo,  the  Tlascaltec,  gives  much  the  most  agree- 
able and  pleasing  account  of  her.  Her  home  was  in 
the  ninth  heaven,  in  a  pleasant  garden,  watered  by  in- 
numerable fountains,  where  she  passed  her  time  spin- 
ning and  weaving  rich  stuffs,  in  the  midst  of  delights, 
ministered  to  by  the  inferior  deities.  No  man  was  able 
to  approach  her,  but  she  had  in  her  service  a  crowd  of 
dwarfs,  buffoons,  and  hunchbacks,  who  diverted  her 
with  their  songs  and  dances,  and  acted  as  messengers 
to  such  gods  as  she  took  a  fancy  to.  So  beautiful  was 
she  painted  that  no  woman  in  the  world  could  equal 
her ;  and  the  place  of  her  habitation  was  called  lamo- 
tamohuanichan,  Xochitlycacan,  Chitamihuany,  Cicuh- 
nauhuepaniuhcan,  and  Tuhecayan,  that  is  to  say,  'the 
place  of  Tamohuan,  the  place  of  the  tree  of  flowers, 
Xochitlihcacan,  where  the  air  is  purest,  beyond  the 
nine  heavens.'  It  was  further  said  that  whoever  had 
been  touched  by  one  of  the  flowers  that  grow  in  the 
beautiful  garden  of  Xochiquetzal  should  love  to  the 
end,  should  love  faithfully.28 

move  the  impurity  of  its  birth,  to  cleanse  its  heart  and  give  it  a  good  and  per- 
fect life;  then  blowing  on  water  in  her  right  hand,  she  washed  it  again,  warning 
it  of  forthcoming  trials  and  miseries  and  labors,  and  praying  the  invisible 
Deity  to  descend  upon  the  water,  to  cleanse  the  child  from  sin  and  foulness, 
and  to  deliver  it  from  misfortune.  The  second  act  took  place  some  four 
days  later,  unless  the  astrologers  postponed  it.  At  a  festive  gathering,  amid 
fires  kept  alight  from  the  first  ceremony,  the  nurse  undressed  the  child  sent 
by  the  gods  into  this  sad  and  doleful  world,  bade  it  to  receive  the  life-giving 
water,  and  washed  it,  driving  out  evil  from  each  limb,  and  offering  to  the 
deities  appointed  prayers  for  virtue  and  blessing.  It  was  then  that  the  toy 
instruments  of  war  or  craft  or  household  labor  were  placed  in  the  boy's  or 
girl's  hand  (a  custom  singularly  corresponding  with  one  usual  in  China), 
and  the  other  children,  instructed  by  their  parents,  gave  the  new-comer  its 
child-name,  here  again  to  be  replaced  by  another  at  manhood  or  womanhood. 
There  is  nothing  unlikely  in  the  statement  that  the  child  was  also  passed 
four  times  through  the  fire,  but  the  authority  this  is  given  on  is  not  sufficient. 
The  religious  character  of  ablution  is  well  shown  in  Mexico  by  its  form- 
ing part  of  the  daily  service  of  the  priests.  Aztec  life  ended  a.s  it  had 
begun,  with  this  ceremonial  lustration;  it  was  one  of  the  funeral  ceremonies 
to  sprinkle  the  head  of  the  corpse  with  the  lustral  water  of  this  life. ' 

28  Camargo,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voyages,  1843,  torn,  xcix.,  pp.  132- 
3.     'On  celebrait  chaque  ann<5e  une   fete  solennelle  en  1'honneur  de  cette 


378          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Boturini  gives  a  legend  in  which  this  goddess  figures 
in  a  very  characteristic  way.  There  was  a  man  called 
Yappan,  who,  to  win  the  regard  of  the  gods,  made  him- 
self a  hermit,  leaving  his  wife  and  his  relations,  and  re- 
tiring to  a  desert  place,  there  to  lead  a  chaste  and  soli- 
tary life.  In  that  desert  was  a  great  stone,  or  rock, 
called  Tehuehuetl,  dedicated  to  penitential  acts,  which 
rock  Yappan  ascended  and  took  up  his  abode  upon  like 
a  western  Simeon  Stylites.  The  gods  observed  all  this 
with  attention,  but  doubtful  of  the  firmness  of  purpose 
of  the  new  recluse,  they  set  a  spy  upon  him  in  the  per- 
son of  an  enemy  of  his,  named  Yaotl,  the  word  ydotl 
indeed  signifying  ' enemy.'  Yet  not  even  the  sharpened 
eye  of  hate  and  envy  could  find  any  spot  in  the  austere 
continent  life  of  the  anchorite,  and  the  many  women 
sent  by  the  gods  to  tempt  him  to  pleasure  were  re- 
pulsed and  baffled.  In  heaven  itself  the  chaste  vic- 
tories of  the  lonely  saint  were  applauded,  and  it  began 
to  be  thought  that  he  was  worthy  to  be  transformed 
into  some  higher  form  of  life.  Then  Tlazolteotl,  feel- 
ing herself  slighted  and  held  for  naught,  rose  up  in  her 
evil  beauty,  wrathful,  contemptuous,  and  said :  Think 
not,  ye  high  and  immortal  gods,  that  this  hero  of  yours 
has  the  force  to  preserve  his  resolution  before  me,  or 
that  he  is  worthy  of  any  very  sublime  transformation ; 
I  descend  to  earth,  behold  now  how  strong  is  the  vow 
of  your  devotee,  how  unfeigned  his  continence  ! 

That  day  the  flowers  of  the  gardens  of  Xochiquetzal 
were  untended  by  their  mistress,  her  singing  dwarfs 
were  silent,  her  messengers  undisturbed  by  her  be- 
hests, and  away  in  the  desert,  by  the  lonely  rock,  the 
crouching  spy  Ydotl  saw  a  wondrous  sight :  one  shaped 
like  a  woman,  but  fairer  than  eye  can  conceive,  ad- 
vancing toward  the  lean  penance-withered  man  on  the 
sacred  height.  Ha!  thrills  not  the  hermit's  mortified 
flesh  with  something  more  than  surprise  while  the 

deesse  Xochiquetzal,  et  une  foule  de  peuple  se  reunissait  dans  son  temple. 
On  disait  qu'elle  etait  la  femme  de  Tlaloc  le  dieu  des  eaux,  et  que  Texcat- 
lipuca  la  lui  avait  enlevee  et  1'avait  transported  au  neuvieme  ciel.  Met- 
lacueycati  etait  la  deesse  des  magiciennes.  Tlaloc  1'epousa  quand  Xochi- 
quetzal lui  eut  ete  enlevee. ' 


TLAZOLTEOTL  SEDUCES  YAPPAK  379 

sweet  voice  speaks :  My  brother  Ydppan,  I,  the  god- 
dess Tlazolteotl,  amazed  at  thy  constancy,  and  com- 
miserating thy  hardships,  come  to  comfort  thee;  what 
way  shall  I  take,  or  what  path,  that  I  may  get  up  to 
speak  with  thee  ?  The  simple  one  did  not  see  the  ruse, 
he  came  down  from  his  place  and  helped  the  goddess 
up.  Alas  !  in  such  a  crisis,  what  need  is  there  to  speak 
further  ? — no  other  victory  of  Ydppan  was  destined  to 
be  famous  in  heaven,  but  in  a  cloud  of  shame  his  chaste 
light  went  down  forever.  And  thou,  0  shameless  one, 
have  thy  fierce  red  lips  had  their  fill  of  kisses,  is  thy 
Paphian  soul  satisfied  withal,  as  now,  flushed  with 
victory,  thou  passest  back  to  the  tinkling  fountains, 
and  to  the  great  tree  of  flowers,  and  to  the  far-reach- 
ing gardens  where  thy  slaves  await  thee  in  the  ninth 
heaven'?  Do  thine  eyes  lower  themselves  at  all  in  any 
heed  of  the  miserable  disenchanted  victim  left  crouch- 
ing, humbled  on  his  desecrated  rock,  his  nights  and 
days  of  fasting  and  weariness  gone  for  naught,  his 
dreams,  his  hopes,  dissipated,  scattered  like  dust  at  the 
trailing  of  thy  robes?  And  for  thee,  poor  Ydppan,  the 
troubles  of  this  life  are  soon  to  end ;  Ydotl,  the  enemy, 
has  not  seen  all  these  things  for  nothing;  he,  at  least, 
has  not  borne  hunger  and  thirst  and  weariness,  has 
not  watched  and  waited,  in  vain.  O,  it  avails  nothing 
to  lift  the  pleading  hands,  they  are  warm,  but  not  with 
clasping  in  prayer,  and  weary,  but  not  with  waving 
the  censer ;  the  flint-edged  mace  beats  down  thy  feeble 
guard,  the  neck  that  Tlazolteotl  clasped  is  smitten 
through,  the  lips  she  kissed  roll  in  the  dust  beside  a 
headless  trunk. 

The  gods  transformed  the  dead  man  into  a  scorpion, 
with  the  forearms  fixed  lifted  up  as  when  he  deprecated 
the  blow  of  his  murderer;  and  he  crawled  under  the 
stone  upon  which  he  had  abode.  His  wife,  whose 
name  was  Tlahuitzin,  that  is  to  say,  'the  inflamed/  still 
lived.  The  implacable  Ydotl  sought  her  out,  led  her 
to  the  spot  stained  with  her  husband's  blood,  detailed 
pitilessly  the  circumstances  of  the  sin  and  death  of  the 
hermit,  and  then  smote  off  her  head.  The  gods  trans- 


380          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

formed  the  poor  woman  into  that  species  of  scorpion 
called  the  alacran  encendido,  and  she  crawled  under 
the  stone  and  found  her  husband.  And  so  it  coir.es 
that  tradition  says  that  all  reddish  colored  scorpions 
are  descended  from  Tlahuitzin,  and  all  dusky  or  ash- 
colored  scorpions  from  Ydppan,  while  both  keep  hid- 
den under  the  stones  and  flee  the  light  for  shame  of 
their  disgrace  and  punishment.  Last  of  all  the  wrath 
of  the  gods  fell  on  Yaotl  for  his  cruelty  and  presumption 
in  exceeding  their  commands ;  he  was  transformed  into 
a  sort  of  locust  that  the  Mexicans  call  ahuacachapullin™ 
Sahagun  gives  a  very  full  description  of  this  goddess 
and  her  connection  with  certain  rites  of  confession, 
much  resembling  those  already  described  in  speak- 
ing of  Tezcatlipoca.30  The  goddess  had,  according 
to  our  author,  three  names.  The  first  was  Tlazol- 
teotl,  that  is  to  say,  'the  goddess  of  carnality.'  The 
second  name  was  Yxeuina,  which  signifies  four  sisters, 
called  respectively,  and  in  order  of  age,  Tiacapan, 
Teicu,  Tlaco,  Xucotsi.  The  third  and  last  name  of 
this  deity  was  Tlaclquani,  which  means  '  eater  of  filthy 
things/  referring,  it  is  said,  to  her  function  of  hearing 
and  pardoning  the  confessions  of  men  and  women 
guilty  of  unclean  and  carnal  crimes.  For  this  god- 
dess, or  these  goddesses,  had  power  not  only  to  inspire 
and  provoke  to  the  commission  of  such  sins,  and  to  aid 
in  their  accomplishment,  but  also  to  pardon  them,  if 
they  were  confessed  to  certain  priests  who  were  also 
diviners  and  tellers  of  fortunes  and  wizards  generally. 
In  this  confession,  however,  Tlazolteotl  seems  not  to 
have  been  directly  addressed,  but  only  the  supreme 
deity  under  several  of  his  names.  Thus  the  person 
whom,  by  a. stretch  of  courtesy,  we  may  call  the  peni- 
tent, having  sought  out  a  confessor  from  the  class 
above  mentioned,,  addressed  that  functionary  in  these 

29  Boturim,  Idea,  pp.  15,  63-6:  Pero,  no  menos  indignados  los  Dioses  del 
pecado  de  Yappan,  que  de  la  inobediencia,  y  atrevimiento  de  Yaotl,  le  con- 
virtieron  en  Langosta,  que  llaman  los  Indies  Ahuacachapidlin,  mandando  se 
llamasse  en  adelante  Tzontecomama,  que  quiere  dicir,  Cargo,  Cdbeza,  y  en 
efecto  este  animal  parece  que  lleva  cargo  consigo,  propriedad  de  los  Malsines, 
que  siempre  cargan  las  honras,  que  han  quitado  a  sus  Proximos. ' 

30 See  this  vol.,  pp  220-5, 


CONFESSION.  »  381 

words :  Sir,  I  wish  to  approach  the  all-powerful  god, 
protector  of  all,  Yoalliehecatl,  or  Tezcatlipoca;  I  wish 
to  confess  my  sins  in  secret.  To  this  the  wizard,  or 
priest,  replied:  Welcome,  my  son;  the  thing  thou 
wouldst  do  is  for  thy  good  and  profit.  This  said,  he 
searched  the  divining  book,  tonalamatl,  to  see  what 
day  would  be  most  opportune  for  hearing  the  confes- 
sion. That  day  come,  the  penitent  brought  a  new 
mat,  and  white  incense  called  copalli,  and  wood  for  the 
fire  in  which  the  incense  was  to  be  burned.  Some- 
times when  he  was  a  very  noble  personage,  the  priest 
went  to  his  house  to  confess  him,  but  as  a  general  rule 
the  ceremony  took  place  at  the  residence  of  the  priest. 
On  entering  this  house,  the  penitent  swept  very  clean 
a  portion  of  the  floor,  and  spread  the  new  mat  there  for 
the  confessor  to  seat  himself  upon,  and  kindled  the  wood. 
The  priest  then  threw  the  copal  upon  the  fire  and 
said :  0  Lord,  thou  that  art  the  father  and  the  mother 
of  the  gods  and  the  most  ancient  god,31  know  that 
here  is  come  thy  vassal  and  servant,  weeping  and  with 
great  sadness ;  he  is  aware  that  he  has  wandered  from 
the  way,  that  he  has  stumbled,  that  he  has  slidden, 
that  he  is  spotted  with  certain  filthy  sins  and  grave 
crimes  worthy  of  death.  Our  Lord,  very  pitiful,  since 
thou  art  the  protector  and  defender  of  all,  accept  the 
penitence,  give  ear  to  the  anguish  of  this  thy  servant 
and  vassal. 

At  this  point  the  confessor  turned  to  the  sinner  and 
said :  My  son,  thou  art  come  into  the  presence  of  God, 
favorer  and  protector  of  all;  thou  art  come  to  lay  bare 
thy  inner  rottenness  and  unsavoriness ;  thou  art  come 
to  publish  the  secrets  of  thine  heart;  see  that  thou  fall 
into  no  pit  by  lying  unto  our  Lord;  strip  thyself,  put 
away  all  shame  before  him  who  is  called  Yoalliehecatl 
and  Tezcatlipoca.  It  is  certain  that  thou  art  now  in 
his  presence,  although  thou  art  not  worthy  to  see  him, 
neither  will  he  speak  with  thee,  for  he  is  invisible  and 
impalpable.  See,  then,  to  it  how  thou  comest,  and 
with  what  heart;  fear  nothing  to  publish  thy  secrets 

31  See  this  vol.,  pp.  212,  226. 


382          GOfcS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

in  his  presence,  give  account  of  thy  life,  relate  thine 
evil  deeds  as  thou  didst  perform  them;  tell  all  with 
sadness  to  our  Lord  God,  who  is  the  favorer  of  all, 
and  whose  arms  are  open  and  ready  to  embrace  and 
set  thee  on  his  shoulders.  Beware  of  hiding  anything 
through  shame  or  through  weakness. 

Having  heard  these  words,  the  penitent  took  oath, 
after  the  Mexican  fashion,  to  tell  the  truth.  He 
touched  the  ground  with  his  hand,  and  licked  off  the 
earth  that  adhered  to  it;32  then  he  threw  copal  in 
the  fire,  which  was  another  way  of  swearing  to  tell  the 
truth.  Then  he  set  himself  down  before  the  priest, 
and  inasmuch  as  he  held  him  to  be  the  image  and 
vicar  of  god,  he,  the  penitent,  began  to  speak  after 
this  fashion :  0  our  Lord  who  receivest  and  shelterest 
all,  give  ear  to  my  foul  deeds;  in  thy  presence  I  strip, 
I  put  away  from  myself  what  shameful  things  soever 
I  have  done.  Not  from  thee,  of  a  verity  are  hidden 
my  crimes,  for  to  thee  all  things  are  manifest  and 
clear.  Having  thus  said,  the  penitent  proceeded  to 
relate  his  sins  in  the  order  in  which  they  had  been 
committed,  clearly  and  quietly,  as  in  a  slow  and  dis- 
tinctly pronounced  chant,  as  one  that  walked  along  a 
very  straight  way,  turning  neither  to  the  right  hand 
nor  to  the  left.  When  he  had  done,  the  priest  an- 
swered him  as  follows :  My  son,  thou  hast  spoken  be- 

82  Other  descriptions  of  this  rite  are  given  with  additional  details:  '  Usa- 
ban  una  ceremonia  generalmente  en  toda  esta  tierra,  hombres  y  mugeres, 
nifios  y  ninas,  que  quando  entraban  en  algun  lugar  donde  habia  imagenes  de 
los  idolos,  una  6  muchas,  luego  tocaban  en  la  tierra  con  el  dedo,  y  luego 
le  llegaban  a  la  boca  6  a  la  lengua:  a  esto  llamaban  comer  tierra,  haciendolo 
en  reverencia  de  sus  Dioses,  y  todos  los  que  salian  de  sus  casas,  auiique  no 
saliesen  del  pueblo,  volviendo  a  su  casa  hacian  lo  mismo,  y  por  los  caminos 
quando  pasaban  delante  algun  Cu  ti  oratorio  hacian  lo  mismo,  y  en  lugar  de 
juramento  usaban  esto  mismo,  que  para  afirmar  quien  decia  verdad  hacian 
esta  ceremonia,  y  los  que  se  querian  satisfacer  del  que  hablaba  si  decia  ver- 
dad, demandabanle  hiciese  esta  ceremonia,  luego  le  creian  como  juramento. 
. . .  .Tenian  tambien  costumbre  de  hacer  juramento  de  cumplir  alguna  cosa  a 
que  se  obligaban,  y  aquel  £  quien  se  obligaban  les  demandaba  que  hiciesen 
juramento  para  estar  seguro  de  su  palabra  y  el  juramento  que  hacian  era  en 
esta  forma:  Por  vida  del  Sol  y  de  nuestra  senora  la  tierra  que  no  falte  en  lo 
que  tengo  dicho,  y  para  mayor  seguridad  como  esta  tierra;  y  luego  tocaba 
con  los  dedos  en  la  tierra,  llegabalos  a  la  boca  y  lamialos;  y  asi  comia  tierra 
haciendo  juramento.'  Kinsjsborougti  s  Hex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  95-6,  101; 
Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  i.,  ap.  pp.  212,  226;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant. 
del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  25. 


PENANCES.  383 

fore  our  Lord  God,  revealing  to  him  thine  evil  works ; 
and  I  shall  now  tell  thee  what  thou  hast  to  do.  When 
the  goddesses  Civapipilti  descend  to  the  earth,  or  when 
it  is  the  time  of  the  festival  of  the  four  sister  goddesses 
of  carnality  that  are  called  Yxcuina,  thou  shalt  fast 
four  days,  afflicting  thy  stomach  and  thy  mouth;  this 
feast  of  the  Yxcuina  being  come,  at  daybreak  thou 
shalt  do  penance  suitable  to  thy  sins.33  Through  a 
hole  pierced  by  a  maguey  thorn  through  the  middle 
of  thy  tongue  thou  shalt  pass  certain  osier-twigs  called 
teucalzacatl,  or  tlacotl,  passing  them  in  front  of  the  face 
and  throwing  them  over  the  shoulder  one  by  one ;  or 
thou  mayest  fasten  them  the  one  to  the  other,  and  so 
pull  them  through  thy  tongue  like  a  long  cord.  These 
twigs  were  sometimes  passed  through  a  hole  in  the 
fear;  and  wherever  they  were  passed,  it  would  appear 
by  our  author  that  there  were  sometimes  used  of  them 
by  one  penitent  to  the  number  of  four  hundred,  or  even 
of  eight  hundred. 

If  the  sin  seemed  too  light  for  such  a  punishment 
as  the  preceding,  the  priest  would  say  to  the  penitent: 
My  son,  thou  shall  fast,  thou  shall  fatigue  thy  stomach 
with  hunger  and  thy  mouth  with  thirst,  and  that  for 
four  days,  eating  only  once  on  each  day,  and  that  at 
noon.  Or  the  priest  would  say  to  him:  Thou  shalt 
go  to  offer  paper  in  the  usual  places,  thou  shalt  make 
images  covered  therewith  in  number  proportionate  to 
thy  devotion,  thou  shalt  sing  and  dance  before  them 
as  custom  directs.  Or,  again,  he  would  say  to  him : 
Thou  hast  offended  God,  thou  hast  got  drunk ;  thou 
must  expiate  the  matter  before  Totochti,  the  god  of 
wine ;  and  when  thou  goest  to  do  penance,  thou  shalt 
go  at  night,  naked,  save  only  a  piece  of  paper  hanging 

33  Quite  different  versions  of  this  sentence  are  given  by  Kingsborough's, 
and  Bustamante's  editions  respectively.  That  of  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq., 
vol.  vii.,  p.  7,  reads:  'Quando  decienden  a  la  tierra  las  Diosas  Ixcuiname, 
luego  de  mafiana  6  en  amaneciendo,  paraque  hagas  la  penitencia  convenible 
por  tus  pecados.'  That  of  Bustamante,  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib,  i., 
p.  13,  reads:  'Cuando  descienden  a  la  tierra  las  diosas  llamadas  Civaptpttti,  6 
cuando  se  hace  la  fiesta  de  las  diosas  de  la  carnalidad  que  se  Hainan  Yxtui- 
name,  ayunaras  cuatro  dias  afligiendo  tu  estdmago  y  tu  boca,  y  llegado  el 
dia  de  la  fiesta  de  estas  diosas  Yxtuiname,  luego  de  manana  6  en  amaneciendo 
para  que  hagas  la  penitencia  convenible  por  tus  pecados.' 


384          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

from  thy  girdle  in  front  and  another  behind ;  thou  shalt 
repeat  thy  prayer,  and  then  throw  down  there  before 
the  gods  those  two  pieces  of  paper,  and  so  take  thy 
departure. 

This  confession  was  held  not  to  have  been  made  to 
a  priest,  or  to  a  man,  but  to  God;  and  inasmuch  as 
it  could  only  be  heard  once  in  a  man's  life,  and  as  for 
a  relapse  into  sin  after  it  there  was  no  forgiveness,  it 
was  generally  put  off  till  old  age.  The  absolution 
given  by  the  priest  was  valuable  in  a  double  regard; 
the  absolved  was  held  shriven  of  every  crime  he  had 
confessed,  and  clear  of  all  pains  and  penalties,  temporal 
or  spiritual,  civil  or  ecclesiastical,  due  therefor.  Thus 
was  the  fiery  lash  of  Nemesis  bound  up,  thus  were 
struck  down  alike  the  staff  of  Minos  and  the  sword  of 
Themis  before  the  awful  aegis  of  religion.  It  may  be* 
imagined  with  what  reluctance  this  last  hope,  this 
unique  life-confession,  was  resorted  to ;  it  was  the  one 
city  of  refuge,  the  one  Mexican  benefit  of  sanctuary, 
the  sole  horn  of  the  altar,  of  which  a  man  might  once 
take  hold  and  live,  but  no  more  again  forever.34 

The  Mexican  god  of  fire,  as  we  have  already  noticed, 
was  usually  called  Xiuhtecutli.  He  had,  however, 
other  names,  such  as  Ixcozauhqui,  that  is  to  say, 
' yellow- faced;'  and  Cuecaltzin,  which  means  'flame 

34 '  De  esto  bien  se  arguye  que  aunque  habian  hecho  muclios  pecados  en 
tiempo  de  su  juventud,  no  se  confesaban  de  ellos  hasta  la  vejez,  por  no  se 
obligar  a  cesar  de  pecar  antes  de  la  vejez,  por  la  opinion  que  teidan,  que  el 
que  tornaba  a  reincidir  en  los  pecados,  al  que  se  confesaba  uiia  vez  no  tenia 
remedio.'  Kingsborougtis  Hex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  6-8;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  10-16.  Prescott  writes,  Mex.,  vol.  i.,  p.  68:  'It  is  re- 
markable that  they  administered  the  rites  of  confession  and  absolution. 
The  secrets  of  the  confessional  were  held  inviolable,  and  penances  were 
imposed  of  much  the  same  kind  as  those  enjoined  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
church.  There  were  two  remarkable  peculiarities  in  the  Aztec  ceremony. 
The  first  was,  that,  as  the  repetition  of  an  offence  once  atoned  for  was 
deemed  inexpiable,  confession  was  made  but  once  in  a  man's  life,  and  was 
usually  deferred  to  a  late  period  of  it,  when  the  penitent  unburdened  his 
conscience,  and  settled  at  once  the  long  arrears  of  iniquity.  Another  pecu- 
liarity was,  that  priestly  absolution  was  received  in  place  of  the^legal  punish- 
ment of  offences,  and  authorized  an  acquittal  in  case  of  arrest. '  Mention  of 
Tlazolteotl  will  be  found  in  Gomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  309;  Torquemada, 
Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  62,  79;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  dec.  ii.,  lib.  vi., 
cap.  xv.;  Clamgero,  Stona  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  21.  They  say  that 
Yxcuina,  who  was  the  goddess  of  shame,  protected  adulterers.  She  was  the 
goddess  of  salt,  of  dirt,  and  of  immodesty,  and  the  cause  of  all  sins.  They 
painted  her  with  two  faces,  or  with  two  different  colors  on  the  face.  She 


GOD   OF  FIRE.  385 

of  fire;'  and  Huehueteotl,  or  'the  ancient  god.'35 
His  idol  represented  a  naked  man,  the  chin  black- 
ened with  ulli,  and  wearing  a  lip-jewel  of  red  stone. 
On  his  head  was  a  parti-colored  paper  crown,  with 
green  plumes  issuing  from  the  top  of  it  like  flames  of 
fire;  from  the  sides  hung  tassels  of  feathers  down  to 
the  ears.  The  ear-rings  of  the  image  were  of  tur- 
quoise wrought  in  mosaic.  On  the  idol's  back  was  a 
dragon's  head  made  of  yellow  feathers  and  some  little 
marine  shells.  To  the  ankles  were  attached  little 
bells  or  rattles.  On  the  left  arm  was  a  shield,  almost 
entirely  covered  with  a  plate  of  gold,  into  which  were 
set  in  the  shape  of  a  cross  five  chalchiuites.  In  the 
right  hand  the  god  held  a  round  pierced  plate  of  gold, 
called  the  Booking-plate'  (mirador  6  miradero) ;  with 
this  he  covered  his  face,  looking  only  through  the 
hole  in  the  golden  plate.  Xiuhtecutli  was  held  by 
the  people  to  be  their  father,  and  regarded  with  feel- 
ings of  mingled  love  and  fear;  and  they  celebrated  to 
him  two  fixed  festivals  every  year,  one  in  the  tenth 
and  another  in  the  eighteenth  month,  together  with  a 
movable  feast,  in  which,  according  to  Clavigero,  they 
appointed  magistrates  and  renewed  the  ceremony  of 
the  investiture  of  the  fiefs  of  the  kingdom.  The  sac- 
rifices of  the  first  of  these  festivals,  the  festival  of  the 
tenth  month  Xocotlvetzi,  were  particularly  cruel  even 
for  the  Mexican  religion. 

The  assistants  began  by  cutting  down  a  great  tree 
of  five  and  twenty  fathoms  long,  and  dressing  off  the 
branches,  removing  all,  it  would  seem,  but  a  few  round 
the  top.  This  tree  was  then  dragged  by  ropes  into 
the  city,  on  rollers  apparently,  with  great  precau- 
tion against  bruising  or  spoiling  it;  and  the  women 
met  the  entering  procession,  giving  those  that  dragged 

was  the  wife  of  Mizuitlantecutli,  the  god  of  hell.     She  was  also  the  goddess 
of  prostitutes;  and  she  presided  over  these  thirteen  signs,  which  were  all  un- 
lucky, and  thus  they  held  that  those  who  were  born  in  these  signs  would  be 
rogues  or  prostitutes.  Spiegazione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano), 
tav.  xxxix.,  in  Kingsborour/h's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  184;  Brasseur  de  Bour- 
" -7,  Quatre  Lettres,  pp.  291-2,  301. 
'See  this  vol.,  pp.  212,  226. 
VOL.  III.    25 


386          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

cacao  to  drink.  The  tree,  which  was  called  xocoti,  was 
received  into  the  court  of  a  cu  with  shouts,  and  there 
set  up  in  a  hole  in  the  ground,  and  allowed  to  remain 
for  twenty  days.  On  the  eve  of  the  festival  Xocotl- 
vetzi,  they  let  this  large  tree  or  pole  down  gently  to 
the  ground  by  means  of  ropes  and  trestles,  or  rests, 
made  of  beams  tied  two  and  two,  probably  in  an  X 
shape;  and  carpenters  dressed  it  perfectly  smooth  and 
straight,  and  where  the  branches  had  been  left  near 
the  top,  they  fastened  with  ropes  a  kind  of  yard  or 
cross-beam  of  five  fathoms  long.  Then  was  prepared, 
to  be  set  on  the  very  top  of  the  pole  or  tree,  a  statue 
of  the  god  Xiuhtecutli,  made  like  a  man  out  of  the 
dough  of  wild  amaranth  seeds,  and  covered  and  deco- 
rated with  innumerable  white  papers.  Into  the  head 
of  the  image  were  stuck  strips  of  paper  instead  of 
hair;  sashes  of  paper  crossed  the  body  from  each 
shoulder;  on  the  arms  were  pieces  of  paper  like 
wings,  painted  over  with  figures  of  sparrow-hawks; 
a  maxtli  of  paper  covered  the  loins,  and  a  kind  of 
paper  shirt  or  tabard  covered  all.  Great  strips  of 
paper,  half  a  fathom  broad  and  ten  fathoms  long, 
floated  from  the  feet  of  the  dough  god  half-way  down 
the  tree;  and  into  his  head  were  stuck  three  rods  with 
a  tamale  or  small  pie  on  the  top  of  each.  The  tree 
being  now  prepared  with  all  these  things,  ten  ropes 
were  attached  to  the  middle  of  it,  and  by  the  help  of 
the  above-mentioned  trestles  and  a  large  crowd  pull- 
ing all  together,  the  whole  structure  was  reared  into 
an  upright  position  and  there  fixed,  with  great  shout- 
ing and  stamping  of  feet. 

Then  came  all  those  that  had  captives  to  sacrifice ; 
they  came  decorated  for  dancing,  all  the  body  painted 
yellow  (which  is  the  livery  color  of  the  god)  and  the 
face  vermilion.  They  wore  a  mass  of  the  red  plu- 
mage of  the  parrot,  arranged  to  resemble  a  butterfly, 
and  carried  shields  covered  with  white  feathers,  and, 
as  it  were,  the  feet  of  tigers  or  eagles  walking.  Each 
one  went  dancing  side  by  side  with  his  captive.  These 
captives  had  the  body  painted  white  and  the  face  ver- 


FESTIVAL  OF  THE  FIRE  GOD.  387 

niilion,  save  the  cheeks,  which  were  black;  they  were 
adorned  with  papers,  much,  apparently,  as  the  dough 
image  was,  and  they  had  white  feathers  on  the  head 
and  lip-ornaments  of  feathers.  At  set  of  sun  the 
dancing  ceased ;  the  captives  were  shut  up  in  the  cal- 
pulli,  and  watched  by  their  owners,  not  being  even  al- 
lowed to  sleep.  About  midnight  every  owner  shaved 
away  the  hair  of  the  top  of  the  head  of  his  slave,  which 
hair,  being  fastened  with  red  thread  to  a  little  tuft  of 
feathers,  he  put  in  a  small  case  of  cane,  and  attached 
to  the  rafters  of  his  house,  that  every  one  might  see 
that  he  was  a  valiant  man  and  had  taken  a  captive. 
The  knife  with  which  this  shaving  was  accomplished 
was  called  the  claw  of  the  sparrow-hawk.  At  day- 
break the  doomed  and  shorn  slaves  were  arranged  in 
order  in  front  of  the  place  called  Tzompantli,  where 
the  skulls  of  the  sacrificed  were  spitted  in  rows. 
Here  one  of  the  priests  went  along  the  row  of  cap- 
tives, taking  from  them  certain  little  banners  that 
they  carried  and  all  their  raiment  or  adornment,  and 
burning  the  same  in  a  fire;  for  raiment  or  ornament 
these  unfortunates  should  need  no  more  on  earth. 
While  they  were  standing  thus  all  naked  and  waiting 
for  death,  there  came  another  priest,  carrying  in  his 
arms  the  image  of  the  god  Paynal  and  his  ornaments ; 
he  ran  up  with  this  idol  to  the  top  of  the  cu  Tlacacouh- 
can  where  the  victims  were  to  die.  Down  he  came, 
then  up  again,  and  as  he  went  up  the  second  time  the 
owners  took  their  slaves  by  the  hair  and  led  them  to 
the  place  called  Apetlac,  and  there  left  them.  Imme- 
diately there  descended  from  the  cu  those  that  were 
to  execute  the  sacrifice,  bearing  bags  of  a  kind  of  stu- 
pefying incense  called  yiauhtli,56  which  they  threw  by 

6 '  II  Jauhtli  e  una  pianta,  il  cui  fusto  e  lungo  un  cubito,  le  f oglie  somigli- 
anti  a  quelle  del  Salcio,  ma  dentate,  i  fiori  gialli,  e  la  radice  sottile.  Cost  i 
fiori,  come  1'altre  parti  della  pianta,  hanno  lo  stesso  odore  e  sapore  dell' 
Anice.  E'assai  utile  per  la  Medicina,  ed  i  Medici  Messicani  1'adoperavano 
contro  parecchie  rnalatfcie;  ma  servivansi  ancora  d'essa  per  alcuni  usi  super- 
stiziosi. '  This  is  the  note  given  by  Clavigero,  Storia  A  nt.  del  Messico,  torn, 
ii-,  p.  77,  in  describing  this  festival,  and  the  incense  used  for  stupefying  the 
victims;  see  a  different  note,  however,  in  this  vol.,  p.  339,  in  which  Molina 
describes  yiauhili  as  '  black  maize. '  In  some  cases,  according  to  Mendieta, 
Hist.  Ecles.,  p.  100,  there  was  given  to  the  condemned  a  certain  drink  that 


388          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

handfuls  into  the  faces  of  the  victims  to  deaden  some- 
what their  agonies  in  the  fearful  death  before  them. 
Each  captive  was  then  bound  hand  and  foot,  and  so 
carried  up  to  the  top  of  the  cu  where  smouldered  a 
hugh  heap  of  live  coal.  The  carriers  heaved  their 
living  burdens  in ;  and  the  old  narrative  gives  minute 
details  about  the  great  hole  made  in  the  sparkling  em- 
bers by  each  slave,  and  how  the  ashy  dust  rose  in  a 
cloud  as  he  fell.  As  the  dust  settled,  the  bound  bodies 
could  be  seen  writhing  and  jerking  themselves  about 
in  torment  on  their  soft  dull-red  bed,  and  their  flesh 
could  be  heard  crackling  and  roasting.  Now  came  a 
part  of  the  ceremony  requiring  much  experience  and 
judgment;  the  wild-eyed  priests  stood,  grappling-hook 
in  hand,  biding  their  time.  The  victims  were  not  to 
die  in  the  fire,  the  instant  the  great  blisters  began 
to  rise  handsomely  over  their  scorched  skins,  it  was 
enough,  they  were  raked  out.  The  poor  blackened 
bodies  were  then  flung  on  the  'tajon,'  and  the  agon- 
ized soul  dismissed  by  the  sacrificial  breast-cut  (from 
nipple  to  nipple,  or  a  little  lower) ;  the  heart  was  then 
torn  out  and  cast  at  the  feet  of  Xiuhtecutli,  god  of  fire. 
This  slaughter  being  over,  the  statue  of  Paynal  was 
carried  away  to  its  own  cu,  and  every  man  went  home 
to  eat.  And  the  young  men  and  boys,  all  those  called 
quexpaleque*7  because  they  had  a  lock  of  hair  at  the 
nape  of  the  neck,  came,  together  with  all  the  people, 
the  women  in  order  among  the  men,  and  began  at 
mid-day  to  dance  and  to  sing  in  the  court-yard  of 
Xiuhtecutli ;  the  place  was  so  crowded  that  there  was 
hardly  room  to  move.  Suddenly  there  arose  a  great 
cry,  and  a  rush  was  made  out  of  the  court  toward  the 
place  where  was  raised  the  tall  tree  already  described 
at  some  length.  Let  us  shoulder  our  way  forward, 
not  without  risk  to  our  ribs,  and  see  what  we  can  see : 
there  stands  the  tall  pole  with  streamers  of  paper  and 
the  ten  ropes  by  which  it  was  raised  dangling  from 

put  them  beside  themselves,  so  that  they  went  to  the  sacrifice  with  a  ghastly 
drunken  merriment. 

37  '  Cwocpalh,  cabello  largo  que  dexan  a  los  muchachca  en  el  cogote,  quando 
los  tresquilan.'  Molina,  Vocabulario. 


CLIMBING  FOR  THE  GOD.  389 

it.  On  the  top  stands  the  dough  image  of  the  fire- 
god,  with  all  his  ornaments  and  weapons,  and  with  the 
three  tamales  sticking  out  so  oddly  above  his  head. 
Ware  clubs  1  we  press  too  close;  shoulder  to  shoulder 
in  a  thick  serried  ring  round  the  foot  of  the  pole  stand 
the  'captains  of  the  youths/  keeping  the  youngsters 
back  with  cudgels,  till  the  word  be  given  at  which  all 
may  begin  to  climb  the  said  pole  for  the  great  prize 
at  the  top.  But  the  youths  are  wild  for  fame;  old 
renowned  heroes  look  on;  the  eyes  of  all  the  women 
of  the  city  are  fixed  on  the  great  tree  where  it  shoots 
above  the  head  of  the  struggling  crowd;  glory  to 
him  who  first  gains  the  cross-beam  and  the  image. 
Stand  back,  then,  ye  captains,  let  us  pass !  There  is  a 
rush,  and  a  trampling,  and  despite  a  rain  of  blows,  all 
the  pole  with  its  hanging  ropes  is  aswarm  with  climb- 
ers, thrusting  each  other  down.  The  first  youth  at 
the  top  seizes  the  idol  of  dough;  he  takes  the  shield 
and  the  arrows  and  the  darts  and  the  stick  atalt  for 
throwing  the  darts;  he  takes  the  tamales  from  the 
head  of  the  statue,  crumbles  them  up,  and  throws 
the  crumbs  with  the  plumes  of  the  image  down  into 
the  crowd;  the  securing  of  which  crumbs  and  plumes 
is  a  new  occasion  for  shouting  and  scrambling  and 
fisticuffs  among  the  multitude.  When  the  young  hero 
comes  down  with  the  weapons  of  the  god  which  he 
has  secured,  he  is  received  with  far-roaring  applause 
and  carried  up  to  the  cu  Tlacacouhcan,  there  to  re- 
ceive the  reward  of  his  activity  and  endurance,  praises 
and  jewels,  and  a  rich  mantle  not  lawful  for  another  to 
wear,  and  the  honor  of  being  carried  by  the  priests 
to  his  house,  amid  the  music  of  horns  and  shells.  The 
festivity  is  over  now;  all  the  people  lay  hold  on  the 
ropes  fastened  to  the  tree,  and  pull  it  down  with  a 
crash  that  breaks  it  to  pieces,  together,  apparently, 
with  all  that  is  left  of  the  wild  amaranth  dough  image 
of  Xiuhtecutli.38 


Gen. 


3  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  8-9,  28,  63-6;  S^hagun,  Hist. 

,  torn,  i.,  lib,  i.,  pp.  16-19,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  62-4,  141-8;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant. 
del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  16,  76;  Spiegazione  delte  Tavole  del  'Codice  Me.xicano 
(Vaticano),  tav  Ivi.,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  190. 


390          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Another  feast  of  the  god  of  fire  was  held  in  the 
month  Yzcalli,  the  eighteenth  month;  it  was  called 
motlaxquiantota,  that  is  to  say,  'our  father  the  fire 
toasts  his  food.'  An  image  of  the  god  of  fire  was 
made,  with  a  frame  of  hoops  and  sticks  tied  together 
as  the  basis  or  model  to  be  covered  with  his  ornaments. 
On  the  head  of  this  image  was  put  a  shining  mask  of 
turquoise  mosaic,  banded  across  with  rows  of  green 
chalchiuites.  Upon  the  mask  was  put  a  crown  fitting 
to  the  head  below,  wide  above,  and  gorgeous  with 
rich  plumage  as  a  flower;  a  wig  of  reddish  hair  was 
attached  to  this  crown,  so  that  the  evenly  cut  locks 
flowed  from  below  it,  behind  and  around  the  mask, 
as  if  they  were  natural.  A  robe  of  costly  feathers 
covered  all  the  front  of  the  image,  and  fell  over  the 
ground  before  the  feet,  so  light  that  it  shivered  and 
floated  with  the  least  breath  of  air  till  the  variegated 
feathers  glittered  and  changed  color  like  water,.  The 
back  of  the  image  seems  to  have  been  left  unadorned, 
concealed  by  a  throne  on  which  it  was  seated,  a  throne 
covered  with  a  dried  tiger-skin,  paws  and  head  com- 
plete. Before  this  statue  new  fire  was  produced  at 
midnight  by  boring  rapidly  by  hand  one  stick  upon 
another;  the  spunk  or  tinder  so  inflamed  was  put  on 
the  hearth  and  a  fire  lighted.39  At  break  of  day  came 
all  the  boys  and  youths  with  game  and  fish  that  they 
had  captured  on  the  previous  day ;  walking  round  the 
fire,  they  gave  it  to  certain  old  men  that  stood  there, 
who  taking  it,  threw  it  into  the  flames  before  the  god, 
giving  the  youths  in  return  certain  tamales  that  had 
been  made  and  offered  for  this  purpose  by  the  women. 
To  eat  these  tamales  it  was  necessary  to  strip  off  the 
maize  leaves  in  which  they  had  been  wrapped  and 
cooked ;  these  leaves  were  not  thrown  into  the  fire,  but 
were  all  put  together  and  thrown  into  water.  After 

39  '  Esta  estatua  asi  adornado  no  lejos  de  un  lugar  que  estaba  delante  de 
ella,  d  la  media  noche  sacaban  fuego  nuevo  para  que  ardiese  en  aquel  lugar, 
y  sacabaiilo  con  unos  palos,  uno  puesto  abajo,  y  sobre  el  barrenabau  con 
otro  palo,  como  torciendols  entre  las  manos  con  gran  prisa,  y  con  aquel 
movimiento  y  calor  se  encendia  el  fuego,  y  alii  lo  tomaban  con  yesca  y  eri- 
cendian  en  el  hogar.'  Kinysborougli  s  Mex.  Antlq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  84;  Sahayun, 
Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,'p.  184. 


FOURTH  YEAR  FESTIVAL.  291 

this  all  the  old  men  of  the  ward  in  which  the  fire  was 
drank  pulque,  and  sang  before  the  image  of  Xiuhtecutli 
till  night.  This  was  the  tenth  day  of  the  month,  and 
thus  finished  that  feast,  or  that  part  of  the  feast,  which 
was  called  vauquitamalqualiztli. 

On  the  twentieth  and  last  day  of  the  month  was 
made  another  statue  of  the  fire-god,  with  a  frame  of 
sticks  and  hoops,  as  already  described.  They  put  on 
the  head  of  it  a  mask  with  a  ground  of  mosaic  of  little 
bits  of  the  shell  called  tapaztli,40  composed  below  the 
mouth  of  black  stones,  banded  across  the  nostrils  with 
black  stones  of  another  sort,  and  the  cheeks  made  of 
a  still  different  stone,  called  tezcapuchtli.  As  in  the 
previous  case,  there  was  a  crown  on  this  mask,  and 
over  all  and  over  the  body  of  the  image  costly  and 
beautiful  decorations  of  feather-work.  Before  the 
throne  on  which  this  statue  sat  there  was  a  fire,  and 
the  youths  offered  game  to  and  received  cakes  from 
the  old  men  with  various  ceremonies;  the  day  being 
closed  with  a  great  drinking  of  pulque  by  the  old  peo- 
ple, though  not  to  the  point  of  intoxication.  Thus 
ended  the  eighteenth  month;  and  with  regard  to  the 
two  ceremonies  just  described,  Sahagun  says,  that 
though  not  observed  in  all  parts  of  Mexico,  they  were 
observed  at  least  in  Tezcuco. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  festivals  of  this  month 
have  been  without  human  sacrifices ;  but  every  fourth 
year  was  an  exception  to  this.  In  such  a  year,  on  the 
twentieth  and  last  day  of  this  eighteenth  month,  being 
also,  according  to  some,  the  last  day  of  the  year,  the 
five  Nemonteni,  or  unlucky  days,  being  excepted, 
men  and  women  were  slain  as  images  of  the  god  of 
fire.  The  women  that  had  to  die  carried  all  their  ap- 
parel and  ornaments  on  their  shoulders,  and  the  men 
did  the  same.  Arrived  thus  naked  where  they  had 
to  die,  men  and  women  alike  were  decorated  to  re- 
semble the  god  of  fire;  they  ascended  the  cu,  walked 
round  the  sacrificial  stone,  and  then  descended  and 

40  Or  tapac/itU,  as  Bustamante  spells  it.  '  TapaditU,  cral  concha  o  venera.* 
Molina,  Vocabulario. 


392  GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

returned  to  the  place  where  they  were  to  be  kept  for 
the  night.  Each  male  victim  had  a  rope  tied  round 
the  middle  of  his  body,  which  was  held  by  his  guards. 
At  midnight  the  hair  of  the  crown  of  the  head  of  each 
was  shaven  off  before  the  fire  and  kept  for  a  relic,  and 
the  head  itself  was  covered  with  a  mixture  of  resin 
and  hens'  feathers.  After  this  the  doomed  ones 
burned  or  gave  away  to  their  keepers  their  now  use- 
less apparel,  and  as  the  morning  broke,  they  were 
decorated  with,  papers  and  led  in  procession  to  die, 
with  singing  and  shouting"  and  dancing.  These  fes- 

o      o  o  o 

tivities  went  on  till  mid-day,  when  a  priest  of  the  cu, 
arrayed  in  the  ornaments  of  the  god  Paynal,  came 
down,  passed  before  the  victims,  and  then  went  up 
again.  They  were  led  up  after  him,  captives  first  and 
slaves  after,  in  the  order  they  had  to  die  in;  they 
suffered  in  the  usual  manner.  There  was  then  a  grand 
dance  of  the  lords,  led  by  the  king  himself;  each 
dancer  wearing  a  high-fronted  paper  coronet,  a  kind 
of  false  nose*  of  blue  paper,  ear-rings  of  turquoise  mo- 
saic, or  of  wood  wrought  with  flowers,  a  blue  curiously 
flowered  jacket,  and  a  mantle.  Hanging  to  the  neck 
of  each  was  the  figure  of  a  dog  made  of  paper  and 
painted  with  flowers;  in  the  right  hand  was  carried  a 
stick  shaped  like  a  chopping-knife,  the  lower  half  of 
which  was  painted  red  and  the  upper  half  white ;  in 
the  left  hand  was  carried  a  little  paper  bag  of  copal. 
This  dance  was  begun  on  the  top  of  the  cu  and  fin- 
ished by  descending  and  going  four  times  round  the 
court-yard  of  the  cu;  after  which  all  entered  the  pal- 
ace with  the  king.  This  dance  took  place  only  once 
in  four  years,  and  none  but  the  king  and  his  lords 
could  take  part  in  it.  On  this  day  the  ears  of  all 
children  born  during  the  three  preceding  years  were 
bored  with  a  bone  awl,  and  the  children  themselves 
passed  near  or  through  the  flames  of  a  fire,  as  already 
related.41  There  was  a  further  ceremony  of  taking 
the  children  by  the  head  and  lifting  them  up  "to 

41  See  this  vol.,  p.  376,  note  27. 


THE  GREAT  NEW  FIRE  FESTIVAL.  393 

make  them  grow;"  and  from  this  the  month  took  its 
name,  Yzcalli  meaning  6 growth.'45 

There  was  generally  observed  in  honor  of  fire  a 
custom  called  'the  throwing/  which  was  that  no  one 
ate  without  first  flinging  into  the  fire  a  scrap  of  the 
food.  Another  common  ceremony  was  in  drinking 
pulque  to  first  spill  a  little  on  the  edge  of  the  hearth. 
Also  when  a  person  began  upon  a  jar  of  pulque  he 
emptied  out  a  little  into  a  broad  pan  and  put  it  beside 
the  fire,  whence  with  another  vessel  he  spilt  of  it  four 
times  upon  the  edge  of  the  hearth;  this  was  'the  liba- 
tion, or  the  tasting.'43 

The  most  solemn  and  important  of  all  the  Mexican 
festivals  was  that  called  Toxilmolpilia,  or  Xiuhmol- 
pilli,  'the  binding  up  of  the  years/  Every  fifty -two 
years  was  called  a  sheaf  of  years;  and  it  was  held  for 
certain  that  at  the  end  of  some  sheaf  of  fifty-two 
years  the  motion  of  the  heavenly  bodies  should  cease 
and  the  world  itself  come  to  an  end.  As  the  possible 
day  of  destruction  drew  near,  all  the  people  cast  their 
household  gods  of  wood  and  stone  into  the  water,  as 
also  the  stones  used  on  the  hearth  for  cooking  and  bruis- 
ing pepper.  They  washed  thoroughly  their  houses, 
and  last  of  all,  put  out  all  fires.  For  the  lighting  of 
the  new  fire  there  was  a  place  set  apart,  the  summit  of 
a  mountain  called  Vixachtlan,  or  Huixachtla,  on  the 
boundary  line  between  the  cities  of  Itztapalapa  and 
Colhuacan,  about  six  miles  from  the  city  of  Mexico. 
In  the  production  of  this  new  fire  none  but  priests  had 
any  part,  and  the  task  fell  specially  upon  those  of  the 
ward  Copolco.  On  the  last  day  of  the  fifty-two  years, 
after  the  sun  had  set,  all  the  priests  clothed  themselves 
with  the  dress  and  insignia  of  their  gods,  so  as  to  them- 
selves appear  like  very  gods,  and  set  out  in  procession 
for  the  mountain,  walking  very  slowly,  with  much 

42  Kingsborough 's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  33,  83-7;  SaJtagun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  74-5,  183-92;  JBoturini,  Idea,  p.  138;  Spiegazione  delle 
Tavola  del  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano),  tav.  Ixxiv.,  in  Kingsborvugtis  Mex. 
Antiq.  t  voL  v.,  pp.  19C-7;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  82. 

*•'  Kmysborougtis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  96.  Sahaqun,  Hist.  Gen.  torn,  i., 
lib.  ii.,  ap.  p.  213. 


394  GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

gravity  and  silence,  as  befitted  the  occasion  and  the 
garb  they  wore;  "walking,"  as  they  phrased  it,  "like 
gods."  The  priest  of  the  ward  of  Copolco,  whose 
office  it  was  to  produce  the  fire,  carried  the  instru- 
ments thereof  in  his  hand,  trying  them  from  time  to 
time  to  see  that  all  was  right.  Then,  a  little  before 
midnight,  the  mountain  being  gained,  and  a  cu  which 
was  there  builded  for  that  ceremony,  they  began  to 
watch  the  heavens,  and  especially  the  motion  of  the 
Pleiades.  Now  this  night  always  fell  so  that  at  mid- 
night these  seven  stars  were  in  the  middle  of  the  sky 
with  respect  to  the  Mexican  horizon;  and  the  priests 
watched  them  to  see  them  pass  the  zenith,  and  so  give 
sign  of  the  endurance  of  the  world  for  another  fifty 
and  two  years.  That  sign  was  the  signal  for  the  pro- 
duction of  the  new  fire,  lighted  as  follows :  The  bravest 
and  finest  of  the  prisoners  taken  in  war  was  thrown 
down  alive,  and  a  board  of  very  dry  wood  was  put 
upon  his  breast;  upon  this  the  acting  priest  at  the 
critical  moment  bored  with  another  stick,  twirling1  it 

O 

rapidly  between  his  palms  till  fire  caught.  Then  in- 
stantly the  bowels  of  the  captive  were  laid  open,  his 
heart  torn  out,  and  it  with  all  the  body  thrown  upon 
and  consumed  by  a  pile  of  fire.  All  this  time  an  awful 
anxiety  and  suspense  held  possession  of  the  people  at 
large;  for  it  was  said  that  if  anything  happened  to 
prevent  the  production  at  the  proper  time  of  the  new 
fire,  there  would  be  an  end  of  the  human  race,  the 
night  and  the  darkness  would  be  perpetual,  and  those 
terrible  and  ugly  beings,  the  Tzitzimitles,44  would  de- 
scend to  devour  all  mankind.  As  the  fateful  hour  ap- 
proached, the  people  gathered  on  the  flat  house-tops, 
no  one  willingly  remaining  below.  All  pregnant 
women,  however,  were  closed  into  the  granaries,  their 
faces  being  covered  with  maize  leaves;  for  it  was  said 
that  if  the  new  fire  could  not  be  produced,  these 
women  would  turn  into  fierce  animals  and  devour  men 
and  women.  Children  also  had  masks  of  maize  leaf 
put  on  their  faces,  and  they  were  kept  awake  by  cries 

44  Or  Izitzimites,  as  on  p.  427  of  this  vol. 


FEAST  OF  THE  NEW  FIRE.  395 

and  pushes,  it  being  believed  that  if  they  were  allowed 
to  sleep  they  would  become  mice. 

From  the  crowded  house-tops  every  eye  was  bent 
on  Vixachtlan.  Suddenly  a  moving  speck  of  light 
was  seen  by  those  nearest,  and  then  a  great  column 
of  flame  shot  up  against  the  sky.  The  new  fire !  and 
a  great  shout  of  joy  went  up  from  all  the  country 
round  about.  The  stars  moved  on  in  their  courses , 
fifty  and  two  years  more  at  least  had  the  universe  to 
exist.  Every  one  did  penance,  cutting  his  ear  with  a 
splinter  of  flint,  and  scattering  the  blood  toward  the 
part  where  the  fire  was;  even  the  ears  of  children  in 
the  cradle  were  so  cut.  And  now  from  the  blazing 
pile  on  the  mountain,  burning  brands  of  pine  candle- 
wood  were  carried  by  the  swiftest  runners  toward 
every  quarter  of  the  kingdom.  In  the  city  of  Mex- 
ico, on  the  temple  of  Huitzilopochtli,  before  the  altar, 
there  was  a  fire-place  of  stone  and  lime  containing 
much  copal;  into  this  a  blazing  brand  was  flung  by 
the  first  runner,  and  from  this  place  fire  was  carried 
to  all  the  houses  of  the  priests,  and  thence  again  to 
all  the  city.  There  soon  blazed  great  central  fires  in 
every  ward,  and  it  was  a  thing  to  be  seen  the  multi- 
tude of  people  that  came  together  to  get  light,  and 
the  general  rejoicings. 

The  hearth-fires  being  thus  lighted,  the  inhabitants 
of  every  house  began  to  renew  their  household  gods 
and  furniture,  and  to  lay  down  new  mats,  and  to  put  on 
new  raiment;  they  made  everything  new  in  sign  of 
the  new  sheaf  of  years;  they  beheaded  quails,  and 
burned  incense  in  their  court-yard  toward  the  four 
quarters  of  the  world,  and  on  their  hearths.  After 
eating  a  meal  of  wild  amaranth  seed  and  honey,  a  fast 
was  ordered,  even  the  drinking  of  water  till  noon 
being  forbidden.  Then  the  eating  and  drinking  were 
renewed,  sacrifices  of  slaves  and  captives  were  made, 
and  the  great  fires  renewed.  The  last  solemn  festival 
of  the  new  fire  was  celebrated  in  the  year  1507,  the 
Spaniards  being  not  then  in  the  land  and  through 


396          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND   WORSHIP. 

their  presence,  there  was  no  public  ceremony  when 
the  next  sheaf  of  years  was  finished  in  1559.45 

Mictlan,  the  Mexican  hades,  or  place  of  the  dead, 
signifies,  either  primarily  or  by  an  acquired  meaning, 
'northward,  or  toward  the  north,'  though  many 
authorities  have  located  it  underground  or  below  the 
earth.  This  region  was  the  seat  of  the  power  of  a 
god  best  known  under  his  title  of  Mictlantecutli ,  his 
lernale  companion  was  called  Mictlancihuatl,  made 
identical  by  some  legends  with  Tlazolteotl,  and  by 
others  apparently  with  the  serpent-woman  and  mother 
goddess.46  There  has  been  discovered  and  there  is 

45  Kingsborougtis  Mex.    Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  157,   191-3;   Sahagun,    Hist. 
Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iv.,  ap.  pp.  346-7,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vii.,  pp.  260-4;  Torque- 
mada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  292-5;  Boturini,  Idea,  pp.  18-21;  Clavigero, 
Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  62,  84-5;  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ectes.,  p.  101; 
Acosta,  Hist,  de  las   Yndias,  pp.  398-9.     Leon  y  Gama,  Dos  Piedras,  pt  i., 
pp.  51-5,  differs  somewhat  from  the  text;  he  was  unfortunate  in  never  hav- 
ing seen  the  works  of  Sahagun. 

46  This  vol.,  p.  59.     The  interpretations  of  the  codices  represent  this  god 
as  peculiarly  honored  in  their  paintings:  They  place  Michitlatecotle  oppo- 
site to  the  sun,  to  see  if  he  can  rescue  any  of  those  seized  upon  by  the  lords 
of  the  dead,  for  Michitla  signifies  the  dead  below.     These  nations  painted 
only  two  of  their  gods  with  the  crown  called  Altontcatecoatle,  viz. ,  the  God 
of  heaven  and  of  abundance  and  this  lord  of  the  dead,  which  kind  of  crown 
I  have  seen  upon  the  captains  in  the  war  of  Coatle.  Explication  del  Codex 
Telleriano-Remensis,  pt.  ii.,  lam.  xv.,  in  Kingsborougtis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v., 
p.  140.     Miquitlantecotli  signifies  the  great  lord  of  the  dead  fellow  in  hell, 
who  alone  after  Tonacatecotle  was  painted  with  a  crown,  which  kind  of  a 
crown  was  used  in  war  even  after  the  arrival  of  the  Christians  in  those  coun- 
tries, and  was  seen  in  the  war  of  Coatlan,  as  the  person  who  copied  these 
paintings  relates,  who  was  a  brother  of  the  Order  of  Saint  Dominic,  named 
Pedro  de  los  Rios.     They  painted  this  demon  near  the  sun;  for  in  the  same 
way  as  they  believed  that  the  one  conducted  souls  to  heaven,  so  they  supposed 
that  the  other  carried  them  to  hell.     He  is  here  represented  with  his  hands 
open  and  stretched  toward  the  sun,  to  seize  on  any  soul  which  might  escape 
from  him.  Spiegazione  delle  Taooledel  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano),  tav,  xxxiv., 
in  Kingsboroujlis  Mex.  A  ntiq. ,  vol.  y. ,  p.  182.    The  Vatican  Codex  says  further, 
that  these  were  four  gods  or  principal  demons  in  the  Mexican  hell.     Miquit- 
lamtecotl  or  Zitzimitl;  Yzpunteque,  the  lame  demon,  who  appeared  in  the 
streets  with  the  feet  of  a  cock;  Nextepelma,  scatterer  of  ashes;  and  Contemo- 
que,  he  who  descends  head-foremost.    These  four  have  goddesses,  not  as  wives, 
but  as  companions,  which  was  the  simple  relation  in  which  all  the  Mexican 
gods  and  goddesses  stood  to  one  another,  there  having  been — according  to 
most  authorities — in  their  olympus  neither  marrying  nor  giving  in  mai  riage. 
Picking  our  way  as  well  as  possible  across  the  frightful  spelling  of  the  inter 
preter,  the  males  and  females  seemed  paired  as  follows:  To  Miquitlamtecotl  or 
Tzitziinitl  was  joined,  as  goddess,  Miquitecacigua;  to  Yzpunteque,  Nexoxochoj 
to  Nextepelma,  Micapetlacoli;  and  to  Contemoque,  ChalmecaciuatL  Spiegazi- 
one  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano),  tav.  iii.,  iv.,  in  Kingsborough's 
Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  162-3;  Boturini,  Idea,  pp.  30-1;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  ap.  pp.  260-3;  KingshorougJia  Alex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.   116-- 
17,  says  that  this  god  was  known  by  the  further  name  of  Tzontemoc  and  AcuJ.- 


TEOYAOMIQUE.  397 

now  to  be  seen  in  the  city  of  Mexico  a  huge  com- 
pound statue,  representing  various  deities,  the  most 
prominent  being  a  certain  goddess  Teoyaomique,  who, 
it  seems  to  me,  is  almost  identical  with  or  at  least  a 
connecting  link  between  the  mother  goddess  and  the 

naoacatl.  Clamgero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  6,  17.  Gallatin, 
Amer.  Etlmol.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  350-1,  says  that  '  Mictlanteuctli  is 
specially  distinguished  by  the  interpreters  as  one  of  the  crowned  gods.  His 
representation  is  found  under  the  basis  of  the  statue  of  Teoyaomiqui,  and 
Gama  has  published  the  copy.  According  to  him,  the  name  of  that  god 
means  the  god  of  the  place  of  the  dead.  He  presided  over  the  funeral  of 
those  who  died  of  diseases.  The  souls  of  all  those  killed  in  battle  were  led 
by  Teoyaomiqui  to  the  dwelling  of  the  sun.  The  others  fell  under  the  do- 
minion of  Mictanteuctli. '  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  77,  148, 
447,  torn,  ii.,  p.  428.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  mentions  this  god  and  his  wife, 
bringing  up  several  interesting  points,  for  which,  however,  he  must  bear  the 
sole  responsibility:  *S''^  Existe  des  Sources  de  VHist.  Prim.,  pp.  98-9.  'Du 
fond  des  eaux  qui  couvraient  le  monde,  ajoute  un  autre  document  mexicain 
(Cod.  Mex.  Tell.-Rem.,  fol.  4,  v.),  le  dieu  des  regions  d'en  bas,  Mictlan-Teuctli 
fait  surgir  un  monstre  marin  nomme  Cipactli  ou  Capactli  (Motolinia,  Hist. 
Antig.  de  los  Indios,  part.  MS.  Dans  ce  document,  au  lieu  de  cipactli  il  y  a 
capactli,  qui  n'est  peut-etre  qu'une  erreur  du  copiste,  mais  qui,  peut-etre 
aussi  est  le  souvenir  d'une  langue  perdue  et  qui  se  rattacherait  au  capac  ou 
Manco-Capac  du  Perou.):  de  ce  monstre,  qui  a  la  forme  d'un  caiman,  il  cree 
la  terre  (Motolinia,  Ibid.).  Ne  serait-ce  pas  la  le  crocodile,  image  du  temps, 
chez  les  Egyptiens,  et  ainsi  que  1'indique  Champollion  (Dans  Herapollon,  i., 
69  et  70,  le  crocodile  est  le  symbole  du  couchant  et  des  tenebres)  symbole 
egalement  de  la  Region  du  Couchant,  de  YAmenti?  Dans  1'Orcus  mexicain,  le 
prince  des  Morts,  Mictlan-Teuctli,  a  pour  compagne  Mictecacihuatl,  celle  qui 
eteiid  les  morts.  On  1'appelle  Ixcuina,  ou  la  deesse  au  visage  peint  ou  au 
double  visage,  parce  qu'elle  avait  le  visage  de  deux  couleurs,  rouge  avec  le 
contour  de  la  bouche  et  du  nez  peint  en  noir  (Cod.  Mex.  Tell.-Rem.,  fol.  18, 
v.).  On  lui  donnait  aussi  le  nom  de  Tlacolteotl,  la  deesse  de  1 'ordure,  ou  Tlaqol- 
quani,  la  mangeuse  d'ordure,  parce  qu'elle  presidait  aux  amours  et  aux  plai- 
sirs  lubriques  avec  ses  trois  sceurs.  On  la  trouve  personifiee  encore  avec 
Chantico,  quelquefois  represented  comme  un  chien,  soit  a  cause  de  sa  lubri- 
cite,  soit  a  cause  du  nom  de  ^hiucnauh-Itzcmntli  ou  les  Neuf-Chiens,  qu'on  lui 
donnait  egalement  (Cod.  Mex.  Tell.-Rem.,  fol.  21,  v.).  C'est  ainsi  que  dans 
1 'Italic  ante-pelasgique,  dans  la  Sicile  et  dans  1'ile  de  Samothrace,  anterieure- 
ment  aux  Thraces  et  aux  Pelasges,  on  adorait  une  Zerinthia,  une  Hecate, 
deesse  Chienne  qui  nourrissait  ses  trois  fils,  ses  trois  chiens,  sur  le  m£me 
autel,  dans  la  demeure  souterraine;  1'une  et  i'autre  rappelaient  ainsi  le  souve- 
nir de  ces  hetaires  qui  veillaient  au  pied  des  pyramides,  ou  elles  se  prosti- 
tuaient  aux  marins,  aux  marchands  et  aux  voyageurs,  pour  ramasser  1'argent 
necessaire  k  1'erection  des  tombeaux  des  rois.  "Tout  un  calcul  des  temps, 
dit  Eckstein  (Sur  les  sources  de  la  Cosmogonie  de  Sanchoniathon,  pp  101,  197), 
se  rattache  a  1'adoration  solaire  de  cette  deesse  et  de  ses  fils.  Le  Chien,  le 
8irius,  regne  dans  1'astre  de  ce  nom,  au  zenith  de  1'annee,  durant  les  jours 
de  la  canicule.  On  connait  le  cycle  ou  la  periode  que  preside  1'astre  du  chien: 
on  sait  qu'il  ne  se  rattache  pas  seulement  aux  institutions  de  la  vieille  Egypte, 
mais  encore  a  celles  de  la  haute  Asie ''  En  Amerique  le  nom  de  la  deesse 
Ixcuina  se  rattache  egalement  a  la  constellation  du  sud,  ou  on  la  personnifie 
encore  avec  Ixtlacoliukqui,  autre  divinite  des  ivrognes  et  des  amours  obscenes: 
les  astrologues  lui  attribuaient  un  grand  pouvoir  sur  les  evenements  de  la 
guerre,  et,  dans  les  derniers  temps,  on  en  faisait  dependre  le  chatiment  des 
adulteres  et  des  incestueux  (Cod.  Mex.  Tell.  Rem.,  fol.  16,  v.).'  See  also 
Bnntons  Myths,  pp.  130-7;  Leon  y  Gama,  Dos  Piedras,  pt.  i.,  p.  12,  pt.  ii., 
pp.  65-6. 


398          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

companion  of  Mictlantecutli.  Mr  Gallatin  says47  that 
the  Mexican  gods  "were  painted  in  different  ways 
according  to  their  various  attributes  and  names ;  and 
the  priests  were  also  in  the  habit  of  connecting  with 
the  statue  of  a  god  or  goddess,  symbols  of  other  dei- 
ties which  partook  of  a  similar  character.  Gama  has 
adduced  several  instances  of  both  practices,  in  the 
part  of  his  dissertation  which  relates  to  the  statue  of 
the  goddess  of  death  found  buried  in  the  great  Square 
of  Mexico,  of  which  he,  and  lately  Mr  Nebel,  have 
given  copies.48  Her  name  is  Teoyaomiqui,  which 
means,  to  die  in  sacred  war,  or  'in  defence  of  the 
gods,'  and  she  is  the  proper  companion  of  Huitzilo- 
pochtli,  the  god  of  war.  The  symbols  of  her  own 
attributes  are  found  in  the  upper  part  of  the  statue; 
but  those  from  the  waist  downward  relate  to  other 
deities  connected  with  her  or  with  Huitzilopochtli. 
The  serpents  are  the  symbols  of  his  mother  Cohua- 
tlycue,  and  also  of  Cihuacohuatl,  the  serpent-woman 
who  begat  twins,  male  and  female,  from  which  man- 
kind proceeded:  the  same  serpents  and  feathers  are 
the  symbol  of  Quezatlcohuatl,  the  precious  stones  des- 
ignate Chalchihuitlycue,  the  goddess  of  water,  the 
teeth  and  claw^s  refer  to  Tlaloc  and  to  Tlatocaoceloce- 

47  Amer.  Ethnol  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  338-9. 

48  Speaking  of  the  great  image  in  the  Mexican  museum  of  antiquities  sup- 
posed by  some  to  be  this  Mexican  goddess  of  war,  or  of  death,  Teoyaomique, 
Mr  Tylor  says,  Anahuac,  pp.  322-3:   'The  stone  known  as  the  statue  of  the 
war-goddess  is  a  huge  block  of  basalt  covered  with  sculptures.     The  anti- 
quaries think  that  the  figures  on  it  stand  for  different  personages,  and  that  it 
is  three  gods — Huitzilopochtli,  the  god  of  war,  Teoyaomiqui,  his  wife,  and 
Mictlanteuctli,  the  god  of  hell.     It  has  necklaces  of  alternate  hearts  and  dead 
men's  hands,  with  death's  head  for  a  central  ornament.     At  the  bottom  of 
the  block  is  a  strange  sprawling  figure,  which  one  cannot  see  now,  for  it  is 
the  base  which  rests  on  the  ground;  but  there  are  two  shoulders  projecting 
from  the  idol,  which  show  plainly  that  it  did  not  stand  on  the  ground,  but 
was  supported  aloft  on  the  tops  of  two  pillars.     The  figure  carved  upon  the 
bottom  represents  a  monster  holding  a  skull  in  each  hand,  while  others  hang 
from  his  knees  and  elbows.     His  mouth  is  a  mere  oval  ring,  a  common  fea- 
ture of  Mexican  idols,  and  four  tusks  project  just  above  it.     The  new  moon 
laid  down  like  a  bridge  forms  his  forehead,  and  a  star  is  placed  on  each  side 
of  it.     This  is  thought  to  have  been  the  conventional  representation  of  Mic- 
tlanteuctli (Lord  of  the  land  of  the  dead),  the  god  of  hell,  which  was  a  place 
of  utter  and  eternal  darkness.     Probably  each  victim  as  he  was  led  to  the 
altar  could  look  up  between  the  two  pillars  and  see  the  hideous  god  of  hell 
staring  down  upon  him  from  above.' 


GAMA  ON  THE  COMPOUND  IMAGE.  399 

lotl  (the  tiger  king) ;  and  together  with  her  own  attri- 
butes, the  whole  is  a  most  horrible  figure." 

Of  this  great  compound  statue  of  Huitzilopochtli 
(for  the  most  part  under  his  name  of  Teoyaotlatohua), 
Teoyaomique,  and  Mictlantecutli,  and  of  the  three 
deities  separately,  Leon  y  Gama  treats  in  substance  as 
follows,  beginning  with  Mictlantecutli:49 

The  Chevalier  Boturini  mentions  another  of  his 
names,  Teoyaotlatohua,  and  says  that  as  director  and 
chief  of  sacred  war  he  was  always  accompanied  by 
Teoyaomique,  a  goddess  whose  business  it  was  to  col- 
lect  the  souls  of  those  that  died  in  war  and  of  those 
that  were  sacrificed  afterward  as  captives.  Let  these 
statements  be  put  alongside  of  what  Torquemada  says, 
to  wit,  that  in  the  great  feast  of  the  month  Hueimic- 
cailhuitl,50  divine  names  were  given  to  dead  kings  and 
to  all  famous  persons  who  had  died  heroically  in  war, 
and  in  the  power  of  the  enemy;  idols  were  made 
furthermore  of  these  persons,  and  they  were  put  with 
the  deities;  for  it  was  said  that  they  had  gone  to  the 
place  of  delights  and  pleasures,  there  to  be  with  the 
gods.  From  all  this,  it  would  appear  that  before 
this  image,  in  which  were  closely  united  Teoyaotlato- 
hua and  Teoyaomique,  there  were  each  year  celebrated 
certain  rites  in  memory  and, honor  of  dead  kings  and 
lords,  and  captains  and  soldiers  fallen  in  battle.  And 
not  only  did  the  Mexicans  venerate  in  the  temple  this 
image  of  many  gods,  but  the  judicial  astrologers 

®*Leon  y  Gama,  Dos  Pledras,  pt.  i.,  pp.  41-4. 

50  The  tenth  month,  so  named  by  the  Tlascaltecs  and  others.  See  Torque- 
tnada,  Monarq.  Ind,,  torn,  ii.,  p.  298.  '  Al  decimo  Mes  del  Kalendario  Endiano 
llamaban  sus  Satrapas,  Xocotlhuetzi,  que  quiere  decir:  Quanclo  se  cae,  y  acaba 
la  Fruta,  y  debia  de  ser,  por  esta  ra9on,  de  que  por  aquel  Tiempo  se  acababa, 
que  cae  en  nuestro  Agosto  e  i&  en  todo  este  Mes  se  pasan  las  Frutas  eii  tierra 
fria.  Pero  los  Tlaxcaltecas,  y  otros  lo  llamaban  Hueymiccailhui^l,  que  quiere 
decir:  La  Fiesta  maior  de  los  Difuntos;  y  llama vanla  a;n,  porque  este  Mea 
solemni9aban  la  memoria  de  los  Difuntos,  con  grand  es  clamores,  y  llantos,  y 
doblaclos  lutos,  que  la  primera,  y  se  tenian  los  cucrpos  de  color  negro,  y  sa 
tiznaban  toda  la  cara;  y  asi,  las  cereinonias,  que  se  hacian  de  Dia,  y  de  Noche, 
en  todos  los  Templos,  y  fuera  de  ellos,  eran  de  mucha  triste9a,  segun  que 
cada  vno  podia  hacer  su  sentimiento;  y  en  este  Mes  dabannombre  de  Divinos, 
a  sus  Reies  difuntos,  y  a  todas  aquellas  Personas  senaladas,  que  havian 
muerto  ha9ario3amente  en  las  Guerras,  y  en  poder  de  sus  eiiemigos,  y  les 
hacian  sus  Idolos,  y  los  colocaban,  con  sus  Dioses,  diciendo,  que  avian  ido  ,al 
lugar  de  sus  deleites,  y  pasatiempos,  en  compania  de  los  otros  Dioses.' 


400          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

feigned  a  constellation  answering  thereto,  and  in- 
fluencing persons  born  under  it.  In  depicting  this 
constellation,  Teoyaotlatohua  Huitzilopochtli  was  rep- 
resented with  only  half  his  body,  as  it  were,  seated  on 
a  bench,  and  with  his  mouth  open  as  if  speaking.  His 
head  was  decorated  after  a  peculiar  fashion  with 
feathers,  his  arms  were  made  like  trunks  of  trees  with 
branches,  while  from  his  girdle  there  issued  certain 
herbs  that  fell  downwards  over  the  bench.  Opposite 
this  figure  was  Teoyaomique,  naked  save  a  thin  robe,51 
and  standing  on  a  pedestal,  apparently  holding  her 
head  in  her  hands,  at  any  rate  with  her  head  cut  off, 
her  eyes  bandaged,  and  two  snakes  issuing  from  the 
neck  where  the  head  should  have  been.  Between 
the  god  and  the  goddess  was  a  flowering  tree  divided 
through  the  middle,  to  which  was  attached  a  beam 
with  various  cross-pieces,  and  over  all  was  a  bird  with 
the  head  separated  from  its  body.  There  was  to  be 
seen  also  the  head  of  a  bird  in  a  cup,  and  the  head  of 
a  serpent,  together  with  a  pot  turned  upside  down, 
while  the  contents — water,  as  it  would  appear  by  the 
hieroglyphics  attached — ran  out. 

In  this  form  were  painted  these  two  gods,  as  one  of 
the  twenty  celestial  signs,  sufficiently  noticed  by  Bo- 
turini,  although,  as  he  confesses,  he  had  not  arranged 
them  in  the  proper  order.  Returning  to  notice  the 
office  attributed  to  Teoyaomique,  that  of  collecting  the 
souls  of  the  dead,  we  find  that  Cristobal  del  Castillo 
says  that  all  born  under  the  sign  which,  with  the  god 
of  war,  this  goddess  ruled  were  to  become  at  an  early 
age  valorous  soldiers;  but  that  their  career  was  to  be 

61  As  the  whole  description  becomes  a  little  puzzling  here,  I  give  the  origi- 
nal, Leon  y  Gama,  Dos  Piedras,  p.  42:  '  Enf rente  de  esta  figura  esta  Teoyao- 
mique desnuda,  y  cubierta  con  solo  un  cendal,  parada  sobre  una  basa,  6 
porcion  de  pilastra;  la  cabeza  separada  del  cuerpo,  arriba  del  cuello,  con  los 
ojos  vendados,  y  en  su  lugar  dos  viboras  6  culebras,  que  nacen  del  mismo 
cuello.  Entre  estas  dos  figuras  esta  un  arbol  de  Sores  partido  por  medio,  al 
cual  se  junta  un  madero  con  varios  atravesanos,  y  encima  de  el  una  ave,  cuya 
cabeza  esta  tambien  dividida  del  cnerpo.  Se  ve  tambien  otra  cabeza  de  ave 
dentro  de  una  jicara,  otra  de  sierpe,  una  olla  con  la  boca  para  abajo,  saliendo 
de  ella  la  materia  que  contenia  dentro,  cuya  figura  parece  ser  la  que  usaban 
para  representar  el  agua;  y  fmalmente  ocupan  el  resto  del  cuadro  [of  ths  rep- 
resentation of  the  constellation  above  mentioned  in  the  text]  otros  geroglificos 
y  figuras  diferentes.' 


MICTECACIHUATL.  401 

short  as  it  was  brilliant,  for  they  were  to  fall  in  battle 
young.  These  souls  were  to  rise  to  heaven,  to  dwell 
in  the  house  of  the  sun,  where  were  woods  and  groves. 
There  they  were  to  exist  four  years,  at  the  end  of 
which  time  they  were  to  be  converted  into  birds  of 
rich  and  beautiful  plumage,  and  to  go  about  sucking 
flowers  both  in  heaven  and  on  earth. 

To  the  statue  mentioned  above,  there  was  joined 
with  great  propriety  the  image  of  another  god,  feigned 
to  be  the  god  of  hell,  or  of  the  place  of  the  dead,  which 
latter  is  the  literal  signification  of  his  name,  Mictlante- 
cutli.  This  image  was  engraved  in  demi-relief  on  the 
lower  plane  of  the  stone  of  the  great  compound  statue ; 
but  it  was  also  venerated  separately  in  its  own  proper 
temple,  called  Tlalxicco,  that  is  to  say,  '  in  the  bowels 
or  navel  of  the  earth.'  Among  the  various  offices 
attributed  to  this  deity  was  that  of  burying  the  corpses 
of  the  dead,  principally  of  those  that  died  of  natural 
infirmities;  for  the  souls  of  these  went  to  hell,  to  pre- 
sent themselves  before  this  Mictlantecutli,  and  before 
his  wife,  Mictecacihuatl,  which  name  Torquemada 
interprets  as  'she  that  throws  into  hell.'  Thither  in- 
deed it  was  said  that  these  dead  went  to  offer  them- 
selves as  vassals  carrying  offerings,  and  to  have  pointed 
out  to  them  the  places  that  they  were  to  occupy  accord- 
ing to  the  manner  of  their  death.  This  god  of  hades 
was  further  called  Tzontemoc,  a  term  interpreted  by 
Torquemada  to  mean  '  he  that  lowers  his  head ; '  but 
it  would  rather  appear  that  it  should  take  its  signifi- 
cation from  the  action  indicated  by  the  great  statue, 
where  this  deity  is  seen  as  it  were  carrying  down  tied 
to  himself  the  heads  of  corpses  to  bury  them  in  the 
ground,  as  Boturini  says.  The  places  or  habitations 
supposed  to  exist  in  hell,  and  to  which  the  souls  of 
the  dead  had  to  go,  were  nine;  in  the  last  of  which, 
called  Chicuhnauhmictlan,  the  said  souls  were  sup- 
posed to  be  annihilated  and  totally  destroyed.  There 
was  lastly  given  to  this  god  a  place  in  heaven,  he 
being  joined  with  one  of  the  planets  and  accompanied 


VOL.  III.    26 


402          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  ANT)  WORSHIP. 

by  Teotlamacazqui ;  at  his  feet,  there  was  painted  a 
body  that  was  half  buried,  or  covered  with  earth  from 
the  head  to  the  waist,  while  the  rest  stuck  out  uncov- 
ered. It  only  remains  to  be  said  that  such  was  the 
veneration  and  religious  feeling  with  which  were  re- 
garded all  things  relating  to  the  dead,  that  not  only 
there  were  invented  for  them  tutelary  gods,  much 
honored  by  fre'quent  feasts  and  sacrifice,  but  the 
Mexicans  elevated  Death  itself,  dedicating  to  it  a  day 
of  the  calendar  (the  first  day  of  the  sixth  '  trecena'), 
joining  it  to  the  number  of  the  celestial  signs;  and 
erecting  to  it  a  sumptuous  temple  called  Tolnahuac, 
within  the  circuit  of  the  great  temple  of  Mexico, 
wherein  it  was  particularly  adored  with  holocausts 
and  victims,  under  the  title  Ce  Miquiztli.52 

52Boturini,  Idea,  pp.  27-8,  mentions  the  goddess  Teoyaomique;  on  pp. 
30-1,  he  notices  the  respect  with  which  Mictlantecutli  and  the  dead  were  re- 
garded: 'Me  resta  solo  tratar  de  la  decima  tercia,  y  ultima  Deidad  esto  es,  el 
Dios  del  Infierno,  Geroglifico,  que  explica  el  piadoso  acto  de  sepultar  los 
muertos,  y  el  gran  respeto,  que  estos  antiguos  Indios  tenian  a  los  sepulcros, 
creyendo,  &  imitacion  de  otras  Naciones,  no  solo  que  alii  asistian  las  almas 
de  los  Difuntos, ....  sino  que  tambien  dichos  Parientes  eran  sus  Dioses  Indi- 
getes,  ita  dicti,  quasi  inde  geniti,  cuyos  huessos,  y  cenizas  daban  alii  indubita- 
bles,  y  ciertas  senales  de  el  dominio,  que  tuvieron  en.  aquella  misma  tierra, 
donde  se  hallaban  sepultados,  la  que  havian  domado  con  los  sudores  de  la 
Agricultura,  y  aun  defendian  con  los  respetos,  y  eloquencia  muda  de  sus  cada- 
veres. . .  .Nuestros  Indios  en  la  segunda  Edad  dedicaron  dos  meses  de  el 
ano  llamados  Micayllmitl,  y  Hueymicaylhuitl  a  la  Commemoracion  de  los 
Difuntos,  y  en  la  tercera  exercitaron  varios  actos  de  piedad  en  su  memoria, 
prueba  constante  de  que  confessaron  la  immortalidad  de  el  alma. '  See  fur- 
ther Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  529-30.  Of  the  compound  idol 
discussed  above,  Humboldt,  Vues  des  Cordilleres,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  153-7,  speaks 
at  some  length.  He  says:  'On  distingue,  a  la  partie  superieure,  les  tetes  de 
deux  monstres  accoles  et  Ton  trouve  k  chaque  face,  deux  yeux  et  une  large 
gueule  armee  de  quatre  dents.  Ces  figures  monstrueuses  n'indiquent  peut- 
efcre  que  des  masques:  car,  chez  les  Mexicains,  on  etoit  dans  1'usage  de  mas- 
quer les  idoles  a  1'epoque  de  la  maladie  d'un  roi,  et  dans  toute  autre  cala- 
mite  publique.  Les  bras  et  les  pieds  sont  cache  sous  une  draperie  entouree 
d'enormes  serpens,  et  que  les  Mexicains  designoient  sous  le  nom  de  cokuatli- 
cuye,  vetement  de  serpent.  Tous  ces  accessoires,  surtout  les  fraages  en  forme 
de  plumes,  sont  sculptes  avec  le  plus  grand  soin.  M.  Gama,  dans  un  me- 
moire  particulier,  a  rendu  tres-probable  que  cette  idole  represeiite  le  dieu  de 
la  guerre,  Huitzilopochtli,  ou  Tlacakuepancuexcotzin,  et  sa  femme,  appelee 
Teoyamiqui  (de  miqui,  mourir,  et  de  teoyao,  guerre  divine),  parcequ'elle 
conduisoit  les  ames  des  guerriers  morts  pour  la  defense  des  dieux,  k  la  mats- 
on  du  Soleil,  le  paradis  des  Mexicains,  oil  elle  les  transformoit  en  colibris. 
Les  tetes  de  morts  et  les  mains  coupees,  dont  quatre  entourent  le  sein  de  la 
deesse,  rappellent  les  horribles  sacrifices  (teoquauhquetzoliztii)  cel~bres  dans 
la  quinzieme  periode  de  treize  jours,  apres  le  solstice  d'ete,  a  1'honneur  du 
dieu  de  la  guerre  et  de  sa  compagne  Teoyamiqui.  Les  mains  coupees  alter- 
nent  avec  la  figure  de  certains  vases  dans  lesquels  on  bruloit  1'encens.  Ces 
vases  etoient  appeles  top-xicalU  sacs  en  forme  de  calebasse  (de  toptli,  bourse 
tissue  de  fil  de  pite,  et  de  xicali,  calebasse).  Cette  idole  etant  sculptee  sur 


MIXCOATL,  GOD  OF  HUNTING.  403 

Mixcoatl  is  the  god — or  goddess,  according  to  some 
good  authorities — of  hunting.  The  name  means  '  cloud- 
serpent/  and  indeed,  seems  common  to  a  whole  class 
of  deities  or  heroes  somewhat  resembling  the  Nibe- 
lungs  of  northern  European  mythology.53  He  is  fur- 
ther supposed  to  be  connected  with  the  thunder-storm : 
"  Mixcoatl,  the  Cloud-Serpent,  or  Iztac-Mixcoatl,  the 
White  or  Gleaming  Cloud-Serpent,"  writes  Brinton,6* 
"said  to  have  been  the  only  divinity  of  the  ancient 
Chichimecs,  held  in  high  honor  by  the  Nahuas,  Nica- 
raguans,  and  Otomis,  and  identical  with  Taras,  supreme 
god  of  the  Tarascos,  and  Camaxtli,  god  of  the  Teo- 
Chichimecs,  is  another  personification  of  the  thunder- 
storm. To  this  day  this  is  the  familiar  name  of  the 
tropical  tornado  in  the  Mexican  language.  He  was 
represented,  like  Jove,  with  a  bundle  of  arrows  in  his 
hand,  the  thunder-bolts.  Both  the  Nahuas  and  Ta- 
rascos related  legends  in  which  he  figured  as  father  of 
the  race  of  man.  Like  other  lords  of  the  lightning,  he 
was  worshipped  as  the  dispenser  of  riches  and  the  pa- 
tron of  traffic ;  and  in  Nicaragua  his  image  is  described 

toutes  ses  faces,  meme  par  dessous  (fig.  5),  ou  Ton  voit  represente  Mictlan- 
teuhtli,  le  seigneur  du  lieu  des  morts,  on  ne  sauroit  douter  qu'elle  etoit  soutenue 
en  1'air  an  moyen  de  deux  colonnes  sur  lesquelles  reposoient  les  parties  mar- 
que"es  A  et  B,  dans  les  figures  1  et  3.  D'apres  cette  disposition  bizarre,  la 
tete  de  1'idole  se  trouvoit  vraisemblablement  elevee  de  cinq  a  six  metres  au- 
dessus  du  pave  du  temple,  de  maniere  que  les  pretres  (Teopixqui)  trainoient 
les  malheureuses  victimes  a  1'autel,  en  les  faisant  passer  au-dessous  de  la 
figure  de  Mictlanteuhtli.' 

53  According  to  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voyages, 
1858,  torn,  clx.,  pp.  267-8:  '  Les  heros  et  demi-deux  qui,  sous  le  ncm  gene"rique 
de  Chichimeques-Mixcohuas,  jouent  un  si  grand  rdle  dans  la  mythologie  mexi- 
caine,  et  qui  du  viie  au  ixe  siecle  de  notre  ere,  obtinrent  la  preponderance  sur 
le  plateau  azteque ....  Les  plus  celebres  de  ces  heros  sont  Mixcohuatl-Maza- 
tzin  (le  Serpent  Nebuleux  et  le  Daim),  fondateur  de  la  royaute  a  Tollan  (an- 
il our  d'  hui  Tula),  Tezcatlipoca,  specialement  adore  a  Tetzcuco,  et  son  frere 
Mixeohuatl  le  jeune,  dit  Camaxtli,  en  particulier  adore  a  Tlaxcallan,  1'un  et 
1'autre  mentionnes,  sous  d'autres  noms,  parmi  les  roie  de  Culhuacan  et  con- 
sideres,  ainsi  que  le  premier,  comme  les  principaux  fondateurs  de  la  mon- 
archic tolteque.  On  ignore  ou  ils  re£urent  le  jour.  Un  manuscrit  mexicain, 
[Codex  Chimalpopoca],  en  les  donnant  pour  fils  d'lztac-Mixcohuatl  ou  le 
Serpent  Blanc  Nebuleux  et  d'Iztac-Chalchiuhlicue  ou  la  Blanche  Dame 
azuree,  fait  allegoriquement  allusion  aux  pays  nebuleux  et  aquatiques  ou  ils 
ont  pris  naissance;  le  meme  document  ajoute  qu'ils  vinrent  par  eau  et  qu'ils 
demeurerent  un  certain  temps  en  barque.  Peut-etre  que  le  nom  d'Iztac  ou 
Blanc,  egalement  donne  a  Mixeohuatl,  designe  aussi  une  race  differente  de 
celle  des  Indiens  et  plus  en  rapport  avec  la  notre.' 

^Brintons  Myths,  p.  158. 


404          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

as   being    ' engraved    stones/   probably  the    supposed 
products  of  the  thunder." 

In  the  fourteenth  month,  called  Quecholli,  and  be- 
ginning, according  to  Clavigero,  on  the  fourteenth  of 
November,  there  was  made,  with  many  obscure  cere- 
monies, a  feast  to  this  god.  On  the  sixth  day  of  the 
month  all  assembled  at  the  cu  of  Huitzilopochtli,  where 
during  four  days  they  made  arrows  and  darts  for  use 
in  war  and  for  general  practice  at  a  mark,  mortifying 
at  the  same  time  their  flesh  by  drawing  blood,  and  by 
abstaining  from  women  and  pulque.  This  done,  they 
made,  in  honor  of  the  dead,  certain  little  mimic  darts 
of  a  hand  long,  of  which  four  seem  to  have  been  tied 
together  with  four  splinters  of  candlewood  pine;  these 
were  put  on  the  graves,  and  at  set  of  sun  lighted  and 
burned,  after  which  the  ashes  were  interred  on  the 
spot.  There  were  taken  a  maize-stalk  of  nine  knots, 
with  a  paper  flag  on  the  top  that  hung  down  to  the 
bottom,  together  with  a  shield  and  dart  belonging  to 
the  dead  man,  and  his  maxtli  and  blanket;  the  last 
two  being  attached  to  the  maize-stalk.  The  hanging 
flag  was  ornamented  on  either  side  with  red  cotton 
thread,  in  the  figure  of  an  X ;  a  piece  of  twisted  white 
thread  also  hung  down,  to  which  was  suspended  a  dead 
humming-bird.  Handfuls  of  the  white  feathers  of  the 
heron  were  tied  two  and  two  and  fastened  to  the  bur- 
dened maize-stalk,  while  all  the  cotton  threads  used 
were  covered  with  white  hen's  feathers,  stuck  on  with 
resin.  Lastly,  all  these  were  burned  on  a  stone  block 
called  the  quaulixicalcalico. 

In  the  court  of  the  cu  of  Mixcoatl  was  scattered 
much  dried  grass  brought  from  the  mountains,  upon 
which  the  old  women-priests,  or  cioatlamacazque,  seated 
themselves,  each  with  a  mat  before  her.  All  the  wo- 
men that  had  children  came,  each  bringing  her  child 
and  five  sweet  tamales;  and  the  tamales  were  put  on 
the  mats  before  the  old  women,  who  in  return  took 
the  children,  tossed  them  in  their  arms,  and  then  re- 
turned them  to  their  mothers. 

About  the  middle  of  the  month  was  made  a  special 


DRIVE-HUNT  OF  MIXCOATL.  405 

feast  to.  this  god  of  the  Otomis  to  Mixcoatl.  In  the 
morning  all  prepared  for  a  great  drive-hunt,  girding 
their  blankets  to  their  loins,  and  taking  bows  and  ar- 
rows. They  wended  their  way  to  a  mountain  slope, 
anciently  Zapatepec,  or  Yxillantonan,  above  the  sierra 
of  Atlacuizoayan,  or  as  it  is  now  called,  according  to 
Bustamante,  Tacubaya.  There  they  drove  deer,  rab- 
bits, hares,  coyotes,  and  other  game  together,  little  by 
little,  every  one  in  the  mean  time  killing  what  he  could; 
few  or  no  animals  escaping.  To  the  most  successful 
hunters  blankets  were  given,  and  every  one  brought  to 
his  house  the  heads  of  the  animals  he  had  taken,  and 
hanged  them  up  for  tokens  of  his  prowess  or  activity. 
There  were  human  sacrifices  in  honor  of  this  hunt 
ing  god  with  other  deities.  The  manufacturers  of 
pulque  bought,  apparently,  two  slaves,  who  were  deco- 
rated with  paper  and  killed  in  honor  of  the  gods  Tla- 
matzincatl  and  Yzquitecatl ;  there  were  also  sacrificed 
women  supposed  to  represent  the  wives  of  these  two 
deities.  The  calpixquis  on  their  part  led  other  two 
slaves  to  the  death  in  honor  of  Mixcoatl  and  of  Cohua- 
tlicue,  his  wife.  On  the  morning  of  the  last  day  but 
one  of  the  month,  all  the  doomed  were  brought  out 
and  led  round  the  cu  where  they  had  to  die;  after 
mid-day  they  were  led  up  the  cu,  round  the  sacri- 
ficial block,  down  again,  then  back  to  the  calpulco,  to 
be  at  once  guarded  and  forced  to  keep  awake  for  the 
night.  At  midnight  their  heads  were  shaven  before 
the  fire,  and  every  one  of  them  burned  there  what 
goods  he  had,  little  paper  flags,  cane  tobacco-pipes,55 
and  drinking-vessels;  the  women  threw  into  the  flame 
their  raiment,  their  ornaments,  their  spindles,  little 
baskets,  vessels  in  which  the  spindles  were  twirled, 
warping-frames,  fuller's  earth,  pieces  of  cane  for  press- 
ing a  fabric  together,  cords  for  fastening  it  up,  maguey 
thorns,  measuring-rods,  and  other  implements  for 
weaving;  and  they  said  that  all  these  things  had  to 
be  given  to  them  in  the  other  world  after  their  death. 

5;)Canas  de  humo.  Kingsborouglis  Hex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  75;  Sahagun, 
Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.s  p.  166. 


406          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

At  daybreak  these  captives  were  carried  or  assisted 
up,  each  having  a  paper  flag  borne  before  him,  to  the 
several  cues  of  the  gods  they  were  to  die  in  honor  of. 
Four  that  had  to  die,  probably  before  Mixcoatl,  were, 
each  by  four  bearers,  carried  up  to  a  temple,  bound 
hand  and  foot  to  represent  dead  deer;  while  others 
were  merely  assisted  up  the  steps  by  a  youth  at  each 
arm,  so  that  they  should  not  faint  nor  fail ;  two  other 
youths  trailing  or  letting  them  down  the  same  steps 
after  they  were  dead.  The  preceding  relates  only  to 
the  male  captives,  the  women  being  slain  before  the 
men,  in  a  separate  cu  called  the  coatlan;  it  is  said 
that  as  they  were  forced  up  the  steps  of  it  some 
screamed  and  others  wept.  In  letting  the  dead  bodies 
of  these  women  down  the  steps  again,  it  is  also  specially 
written  that  they  were  not  hurled  down  roughly,  but 
rolled  down  little  by  little.  At  the  place  where  the 
skulls  of  the  dead  were  exposed,  waited  two  old  women 
called  teixamique,  having  by  them  salt  water  and  bread 
and  a  mess  or  gruel  of  some  kind.  The  carcasses  of 
the  victims  being  brought  to  them,  they  dipped  cane 
leaves  into  the  salt  water  and  sprinkled  the  faces  of 
them  therewith,  and  into  each  mouth  they  put  four 
morsels  of  bread  moistened  with  the  gruel  or  mess 
above  mentioned.  Then  the  heads  were  cut  off  and 
spitted  on  poles;  and  so  the  feast  ended.56 

In  connection  with  the  religious  honors  paid  to  the 
dead,  it  may  be  here  said  that  the  Mexicans  had  a 
deity  of  whom  almost  all  we  know  is  that  he  was  the 
god  of  those  that  died  in  the  houses  of  the  lords  or  in 

56 Kingsborougk's  Hex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  73-6;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn, 
i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  162-7;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  fnd,,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  148-9,  151-2, 
280-1;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  79;  Mutter,  Amerika- 
nische  UrreUgionen,  pp.  483,  486,  and  elsewhere.  Brasseur,  as  his  custom  is, 
euhemerizes  this  god,  detailing  the  events  of  his  reign,  and  theorizing  on 
his  policy,  as  soberly  and  believingly  as  if  it  were  a  question  of  the  reign  of 
a  Louis  XIV.  or  a  Napoleon  I.;  see  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  227-35. 
Gomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  88,  and  others,  make  Camaxtle,  the  principal  god  of 
Tlascala,  identical  with  Mixcoatl.  The  Chichimecs  '  had  only  one  god  called 
Mixcoatl,  and  they  kept  this  image  or  statue.  They  held  to  another  god,  in- 
visible, without  image,  called  looalliehecatl,  that  is  to  say,  god  invisible  and 
impalpable,  favoring,  sheltering,  all-powerful,  by  whose  power  all  live,  etc.' 
Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  64. 


MACUILXOCHITL.  407 

the  palaces  of  the  principal  men;  he  was  called  Macuil- 
xochitl,  'the  chief  that  gives  flowers,  or  that  takes 
care  of  the  giving  of  flowers.'57  The  festival  of  this 

f)d  fell  among  the  movable  feasts,  and  was  called 
ochilhuitl,  or  'the  festival  of  flowers.'  There  were 
in  it  the  usual  preliminary  fasting  (that  is  to  say,  eat- 
ing but  once  a  day,  at  noon,  and  then  only  of  a  re- 
stricted diet),  blood-letting,  and  offering  of  food  in  the 
temple ;  though  there  did  not  occur  therein  anything 
suggestive  either  of  a  god  of  flowers  or  of  a  god  of  the 
more  noble  dead.  The  image  of  this  deity  was  in  the 
likeness  of  an  almost  naked  man,  either  flayed  or 
painted  of  a  vermilion  color;  the  mouth  and  chin  were 
of  three  tints,  white,  black,  and  light  blue;  the  face 
was  of  a  light  reddish  tinge.  It  had  a  crown  of  light 
green  color,  with  plumes  of  the  same  hue,  and  tassels 
that  hung  down  to  the  shoulders.  On  the  back  of 
the  idol  was  a  device  wrought  in  feathers,  representing 
a  banner  planted  on  a  hill ;  about  the  loins  of  it  was  a 
bright  reddish  blanket,  fringed  with  sea-shells ;  curi- 
ously wrought  sandals  adorned  its  feet ;  on  the  left 
arm  of  it  was  a  white  shield,  in  the  midst  of  which 
were  set  four  stones,  joined  two  and  two;  it  held  a 
sceptre,  shaped  like  a  heart  and  tipped  with  green  and 
yellow  feathers.58 

57  Tliis  deity  must  not,  it  would  seem,  be  confounded  with  another  men- 
tioned by  Sahagun,  viz. ,  Coatlyace,  or  Coatlyate,  or  Coatlantoiian,  a  goddess 
of  whom  we  know  little  save  the  fact,  incidentally  mentioned,  that  she 
was  regarded  with  great  devotion  by  the  dealers  in  floweis.  See  Kings- 
borougtia  Hex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  42;  and  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib. 
ii.,  p.  95. 

® Kingsborougtis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  10-11,  136;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  19-22,  lib.  iv.,  p.  305.  Boturini,  Idea  de  una  Hist.,  pp.  14- 
15,  speaks  of  a  goddess  called  Macuilxochiquetzalli;  by  a  comparison  of  the 
passage  with  note  28  of  this  chapter,  it  will,  I  think,  be  evident  that  the 
chevalier's  Macuilxochiquetzalli  is  identical,  not  with  Macuilxochitl,  but  with 
Xochiquetzal,  the  Aztec  Venus.  See  further,  on  the  relations  of  this  goddess, 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  490-1.  '  Matlalcueye,  qui 
donnait  son  nom  au  versant  de  la  montagne  du  c6te  de  Tlaxcallan,  etait 
regardee  comme  la  protectrice  speciale  des  magiciennes.  La  legende  disait 
qu'elle  etait  devenue  1'epouse  de  Tlaloc,  apres  que  Xochiquetzal  eut  ete  en- 
levee  k  ce  dieu  [see  this  vol.,  p.  378].  Celle-ci,  dont  elle  n 'etait,  apres  tout, 
qu'une  personnification  differente,  etait  appelee  aussi  Chalchiuhlycue,  ou  le 
Jupon  seme  d'emeraudes,  en  sa  qualite  de  deesse  des  eaux.  Le  symbole  sous 
lequel  on  la  represente,  comme  de"esse  des  amours  honnetes,  est  celui  d'un 
eventail  compose  de  cinq  fleurs,  ce  que  rend  encore  le  nom  qu'on  lui  donnait 
"  Macuil-Xochiquetzalli. " '  Brasseur,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  distinguishes 


408          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Ome  Acatl  was  the  god  of  banquets  and  of  guests; 
his  name  signified  'two  canes.'  When  a  man  made  a 
feast  to  his  friends,  he  had  the  image  of  this  deity 
carried  to  his  house  by  certain  of  its  priests;  and  if 
the  host  did  not  do  this,  the  deity  appeared  to  him  in 
a  dream,  rebuking  him  in  such  words  as  these :  Thou 
bad  man,  because  thou  hast  withheld  from  me  my  due 
honor,  know  that  I  will  forsake  thee  and  that  thou 
shalt  pay  dearly  for  this  insult.  When  this  god  was 
excessively  angered,  he  was  accustomed  to  mix  hairs 
with  the  food  and  drink  of  the  guests  of  the  object  of 
his  wrath,  so  that  the  giver  of  the  feast  should  be  dis- 
graced. As  in  the  case  of  Huitzilopochtli,  there  was 
a  kind  of  communion  sacrament  in  connection  with  the 
adoration  of  this  god  of  feasts:  in  each  ward  dough 
was  taken  and  kneaded  by  the  principal  men  into  the 
figure  of  a  bone  of  about  a  cubit  long,  called  the  bone 
of  Ome  Acatl.  A  night  seems  to  have  been  spent  in 
eating  and  in  drinking  pulque ;  then  at  break  of  day, 
an  unfortunate  person,  set  up  as  the  living  image  of 
the  god,  had  his  belly  pricked  with  pins,  or  some  such 
articles;  being  hurt  thereby,  as  we  are  told.  This 
done,  the  bone  was  divided,  and  each  one  ate  what  of 
it  fell  to  his  lot;  and  when  those  that  had  insulted  this 
god  ate,  they  often  grew  sick,  and  almost  choked,  and 
went  stumbling  and  falling.  Ome  Acatl  was  repre- 
sented as  a  man  seated  on  a  bunch  of  cyperus-sedges. 
His  face  was  painted  white  and  black;  upon  his  head 
was  a  paper  crown  surrounded  by  a  long  and  broad 
fillet  of  divers  colors,  knotted  up  at  the  back  of  the 
head;  and  again  round  and  over  the  fillet  was  wound 
a  string  of  chalchiuite  beads.  His  blanket  was  made 
like  a  net,  and  had  a  broad  border  of  flowers  woven 
into  it.  He  bore  a  shield,  from  the  lower  part  of 
which  hung  a  kind  of  fringe  of  broad  tassels.  In  the 
right  hand  he  held  a  sceptre  called  the  tlachielonique, 
or  'looker/ 59  because  it  was  furnished  with  a  round 

between  Xochiquetzal  as  the  goddess  of  honest  love,  and  Tlazolteotl  as  the 
goddess  of  lubricity. 

59  The  fire-god  Xiuhtecutli  used  an  instrument  of  this  kind;  see  this  vol., 
p.  385. 


IXTLILTON,  HEELER  OF  CHILDREN.  409 

plate  through  which  a  hole  was  pierced,  and  the  god 
kept  his  face  covered  with  the  plate  and  looked 
through  the  hole.60 

Yxtliton,  or  Ixtlilton — that  is  to  say,  'the  little 
negro,'  according  to  Sahagun,  and  'the  black-faced/ 
according  to  Clavigero — was  a  god  who  cured  children 
of  various  diseases.61  His  'oratory/  was  a  kind  of 
temporary  building  made  of  painted  boards ;  his  image 
was  neither  graven  nor  painted;  it  was  a  living  man 
decorated  with  certain  vestments.  In  this  temple  or 
oratory  were  kept  many  pans  and  jars,  covered  with 
boards,  and  containing  a  fluid  which  was  called  'black 
water.'  When  a  child  sickened,  it  was  brought  to  this 
temple  and  one  of  these  jars  was  uncovered,  upon 
which  the  child  drank  of  the  black  water  and  was 
healed  of  its  disease — the  cure  being  probably  most 
prompt  and  complete  when  the  priests  as  well  as  the 
god  knew  something  of  physic.  When  one  made  a 
feast  to  this  god — which  seems  to  have  been  when  one 
made  new  pulque — the  man  that  was  the  image  of 
Ixtlilton  came  to  the  house  of  the  feast-giver  with 
music  and  dancing,  and  preceded  by  the  smoke  of 

60  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.   11-12;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  22-3;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  58,  240-1; 
Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  22;   Brasseur  de  Umirbourg, 
Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  492. 

61  This  god,  who  was  also  known  by  the  title  of  Tlaltecuin,  is  the  third 
Mexican  god  connected  with  medicine.     There  is  first  that  unnamed  goddess 
described  on  p.  353  of  this  vol. ;  and  there  is  then  a  certain  Tzaputaltena, 
described  by  Sahagun — Kingsborougfts  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  4;  Sahagun, 
Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  7-8 — as  the  goddess  of  turpentine  (see  Brasseur 
de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  494),  or  of  some  such  substance, 
used  to  cure  the  itch  in  the  head,  irruptions  on  the  skin,  sore  throats,  chapped 
feet  or  lips,  and  other  such  things:   '  Tzaputlatena  fue  una  muger,  segun  su 
nombre,  nacida  en  el  pueblo  de  Tzaputla,  y  por  esto  se  llama  la  Madre  de 
Tzaputla,  porque  fu£  la  primera  que  inventd  la  resina  que  se  llama  uxitl,  y  es 
un  aceyte  sacado  por  artificio  de  la  resina  del  pino,  que  aprovecha  para  sanar 
muchas  enfermedades,   y  primeramente  aprovecha   contra  una   manera   de 
bubas,  6  sarna,  que  nace  en  la  cabeza,  que  se  llama  Quaxococivistli;  y  tarn- 
bien  contra  otra,  enfermedad  es  provechosa  asi  mismo,  que  nace  en  la  cabeza, 

3ue  es  como  bubas.  que  se  llama  Chaguachicioiztli,  y  tambien  para  la  sarna 
e  la  cabeza.  Aprovecha  tambien  contra  la  ronguera  de  la  garganta.  Apro- 
vecha tambien  contra  las  grietas  de  las  pies  y  de  los  labios.  Es  tambien  contra 
los  empeines  que  nacen  en.  la  cara  6  en  las  manos.  Es  tambien  contra  el  usagre; 
contra  muchas  otras  enfermedades  es  bueno.  Y  como  esta  muger  debid  ser  la 
primera  que  hallo  este  aceyte,  contaronla  entre  las  Diosas,  y  hacianla  fiesta  y 
sacrificios  aquellos  que  venden  y  hacen  este  aceyte  que  se  llama  Uxitl. ' 


410          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

copal  incense.  The  representative  of  the  deity  having 
arrived,  the  first  thing  he  did  was  to  eat  and  drink ; 
there  were  more  dances  and  festivities  in  his  honor,  in 
which  he  took  part,  and  then  he  entered  the  cellar  of 
the  house,  where  were  many  jars  of  pulque  that  had 
been  covered  for  four  days  with  boards  or  lids  of  some 
kind.  He  opened  one  or  many  of  these  jars,  a  cere- 
mony called  '  the  opening  of  the  first  or  of  the  new  wine/ 
and  himself  with  those  that  were  with  him  drank 
thereof.  This  done,  he  went  out  into  the  court-yard 
of  the  house,  where  there  were  prepared  certain  jars 
of  the  above-mentioned  black  water,  which  also  had 
been  kept  covered  four  days;  these  he  opened,  and  if 
there  was  found  therein  any  dirt,  or  piece  of  straw,  or 
hair,  or  ash,  it  was  taken  as  a  sign  that  the  giver  of 
the  feast  was  a  man  of  evil  life,  an  adulterer,  or  a  thief, 
or  a  quarrelsome  person,  and  he  was  affronted  with  the 
charge  accordingly.  When  the  representative  of  the 
god  set  out  from  the  house  where  all  this  occurred,  he 
was  presented  with  certain  blankets  called  yxguen,  or 
ixquen,  that  is  to  say,  '  covering  of  the  face,'  because 
when  any  fault  had  been  found  in  the  black  water,  the 
giver  of  the  feast  was  put  to  shame.62 

Opuchtli,  or  Opochtli,  'the  left-handed,'  was  vener- 
ated by  fishermen  as  their  protector  and  the  inventor 
of  their  nets,  fish-spears,  oars,  and  other  gear.  In 
Cuitlahuac,  an  island  of  lake  Chalco,  there  was  a  god 
of  fishing,  called  Amimitl,  who,  according  to  Clavigero, 
differed  from  the  first-mentioned  only  in  name.  Saha- 
gun  says  that  Opuchtli  was  counted  among  the  number 
of  the  Tlaloques,  and  that  the  offerings  made  to  him 
were  composed  of  pulque,  stalks  of  green  maize,  flowers, 
the  smoking  canes  or  pipes  called  yietl,  copal  incense, 
the  odorous  herb  yiauhtli,  and  parched  maize.  These 
things  seem  to  have  been  strewed  before  him  as  rushes 
used  to  be  strewed  before  a  procession.  There  were 
used  in  these  solemnities  certain  rattles  enclosed  in 

62 Kingsbarouyk's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  12-13;  Sdluayun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  24-5;  Claviyero,  Hist.  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  2L 


OPUCHTLI,  GOD  OF  FISHING.  411 

hollow  walking-sticks.  The  linage  of  this  god  was 
like  a  man,  almost  naked,  with  the  face  of  that  gray 
tint  seen  in  quails'  feathers;  on  the  head  was  a  paper 
crown  of  divers  colors,  made  like  a  rose,  as  it  were, 
of  leaves  overlapping  each  other,  topped  by  green 
feathers  issuing  from  a  yellow  tassel ;  other  long  tassels 
hung  from  this  crown  to  the  shoulders  of  the  idol. 
Crossed  over  the  breast  was  a  green  stole  resembling 
that  worn  by  the  Christian  priest  when  saying  mass; 
on  the  feet  were  white  sandals;  on  the  left  arm  was  a 
red  shield,  and  in  the  centre  of  its  field  a  white  flower 
with  four  leaves  disposed  like  a  cross;  and  in  the  left 
hand  was  a  sceptre  of  a  peculiar  fashion.63 

Xipe,  or  Totec,  or  Xipetotec,  or  Thipetotec,  is,  ac- 
cording to  Clavigero,  a  god  whose  name  has  no  mean- 
ing,64 who  was  the  deity  of  the  goldsmiths,  and  who 
was  much  venerated  by  the  Mexicans,  they  being 
persuaded  that  those  that  neglected  his  worship  would 
be  smitten  with  diseases;  especially  the  boils,  the  itch, 
and  pains  of  the  head  and  eyes.  They  excelled  them- 

63 '  Tenia  en  la  mano  izquierda  una  rodela  tenida  de  Colorado,  y  en  el  me- 
dio  de  este  campo  una  nor  blanca  con  quatro  ojas  a  manera  de  cruz,  y  de  los 
espacios  de  las  ojas  salian  quatro  puntas  que  eran  tambien  ojas  de  la  misma, 
flor.  Tenia  un  cetro  en  la  mano  derecha  como  un  caliz,  y  de  lo  alto  de  el 
salia  como  un  casquillo  de  saetas.'  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  13; 
Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  26-7;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Mes- 
sico,^  torn,  ii.,  p.  20;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  60-1.  'La  peche 
avait,  toutefois,  son  genie  particulier:  c'etait  Opochtli,  le  Gaucher,  personni- 
fication  de  Huitzilopochtli. '  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist,  des  Nat.  Civ., 
torn,  iii.,  p.  494. 

61  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  22.  This  is  evidently  a 
blunder,  however;  Boturini  explains  Totec  to  mean  'god  our  lord,'  and  Xipe 
(or  Oxipe,  as  he  writes  it)  to  signify  '  god  of  the  flaying. '  '  Tlaxipehualiztli, 
Symbolo  del  primer  Mes,  quiere  decir  .Deshollamiento  de  Gentes,  porque  en  su 
primer  dia  se  deshollaban  unos  Hombres  vivos  dedicados  al  Dios  Toteuc,  esto 
es,  Dios  Senor  nuestro,  o  al  Dios  Oxipe,  Dios  de  el  DesJiollamiento,  syncope  de 
Tloxipeiica.'  Boturini,  Idea  de  Una  Hist.,  p.  51.  Sahagun  says  that  the  name 
means  Hhe  flayed  one.'  'Xipetotec,  que  quiere  decir  desollado.'  Kings- 
borough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  14;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  p.  27. 
While  Torquemada  affirms  that  it  means  'the  bald,'  or  'the  blackened  one.' 

'Tenian  los  Plateros  otro  Dios,  que  se  llamaba  Xippe,  y  Totec Este  De- 

monio  Xippe,  que  quiere  decir,  Calvo,  6  Ate9ado.  Torquemada,  Monarq. 
Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  58.  Brasseur,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  503,  partially 
accepts  all  these  derivations.  'Xipe,  lechauve  ou  I'dcorche,  autrement  dit 
encore  Totec  ou  notre  seigneur. '  This  god  was  further  surnamed,  according 
to  the  interpreter  of  the  Vatican  Codex,  'the  mournful  combatant,'  or,  as 
Gallatin  gives  it,  '  the  disconsolate. '  See  Spiegazione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice 
Mexitano  (Vaticano),  tav.  xliii.,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  186; 
.  EthnoL  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  345,  350. 


412          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

selves,  therefore,  in  cruelty  at  his  festival  time,  occur- 
ring ordinarily  in  the  second  month. 

Sahagun  describes  this  god  as  specially  honored  by 
dwellers  on  the  sea-shore,  and  as  having  had  his  ori- 
gin at  Zapotlan  in  Jalisco.  He  was  supposed  to  afflict 
people  with  sore  eyes  and  with  various  skin-diseases, 
such  as  small-pox,  abscesses,  and  itch.  His  image  was 
made  like  a  human  form,  one  side  or  flank  of  it  being 
painted  yellow,  and  the  other  of  a  tawny  color;  down 
each  side  of  the  face  from  the  brow  to  the  jaw  a  thin 
stripe  was  wrought;  and  on  the  head  was  a  little  cap 
with  hanging  tassels.  The  upper  part  of  the  body 
was  clothed  with  the  flayed  skin  of  a  man;  round  the 
loins  was  girt  a  kind  of  green  skirt.  It  had  on  one 
arm  a  yellow  shield  with  a  red  border,  and  held  in 
both  hands  a  sceptre  shaped  like  the  calix  of  a  poppy 
and  tipped  with  an  arrow-head.65 

On  the  last  day  of  the  second  month — or,  according 
to  some  authors,  of  the  first — Tlacaxipehualiztli,  there 
was  celebrated  a  solemn  feast  in  honor  at  once  of 
Xipetotec  arid  of  Huitzilopochtli.  It  was  preceded 
by  a  very  solemn  dance  at  noon  of  the  day  before.  As 
the  night  of  the  vigil  fell,  the  captives  were  shut  up 
and  guarded ;  at  midnight — the  time  when  it  was  usual 
to  draw  blood  from  the  ears — the  hair  of  the  middle  of 
the  head  of  each  was  shaven  away  before  a  fire. 
When  the  dawn  appeared,  they  were  led  by  their 
owners  to  the  foot  of  the  stairs  of  the  temple  of  Huit- 
zilopochtli— and  if  they  would  not  ascend  willingly 
the  priests  dragged  them  up  by  the  hair.  'The  priests 
threw  them  down  one  by  one  on  the  back  on  a  stone 
of  three  quarters  of  a  yard  or  more  high,  and  square 
on  the  top  something  more  than  a  foot  every  way. 
Two  assistants  held  the  victim  down  by  the  feet,  two 
by  the  hands,  and  one  by  the  head — this  last  accord- 
ing to  many  accounts  putting  a  yoke  over  the  neck  of 
the  man  and  so  pressing  it  down.  Then  the  priest, 
holding  with  both  hands  a  splinter  of  flint,  or  a  stone 

65  Kingsborougtis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  14;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Ge?i.,  torn, 
lib.  i.,  pp.  27-8;  Botunni,  Idea  de  Nueva  Hist.,  p.  51. 


EATING  THE  BODIES  OF  THE  SACRIFICED.  413 

resembling  flint,  like  a  large  lance-head,  struck  across 
the  breast  therewith,  and  tore  out  the  heart  through 
the  gash  so  made;  which,  after  offering  it  to  the  sun 
and  other  gods,  by  holding  it  up  toward  the  four  quar- 
ters of  heaven,  he  threw  into  a  wooden  vessel.66  The 
blood  was  collected  also  in  a  vessel  and  given  to  the^ 
owner  of  the  dead  captive,  while  the  body,  thrown* 
down  the  temple  steps,  was  taken  to  the  calpule  by 
certain  old  men,  called  quaquacuiltin,  flayed,  cut  into 
pieces,  and  divided  for  eating;  the  king  receiving  the 
flesh  of  the  thigh,  while  the  rest  of  the  carcass  was 
eaten  at  the  house  of  the  owner  of  the  captive,  though, 
as  will  appear  by  a  remark  hereafter,67  it  is  improbable 
that  the  captor  or  owner  himself  ate  any  of  it.  With 
the  skin  of  these  flayed  persons,  a  party  of  youths, 
called  the  tototedi,  clothed  themselves,  and  fought  in 
sham  fight  with  another  party  of  young  men;  prisoners 
being  taken  on  both  sides,  who  were  not  released  with- 

O  ' 

out  a  ransom  of  some  kind  or  other.  This  sham  bat- 
tle was  succeeded  by  combats  of  a  terribly  real  sort, 
the  famous  so-called  gladiatorial  fights  of  Mexico. 
On  a  great  round  stone,  like  an  enormous  mill-stone, 
a  captive  was  tied  by  a  cord,  passing  round  his  waist 
and  through  the  hole  of  the  stone,  long  enough  to 

66 These  human  sacrifices  were  begun,  according  to  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant. 
del  Messico,  torn,  i.,  pp.  165-7,  by  the  Mexicans,  before  the  foundation  of  their 
city,  while  yet  slaves  of  the  Culhuas.  These  Mexicans  had  done  good  ser- 
vice to  their  rulers  in  a  battle  against  the  Xochimilcas.  The  masters  were 
expected  to  furnish  their  serfs  with  a  thank-offering  for  the  war -god.  They 
sent  a  filthy  rag  and  a  rotten  fowl.  The  Mexicans  received  and  were  silent. 
The  day  of  festival  came;  and  with  it  the  Culhua  nobles  to  see  the  sport — 
the  Helots  and  their  vile  sacrifice.  But  the  filth  did  not  appear,  only  a 
coarse  altar,  wreathed  with  a  fragrant  herb,  bearing  a  great  flake  of  keen- 
ground  obsidian.  The  dance  began,  the  frenzy  mounted  up,  the  priests 
advanced  to  the  altar,  and  with  them  they  dragged  four  Xochimilca  prison- 
ers. There  is  a  quick  struggle,  and  over  a  prisoner  bruised,  doubled  back 
supine  on  the  altar-block  gleams  and  falls  the  itzli,  driven  with  a  two-handed 
blow.  The  blood  spurts  like  a  recoil  into  the  bent  face  of  the  high-priest,  who 
grabbles,  grasps,  tears  out  and  flings  the  heart  to  the  god.  Another,  another, 
another,  and  there  are  four  hearts  beating  in  the  lap  of  the  grim  image. 
There  are  more  dances,  but  there  is  no  more  sport  for  the  Culhuas;  with  lips 
considerably  whitened  they  return  to  their  place.  After  this  there  could  be 
no  more  mastership,  nor  thought  of  mastership,  over  such  a  people;  there 
was  too  much  of  the  wild  beast  in  them;  they  had  already  tasted  blood. 
And  the  Mexicans  were  allowed  to  leave  the  land  of  their  bondage,  and  jour- 
ney north  toward  the  future  Tenochtitlan. 

67  See  this  vol.,  p.  415. 


414          GOBS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

permit  him  freedom  of  motion  everywhere  about  the 
block — set  near  or  at  a  temple  called  yopico,  of  the 
god  Totec,  or  Xipe.68  With  various  ceremonies  more 
particularly  described  in  the  preceding  volume,  the 
bound  man,  furnished  with  inferior  weapons,  was  made 
j;o  fight  with  a  picked  Mexican  champion — the  latter 
holding  up  his  sword  and  shield  to  the  sun  before  en- 
gaging. If,  as  sometimes  happened,  the  desperate 
though  hampered  and  ill-armed  captive — whose  club- 
sword  was,  by  a  refinement  of  mockery,  deprived  of 
its  jagged  flint  edging  and  set  with  feathers — slew  his 
opponent,  another  champion  was  sent  against  him,  and 
so  on  to  the  number  of  five,  at  which  point,  according 
to  some,  the  captive  was  set  free ;  though  according  to 
other  authorities,  he  was  not  allowed  so  to  escape,  but 
champions  were  sent  against  him  till  he  fell.  Upon 
which  a  priest,  called  the  yooallaoa,  opened  his  breast, 
tore  out  his  heart,  offered  it  to  the  sun,  and  threw  it 
into  the  usual  wooden  vessel ;  while  the  ropes  used  for 
binding  to  the  fighting-stone  were  carried  to  the  four 
quarters  of  the  world,  reverently  with  weeping  and 
sighing.  A  second  priest  thrust  a  piece  of  cane  into 
the  gash  in  the  victim's  breast  and  held  it  up  stained 
with  blood  to  the  sun.  Then  the  owner  of  the  captive 
came  and  received  the  blood  into  a  vessel  bordered 
with  feathers;  this  vessel  he  took  with  a  little  cane- 
and-feather  broom,  or  aspergillum,  and  went  about  all 
the  temples  and  calpules,  giving  to  each  of  the  idols, 
as  it  were,  to  taste  of  the  blood  of  his  captive.  The 
slain  body  was  then  carried  to  the  calpulco — where, 

68 Further  notice  of  this  stone  appears  in  KingsborougJis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol. 
vii.,  p.  94,  or  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  ap.  pp.  207-8.  'El  sesenta 
y  dos  edificio  se  llamaba  Temalacatl.  Era  una  piedra  como  muela  de  moliiio 
grande,  y  estaba  agujereada  en  el  medio  como  muela  de  molino.  Sobre 
esta  piedra  ponian  los  esclavos  y  acuchillabanse  con  ellos:  estaban  atados 
por  medio  de  tal  manera  que  podian  llegar  hasta  la  circumfereiicia  de  la 
piedra,  y  dabanles  armas  con  que  peleasen.  Era  este  un  espectaculo  muy 
f  requente,  y  donde  concurria  geiite  de  todas  las  comarcas  a  verle.  Un  satrapa 
vestido  de  un  pellejo  de  oso  6  Cuetlachtli,  era  alii  el  padrino  de  los  capti- 
vos  que  alii  mataban,  que  los  llevaba  a  la  piedra  y  los  ataba  alii,  y  los  daba 
las  armas,  y  los  lloraba  entre  tarito  que  peleaban,  y  quando  caian  los  en- 
tregaba  al  que  les  habia  de  sacar  el  corazon,  que  era  otro  satrapa  vestido  con 
otro  pellejo  que  se  llamaba  Tooallaoan.  Esta  relacion  queda  escrita  en  la 
fiesta  de  Tlacaxipeoaliztli. ' 


RELATIONS  BETWEEN  CAPTOR  AND  CAPTIVE.  415 

while  alive,  it  had  been  confined  the  night  before  the 
sacrifice — and  there  skinned.  Thence  it  was  brought 
to  the  house  of  its  owner,  who  divided  arid  made  pres- 
ents of  it  to  his  superiors,  relatives,  and  friends;  not, 
however,  tasting  thereof  himself,  for  we  are  told  "he 
counted  it  as  the  flesh  of  his  own  body,"  because  from 
the  hour  that  he  took  the  prisoner  "he  held  him  to 
be  his  son,  and  the  captive  looked  up  to  his  captor  as 
to  a  father." 

The  skins  of  the  dead  belonged  to  their  captors, 
who  gave  them  again  to  others  to  be  worn  by  them  for 
apparently  twenty  days,  probably  as  a  kind  of  penance 
—the  persons  so  clothed  collecting  alms  from  every  one 
in  the  mean  time  and  bringing  all  they  got,  each  to 
the  man  that  had  given  him  the  skin.  When  done 
with,  these  skins  were  hid  away  in  a  rotting  condition 
in  a  certain  cave,  while  the  ex-wearers  thereof  washed 
themselves  with  great  rejoicings.  At  the  putting 
away  of  these  skins  there  assisted  numbers  of  people 
ill  with  the  itch  and  such  other  diseases  as  Xipe  in- 
flicted— hoping  thus  to  be  healed  of  their  infirmities, 
and  it  is  said  that  many  were  so  cured.69 

The  merchants  of  Mexico — a  class  of  men  who 
hawked  their  goods  from  place  to  place  and  wandered 

69  KingsborougJis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  23,  37-43;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  51-3,  86-97;  Explication  del  Codex  Telleriano-Remensis, 
pt.  i.,  lam.  iii.,  in  Kingsborougfis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  133;  /Spiegazione 
delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano),  tav.  Ixiii.,  in  Id.,  vol.  v.,  p.  191; 
Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  154,  252^4;  Leony  Gama,  Dos  Piedras, 
pt.  ii.,  pp.  50-4;  Prescott's  Mex.,  vol.  i.,  p.  78,  note;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del 
Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  481.  We  learn  from  Clavigero,  Ibid,  torn,  i.,  pp.  281-2, 
that  this  great  gladiatorial  block  was  sometimes  to  an  extraordinary  extent  a 
*  stone  of  sacrifice  '  to  the  executioners  as  well  as  to  the  doomed  victim.  In 
the  last  year  of  the  reign  of  the  last  Montezuma,  a  famous  Tlascaltec  general, 
Tlahuicol,  was  captured  by  the  merest  accident.  His  strength  of  arm  was 
such  that  few  men  could  lift  his  maquahitil,  or  sword  of  the  Mexican  type, 
from  the  ground.  Montezuma,  too  proud  to  use  such  an  inglorious  triumph, 
or  perhaps  moved  by  a  sincere  admiration  of  the  terrible  and  dignified  war- 
rior, offered  him  his  liberty,  either  to  return  to  Tlascala  or  to  accept  high 
office  in  Mexico.  But  the  honor  of  the  chief  was  at  stake,  as  he  understood 
it;  and  not  even  a  favor  would  he  accept  from  the  hated  Mexican;  the  death, 
the  death  !  he  said,  and,  if  you  dare,  by  battle  on  the  gladiatorial  stone. 
So  they  tied  him  (by  the  foot,  says  Clavigero)  upon  the  temalacatl,  armed 
with  a  great  staff  only,  and  chose  out  champions  to  kill  him  from  the  most 
renowned  of  the  warriors;  but  the  grim  Tlascaltec  dashed  out  the  brains  of 
eight  with  his  club,  and  hurt  twenty  more,  before  he  fell,  dying  like  himself. 
They  tore  out  his  heart,  as  of  wont,  and  a  costlier  heart  to  Mexico  never 
smoked  before  the  sun. 


416          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

often  far  into  strange  countries  to  buy  or  sell — had 
various  deities  to  whom  they  did  especial  honor. 
Among  these  the  chief,  and  often  the  only  one  men- 
tioned, was  the  god  Yiacatecutli,  or  Jacateuctli,  or 
lyacatecuhtli,  that  is,  'the  lord  that  guides,'  otherwise 
called  Yacacoliuhqui,  or  Jacacoliuhqui.70  This  chief 
god  of  the  merchants  had,  however,  according  to 
Sahagun,  five  brothers  and  a  sister,  also  reverenced 
by  traders,  the  sister  being  called  Chalmecacioatl,  and 
the  brothers  respectively  Chiconquiavitl,  Xomocuil, 
Nacxitl,  Cochimetl,  and  Yacapitzaoac.  The  principal 
image  of  this  god  was  a  figure  representing  a  man 
walking  along  a  road  with  a  staff;  the  face  black  and 
white;  the  hair  tied  up  in  a  bundle  on  the  middle  of 
the  top  of  the  head  with  two  tassels  of  rich  quetzal- 
feathers;  the  ear-rings  of  gold;  the  mantle  blue,  bor- 
dered with  a  flowered  fringe,  and  covered  with  a  red 
net,  through  whose  meshes  the  blue  appeared;  round 
the  ankles  leather  straps,  from  which  hung  marine 
shells;  curiously  wrought  sandals  on  the  feet;  and  on 
the  arm  a  plain  unornaniented  yellow  shield,  with  a 
spot  of  light  blue  in  the  centre  of  its  field.  Practi- 
cally, however,  every  merchant  reverenced  his  own 
stout  staff — generally  made  of  a  solid,  knotless  piece 
of  black  cane,  called  utatl — as  the  representative  or 
symbol  of  this  god  Yiacatecutli ;  keeping  it,  when  not 
in  use,  in  the  oratory  or  sacred  place  in  his  house,  and 
invariably  putting  food  before  it  preliminary  to  eating 
his  own  meal.  When  travelling,  the  traders  were 
accustomed  nightly  to  stack  up  their  staves  in  a  con- 
venient position,  bind  them  about,  build  a  fire  before 
them,71  and  then  offering  blood  and  copal,  pray  for 
preservation  and  shelter  from  the  many  perils  to 

70  This  last  name  means,  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  57,  being 
followed,  '  the  hook-nosed; '  and  it  is  curious  enough  that  this  type  of  face, 
so  generally  connected  with  the  Hebrew  race,  and  through  them  with  partic- 
ular astuteness  in  trade,  should  be  the  characteristic  of  the  Mexican  god  of 
trade.    '  Los  mercaderes  tuvieron  Dios  particular,  al  qual  llamaron  lyacate- 
cuhtli, y  por  otro  iiombre  se  llamo  Yacacoliuhqui,  que  quiere  decir:  El  que 
tiene  la  nariz  aguilena,  que  propriamente  representa  persona  que  tiene  vive9a, 
<)  habilidad,  para  mofar  graciosamente,  6  engafiar,  y  es  sabio,  y  sagaz  (que  es 
propia  oondicion  de  mercaderes).' 

71  Without  laying  any  particular  stress  on  this  lighting  a  fire  before  Yiaca- 


NAPATECUTLI.  417 

which    their   wandering    life    made   them    especially 
subject.72 

Napatecutli,  that  is  to  say, f  four  times  lord/  was  the 
god  of  the  mat-makers  and  of  all  workers  in  water  - 
flags  and  rushes.  A  beneficent  and  helpful  divinity, 
and  one  of  the  Tlalocs,  he  was  known  by  various 
names,  such  as  Tepahpaca  Teaaltati,  'the  purifier  or 
washer;'  Quitzetzelohua,  or  Tlaitlanililoni,  'he  that 
scatters  or  winnows  down;'  Tlanempopoloa,  'he  that 
is  large  and  liberal;'  Teatzelhuia,  'he  that  sprinkles 
with  water;'  and  Amotenenqua,  'he  that  shows  him- 
self grateful/  This  god  had  two  temples  in  Mexico, 
and  his  festival  fell  in  the  thirteenth  month,  by  Clavi- 
gero's  reckoning.  His  image  resembled  a  black  man, 
the  face  being  spotted  with  white  and  black,  with  tas- 
sels hanging  down  behind  supporting  a  green  plume 
of  three  feathers.  .Round  the  loins  and  reaching  to  the 
knees  was  girt  a  kind  of  white  and  black  skirt  or  pet- 
ticoat, adorned  with  little  sea-shells.  The  sandals  of 

tecutli — perhaps  here  necessary  as  a  camp-fire,  and  probably,  at  any  rate,  a 
thing  done  before  many  other  gods — it  may  be  noticed  that  the  fire-god 
seenis  to  be  particularly  connected  with  the  merchant-god,  and  indeed  with 
the  merchants  themselves.  Describing  a  certain  coming  down  or  arrival  of 
the  gods  among  men,  believed  to  take  place  in  the  twelfth  Mexican  month, 
Sahagun — after  describing  the  coming,  first  of  Tezcatlipoca,  who,  '  being  a 
youth,  and  light  and  strong,  walked  fastest,'  and  then  the  coming  of  all 
the  rest  (their  arrival  being  known  to  the  priests  by  the  marks  of  their  feet 
on  a  little  heap  of  maize  flour,  specially  prepared  for  the  purpose) — says  that 
a  day  after  all  the  rest  of  the  gods  came  the  god  of  fire  and  the  god  of  the 
merchants,  together;  they  being  old  and  unable  to  walk  as  fast  as  their 
younger  divine  brethren.  '  El  dia  siguiente  llegaba  el  dios  de  los  Mercaderes 
llamado  Yiaiacapitzaoac,  6  Yiacatecutli,  y  otro  Dios  llamado  Hiscocauzqui 
(Yxcocauhqui),  6  Xiveteuctli  {Yiuhtecutli),  que  £3  el  Dios  del  fuego  a  quien 
los  mercaderes  tienen  grande  devocion.  Estos  dos  llegaban  £  la  postre  un 
dia  despues  de  los  otros,  porque  decian  que  eran  viejos  y  no  andaban  tanto 
como  los  otros.'  Kingsborough  8  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  71,  or  Sa/iagun,  Hist. 
Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  p.  158.  See  also,  for  the  connection  of  the  fire-god 
Xiuhtecutli  with  business,  this  vol.,  p.  226;  and  for  the  high  position  of  the 
merchants  themselves  besides  Tezcatlipoca,  see  this  vol. ,  p.  228. 

72 Kinysborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  14-16;  Sa/iagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn, 
i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  29-33;  Clavijero,  Storm  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  20.  The 
iNahuihehecatli,  or  Nauiehecatl,  mentioned  by  the  interpreters  of  the  codices 
as  a  god  honored  by  the  merchants,  is  either  some  air-god  like  Quetzalcoatl, 
or,  as  Sahagun  gives  it,  merely  the  name  of  a  sign.  See  Spiegazione  delle  Ta- 
vole  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano),  tav.  xxvii.,  in  Kingsboroug/is  Mex.  Antiq., 
vol.  v.,  p.  179;  also,  pp.  139^0;  Exphcaaon  del  Codex  Telleriano-Remensis, 
lam.  xii.;  also,  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i,  lib.  iv.,  pp.  304-5,  and  Kings- 
borough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  135-6. 
VOL.  HI.  27 


418          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP 

this  idol  were  white;  on  its  left  arm  was  a  shield 
made  like  the  broad  leaf  of  the  water-lily,  or  nenu- 
phar; while  the  right  hand  held  a  sceptre  like  a  flow- 
ering staff,  the  flowers  being  of  paper ;  and  across  the 
body,  passing  under  the  left  arm,  was  a  white  scarf. 
painted  over  with  black  flowers.73 

The  Mexicans  had  several  gods  of  wine,  or  rather 
of  pulque ;  of  these  the  chief  seems  to  have  been  Tez- 
catzoncatl,  otherwise  known  as  Tequechmecaniani,  'the 
strangler/  and  as  Teatlahuiani,  'the  drowner' — epithets 
suggested  by  the  effects  of  drunkenness.  The  com- 
panion deities  of  this  Aztec  Dionysus  were  called  as  a 
class  by  the  somewhat  extraordinary  name  of  Cent- 
zontotochtin,  or  'the  four  hundred  rabbits;'  Yiaula- 
tecatl,  Yzquitecatl,  Acoloa,  Thilhoa,  Pantecatl  (the 
Patecatl  of  the  interpreters  of  the  codices),  Tultecatl, 
Papaztac,  Tlaltecaiooa,  Ometochtli  (often  referred 
to  as  the  principal  god  of  wine),  Tepuztecatl,  Chi- 
mapalnecatl  were  deities  of  this  class.  The  principal 
characteristic  of  the  image  of  the  Mexican  god  of 
drunkenness  was,  according  to  Mendieta  and  Moto- 
linia,  a  kind  of  vessel  carried  on  the  head  of  the  idol, 
into  which  vessel  wine  was  ceremoniously  poured. 
The  feast  of  this  god,  like  that  of  the  preceding  divin- 
ity, fell  in  the  thirteenth  month,  Tepeilhuitl,  and  in 
his  temple  in  the  city  of  Mexico  there  served  four  hun- 
dred consecrated  priests,  so  great  was  the  service  done 
this  everywhere  too  widely  and  well-known  god.74 

73  Kingsborough's M ex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  16-17;  Sahagun,  Hint.  Gen.,  torn, 
i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  33-5;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  59-60;  Clavigero, 
/Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  22. 

74 Kinysborouyh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  7,  19,  90,  93;  Sahagun,  Hist. 
Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  14,  39-40,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  200,  205;  Torquemada,  Monarq. 
Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  58,  152,  184,  416;  Spieyazione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano 
(Vaticano),  tav.  xxxv.,  and  Explication  del  Codex  Tellcriano-Remenxis,  lam. 
xvi.,  in  Kingsborouytis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  141,  182;  Gallatin,  in  Ainer.. 
Ethno.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  p.  344,  350;  Gomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  87,  315; 
Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  21.  'Otros  teiiian  figuras  tie 
hombres;  tenian  estos  en  la  cabeza  un  mortero  en  lugar  de  mitra,  y  alii  les 
echaban  vino,  por  ser  el  dios  del  vino. '  Motollnia,  Hist.  Indios,  in  Icazbalcela, 
Col.  de  Doc.,  torn,  i.,  p.  33.  'Otros  conun  mortero  en  la  cabeza,  y este  parece 
que  eja  el  dios  del  vino,  y  asi  le  echaban  vino  en  aquel  como  mortero.  Men- 
dieta, Hist.  Ecles.,  p.  88.  '  Papaztla,  6  Papaztac Este  era  uno  de  los  tres 

pueblos  de  donde  se  sacaban  los  esclavos  para  el  sacrificio  que  se  hacia  de 
dia,  al  idolo  Centzentotochtin,  Dios  del  vino  en  el  mes  nombrado  Hueipachtli,  6 
tepeilkuitl  en  su  templo  propio  que  es  el  cuadragesimo  cuarto  edificio  de  los 


THE  HOUSEHOLD  GODS.  419 

The  Mexicans  had  certain  household  gods  called 
Tepitoton,  or  Tepictoton,  'the  little  ones' — small  stat- 
ues of  which  kings  kept  six  in  their  houses,  nobles  four, 
and  common  folks  two.  Whether  these  were  a  par- 
ticular class  of  deities  or  merely  miniature  images  of 
the  already  described  greater  gods,  it  is  hard  to  say. 
Similar  small  idols  are  said  to  have  adorned  streets, 
cross-roads,  fountains,  and  other  places  of  public  traf- 
fic and  resort.75 

With  these  Tepitoton  may  be  said  to  finish  the  list 
of  Mexican  gods  of  any  repute  or  any  general  noto- 
riety ;  so  that  it  seems  fit  to  give  here  a  condensed  and 
arranged  resume  of  all  the  fixed  festivals  and  celebra- 
tions of  the  Aztec  calendar,  with  its  eighteen  months 
of  twenty  days  each,  and  its  five  supplementary  days 
at  the  end  of  the  year.  There  is  some  disagreement 
as  to  which  of  the  months  the  year  began  with ;  but 
it  will  best  suit  our  present  purpose  to  follow  the  ar- 
rangement of  Sahagun,  the  interpreters  of  the  Codices, 
Torquemada,  and  Clavigero,  in  which  the  month  vari- 
ously called  Atlcahualco,  or  Quahuitlehua,  or  Cihu- 
ailhuitl,  or  Xilomanaliztli,  is  the  first.76  The  name 
Atlchualco,  or  Atlaooalo,  or  Atalcaoplo,  means  'the 

que  se  contenian  en  la  area  del  mayor,  como  dice  el  Dr  Hernandez:  ^Tern- 
plum  erat  dicatum  vini  deo,  in  cujus  honorem  tres  captives  interdiu  tamen, 
et  nonnoctu  jugulabant,  quorum  primum  Tepuztecatl  nuncupabant  secundum 
toltecatl,  tertium  vero  Papaztac  quod  fiebat  quotanni  circa  festum  Tepeil- 
huiltl."  Apud  P.  Nieremberg,  pag.  144.'  Leon  y  Gama,  Dos  Piedras,  pt.  ii., 
p.  35.  '  Les  buveurs  et  les  ivrognes  avaient  cependant,  parmi  les  Azteques, 
plusieurs  divinites  parti  culieres :  la  principale  etait  Izquitecatl;  mais  le  plus 
connu  devaite  tre  Tezcatzoncatl,  appele  aussi  Tequechmecaniani,  ou  le  Pen- 
deur.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  493. 

75  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  64;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del 
Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  23.  These  were  what  the  Spaniards  called  'oratorios' 
in  the  houses  of  the  Mexicans.  In  or  before  these  oratories  the  people  offered 
cooked  food  to  such  images  of  the  gods  as  they  had  there.  Every  morning 
the  good  wife  of  the  house  woke  up  the  members  of  her  family  and  took 
care  thai*  they  made  the  proper  offering,  as  above,  to  these  deities.  Kings- 
borough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  95;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii., 
ap.  p.  211. 

™It  is  obviously  of  little  consequence  to  mythology  whether  the  Mexi- 
cans called  the  month  Atlcahualco  the  first  or  the  third  month  (or,  as 
Boturini  has  it,  the  eighteenth),  so  long  as  we  know,  with  some  accuracy, 
to  what  month  and  day  of  the  month  it  corresponds  in  our  own  Gregorian 
calendar.  For  the  complete  discussion  of  this  question  of  the  calendar, 
we  refer  readers  to  the  preceding  volume  of  this  series.  Gama  was  unfor- 
tunately unacquainted  with  the  writings  of  Sahagun,  and  Bustamante  (who 


420          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEING  3,  AND   WORSHIP. 

buying  or  scarcity  of  water;'  Quahuitlehua,  or  Quavit- 
leloa,  'the  sprouting  of  trees;'  and  Xiloinanaliztli,  'the 
offering  of  Xilotl/  that  is,  heads  of  maize,  which  were 
then  presented  to  the  gods  to  secure  their  blessing  on 
the  seed-time.  This  first  month,  beginning  on  the  sec- 
ond of  February  according  to  Sahagun,  the  eighteenth 
according  to  Gama,  and  the  twenty-sixth  according  to 
Clavigero,  was  consecrated  to  Tlaloc  and  the  other 
gods  of  water,  and  in  it  great  numbers  of  children  were 
sacrificed.77  In  further  honor  of  the  Tlalocs,  there 
were  also  at  this  time  killed  many  captives  on  the 
gladiatorial  stone. 

It  was  the  second  month,  called  Tlacaxiphualiztli/8 
or  'the  flaying  of  men/  that  was  especially  famous  for 
its  gladiatorial  sacrifices — sacrifices  already  described 
and  performed  to  the  honor  of  Xipe,  or  Xipetotec." 

The  third  month,  called  Tozoztontli,  'the  lesser  fast 
or  penance/  was  inaugurated  by  the  sacrifice  on  the 
mountains  of  children  to  the  Tlalocs.  Those  also  that 
traded  in  flowers  and  were  called  Sochimanque,  or  Xo- 
chimanqui,  made  a  festival  to  their  goddess,  Coatlycue, 
or  Coatlantona,  offering  her  the  first-fruits  of  the  flowers 
of  the  year,  of  these  that  had  grown  in  the  precincts 

edited  the  works  both  of  Gama  and  Sahagun)  remarks  in  a  note  to  the 
writings  of  the  astronomer:  '  Muchas  veces  he  deplorado,  que  el  sabio  Sr  D. 
Antonio  Leon  y  Gama  no  hubiese  tenido  a  la  vista  para  f  ormar  esta  preciosa 
obra  los  manuscritos  del  P;  Sahagun,  que  he  publicado  en  los  afios  de  1829 
y  30  en  la  oficina  de  D.  Alejandro  Valdes,  y  solo  hubiese  leido  la  obra  del  P. 
Torquemada,  discipulo  de  D.  Antonio  Valeriano,  que  lo  fue  de  dicho  P.  Sa- 
hagun; pues  la  lectura  del  texto  de  este,  que  acaso  truncd,  6  no  eiitendid 
bien  podrian  haberle  dejado  dudas  en  hechos  muy  interesantes  a  esta  his- 
toria.'  See  Leon  y  Gama,  Dos  Piedras,  pt.  i.,  pp.  45-89;  Kingsborougtis 
Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  20-34,  or  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp. 
49-76;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  251-86;  Acosta,  Hist,  de 
las  Ynd.,  p.  397;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  58-84; 
Explication  del  Codex  Telleriano-Remensis,  pt.  i.,  and  Spiegazione  detle  Tavok 
del  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano),  tav.  Ivii.-lxxiv.,  in  Kingsborough 's  Mex.  Antiq., 
vol.  v.,  pp.  129-34,  190-7;  Boturini,  Idea  de  Una  Hist.,  pp.  47-53;  Gomara, 
Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  294;  Muller,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  pp.  646-8;  Brasseur 
de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  502-37;  Gallatin,  in  Amer.  Ethno. 
Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  57-114. 

"See  this  vol.,  pp.  332-4. 

78 It  is  also  surnamed  Cohuailhuitl,  ' feast  of  the  snake.'    See  above. 

79  There  seems  to  be  some  confusion  with  regard  to  whether  or  not  there 
were  gladiatorial  sacrifices  in  each  of  the  first  two  months.  Sahagun,  how- 
ever, appears  to  describe  sacrifices  of  this  kind  as  occurring  in  both  periods; 
those  of  the  first  month  being  in  honor  of  the  Tlalocs,  and  those  of  the  second 
in  honor  of  Xipe.  For  a  description  of  these  rites,  see  this  vol.,  pp.  414-15. 


THE  CEREMONIAL  CALENDAR.  421 

of  the  cu  yapico,  a  cu,  as  we  have  seen,  consecrated  to 
Tlaloc.  Into  a  cave  belonging  to  this  temple  there 
were  also  at  this  time  cast  the  now  rotten  skins  of  the 
human  beings  that  had  been  flayed  in  the  preceding 
month.  Thither,  "  stinking  like  dead  dogs,"  as  Saha- 
gun  phrases  it,  marched  in  procession  the  persons  that 
wore  these  skins,  and  there  they  put  them  off,  wash- 
ing themselves  with  many  ceremonies;  and  sick  folk 
troubled  with  certain  skin  diseases  followed  and  looked 
on,  hoping  by  the  sight  of  all  these  things  to  be  healed 
of  their  infirmities.  The  owners  of  the  captives  that 
had  been  slain  had  also  been  doing  penance  for  twenty 
days,  neither  washing  nor  bathing  during  that  time ; 
and  they  now,  when  they  had  seen  the  skins  deposited 
in  the  cave,  washed  and  gave  a  banquet  to  all  their 
friends  and  relatives,  performing  many  ceremonies  with 
the  bones  of  the  dead  captives.  All  the  twenty  days 
of  this  month  singing  exercises,  praising  the  god,  were 
carried  on  in  the  houses  called  Cuicacalli,  the  per- 
formers not  dancing,  but  remaining  seated. 

The  fourth  month  was  called,  in  contradistinction 
to  the  third,  Veitozoztli,  or  Hueytozoztli,  that  is  to 
say,  'the  greater  penance  or  letting  of  blood;'  be- 
cause in  it  not  only  the  priests  but  also  the  populace 
and  nobility  did  penance,  drawing  blood  from  their 
ears,  shins,  and  other  parts  of  the  body,  and  exposing 
at  their  doors  leaves  of  sword  grass  stained  therewith. 
After  this  they  performed  certain  already  described 
ceremonies,80  and  then  made,  out  of  the  dough  known 
as  tzoalli,81  an  image  of  the  goddess  Chicomecoatl,  in 
the  court-yard  of  her  temple,  offering  before  it  all 
kinds  of  maize,  beans,  and  chian,  because  she  was  the 
maker  and  giver  of  these  things  and  the  sustainer  of 
the  people.  In  this  month,  as  well  as  in  the  three 
preceding,  little  children  were  sacrificed — a  cruelty 
which  was  supposed  to  please  the  water-gods,  and  which 
was  kept  up  till  the  rains  began  to  fall  abundantly, 

80 See  this  vol.,  pp.  360-2. 

81 '  Le  Tzohualh  etait  un  compose"  de  graines  legnmineuses  particulieres  an 
Mexique,  qu'on  mangeait  de  diverges  manieres.'  Brasseur  de  Eourbourg,  Hist. 
Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  513. 


422          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

The  fifth  month,  called  Toxcatl  and  sometimes  Tepo- 
pochuiliztli,82  was  begun  by  the  most  solemn  and  famous 
feast  of  the  year,  in  honor  of  the  principal  Mexican  god, 
a  god  known  by  a  multitude  of  names  and  epithets, 
among  which  were  Tezcatlipoca,  Titlacaoan,  Yautl,  Tel- 
puchtli,  and  Tlamatzincatl.  A  year  before  this  feast, 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  captives  reserved 
for  sacrifice  was  chosen  out  for  superior  grace  and  per- 
sonal appearance  from  among  all  his  fellows,  and  given 
in  charge  to  the  priestly  functionaries  called  calpixques. 
These  instructed  him  with  great  diligence  in  all  the  arts 
pertaining  to  good  breeding,  according  to  the  Mexican 
idea;  such  as  playing  on  the  flute,  walking,  speaking, 
saluting  those  he  happened  to  meet,  the  use  and  carry- 
ing about  of  straight  cane  tobacco-pipes  and  of  flowers, 
with  the  dexterous  smoking  of  the  one,  and  the  grace- 
ful inhalation  of  the  odor  of  the  other.  He  was  at- 
tended upon  by  eight  pages,  who  were  clad  in  the  livery 
of  the  palace,  and  had  perfect  liberty  to  go  where  he 
pleased  night  and  day;  while  his  food  was  so  rich  that 
to  guard  against  his  growing  too  fat,  it  was  at  times 
necessary  to  vary  the  diet  by  a  purge  of  salt  and  water. 
Everywhere  honored  and  adored  as  the  living  image 
and  accredited  representative  of  Tezcatlipoca,  he  went 
about  playing  on  a  small  shrill  clay  flute,  or  fife,  and 
adorned  with  rich  and  curious  raiment  furnished  by 
the  king,  while  all  he  met  did  him  reverence  kissing 
the  earth.  All  his  body  and  face  was  painted — black, 
it  would  appear;  his  long  hair  flowed  to  the  waist;  his 
head  was  covered  with  white  hens'  feathers  stuck  on 
with  resin,  and  covered  with  a  garland  of  the  flowers 
called  yzquisuchitl ;  while  two  strings  of  the  same  flow- 
ers crossed  his  body  in  the  fashion  of  cross-belts. 
Ear-rings  of  gold,  a  necklace  of  precious  stones  with  a 

82 The  name  Tepopochuiliztli  signifies  'smoke  or  vapor.'  As  to  the 
meaning  of  Toxcatl,  writers  are  divided,  Boturini  interpreting  it  to  mean 
'effort, 'and  Torquemada,  'a  slippery  place.'  Acosta,  Sahagun,  and  Gama 
agree,  however,  in  accepting  it  as  an  epithet  applied  to  a  string  of  parched  or 
toasted  maize  used  in  ceremonies  to  be  immediately  described,  and  Acosta 
further  gives  as  its  root  signification  '  a  dried  thing. '  Consult,  in  addition  to 
the  references  given  in  the  note  at  the  beginning  of  these  descriptions  of  the 
feasts,  Acosta,  Hist,  de  las  Ynd.,  p.  383;  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii., 
pp.  45-9;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii..  pp.' 100-11. 


THE  MONTH  TOXCATL.  423 

great  dependent  gem  hanging  to  the  breast,  a  lip-orna- 
ment (barbote)  of  sea-shell,  bracelets  of  gold  above  the 
elbow  on  each  arm,  and  strings  of  gems  called  macuex- 
tli  winding  from  wrist  almost  to  elbow,  glittered  and 
flashed  back  the  light  as  the  doomed  man-god  moved. 
He  was  covered  with  a  rich  beautifully  fringed  mantle 
of  netting,  and  bore  on  his  shoulders  something  like 
a  purse  made  of  white  cloth  of  a  span  square,  orna- 
mented with  tassels  and  fringe.  A  white  maxtli  of 
a  span  broad  went  about  his  loins,  the  two  ends,  curi- 
ously wrought,  falling  in  front  almost  to  the  knee. 
Little  bells  of  gold  kept  time  with  every  motion  of 
his  feet,  which  were  shod  with  painted  sandals  called 
ocelunacace. 

All  this  was  the  attire  he  wore  from  the  beginning 
of  his  year  of  preparation ;  but  twenty  days  before  the 
coming  of  the  festival,  they  changed  his  vestments, 
washed  away  the  paint  or  dye  from  his  skin,  and  cut 
down  his  long  hair  to  the  length,  and  arranged  it  after 
the  fashion,  of  the  hair  of  the  captains,  tying  it  up  on 
the  crown  of  the  head  with  feathers  and  fringe  and 
two  gold-buttoned  tassels.  At  the  same  time  they 
married  to  him  four  damsels,  who  had  been  pampered 
and  educated  for  this  purpose,  and  who  were  surnamed 
respectively  after  the  four  goddesses  Xochiquetzal, 
Xilonen,  Atlatonan,  and  Vixtocioatl.83  Five  days  be- 
fore the  great  day  of  the  feast,84  the  day  of  the  feast 

83  With  three  of  these  goddesses  we  are  tolerably  familiar,  knowing  them 
to  be  intimately  connected  with  each  other  and  concerned  in  the  production, 
preservation,  or  support  of  life  and  of  life-giving  food.     Of  Atlatonan  little  is 
known,  but  she  seems  to  belong  to  the  same  class,  being  generally  mentioned 
in  connection  with  Cinteotl.     Her  name  means,  according  to  Torquemada, 
'  she  that  shines  in  the  water.'     '  Otra  Capilla,  6  Templo  avia,  que  se  llamaba 
Xiuhcalco,  dedicado  al  Dios  Cinteutl,  en  cuia  fiesta  sacrificaban  dos  Varones 
Esclavos,  y  una  Muger,  a  los  quales  ponian  el  nombre  de  su  Dios.     Al  vno 
llamaban  Iztaccinteutl,  Dios  Tlatlauhquicinteutl,  Dios  de  las  Mieses  encen- 
didas,  6  coloradas;  y  a  la  Muger  Atlantona,  que  quiere  decir,  que  resplan- 
dece  en  el  Agua,  a  la  qual  desollaban,  cuio  pellejo,   y  cuero,  se  vestia  vn 
Sacerdote,  luego  que  acababa  el  Sacrificio,  que  era  de  noche.'    Torquemada, 
Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  155;  see  also  Kinysborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii., 
p.  94;  or  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  ap.  p.  209. 

84  Acosta,  Hist,  de  las  Ynd. ,  pp.  382-3,  gives  an  account  of  various  other 
ceremonies  which  took  place  ten  days  before  the  great  feast-day,  which  ac- 
count has  been  followed  by  Torquemada,  Clavigero,  and  later  writers,  and 
which  we  reproduce  from  the  quaint  but  in  this  case  at  least  full  and  accurate 
translation  of  E.  G. — a  translation  which,  however,  makes  this  chapter  the 


424  GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

being  counted  one,  all  the  people,  high  and  low,  the 
king  it  would  appear,  being  alone  excepted,  went  out 
to  celebrate  with  the  man-god  a  solemn  banquet  and 
dance,  in  the  ward  called  Tecanman;  the  fourth  day 
before  the  feast,  the  same  was  done  in  the  ward  in 
which  was  guarded  the  statue  of  Tezcatlipoca.  The 
little  hill,  or  island,  called  Tepetzinco,  rising  out  of 
the  waters  of  the  lake  of  Mexico,  was  the  scene  of  the 
next  day's  solemnities — solemnities  renewed  for  the  last 
time  on  the  next  day,  or  that  immediately  preceding 
the  great  day,  on  another  like  island  called  Tepelpulco, 
or  Tepepulco.  There,  with  the  four  women  that  had 
been  given  him  for  his  consolation,  the  honored  victim 
was  put  into  a  covered  canoe  usually  reserved  for  the 
sole  use  of  the  king;  and  he  was  carried  across  the 
lake  to  a  place  called  Tlapitzaoayan,  near  the  road 
that  goes  from  Yztapalapan  to  Chalco,  at  a  place 
where  was  a  little  hill  called  Acacuilpan,  or  Cabalte- 
pec.  Here  left  him  the  four  beautiful  girls,  whose 
society  for  twenty  days  he  had  enjoyed,  they  return- 
ing to  the  capital  with  all  the  people;  there  accom- 
panying the  hero  of  this  terrible  tragedy  only  those 

29th  of  the  fifth  book  instead  of  the  28th,  as  in  the  original:  '  Then  came  forth 
one  of  the  chiefe  of  the  temple,  attired  like  to  the  idoll,  carrying  flowers  in 
his  hand,  and  a  flute  of  earth,  having  a  very  sharpe  sound,  and  turning  to- 
wards the  east,  he  sounded  it,  and  then  looking  to  the  west,  north,  and  south, 
he  did  the  like.  And  after  he  had  thus  sounded  towards  the  foure  parts  of 
the  world  (shewing  that  both  they  that  were  present  and  absent  did  heare 
him)  hee  put  his  finger  into  the  aire,  and  then  gathered  vp  earth,  which  he  put 
in  his  mouth,  and  did  eate  it  in  signe  of  adoration.  The  like  did  all  they  that 
were  present,  and  weeping,  they  fell  flat  to  the  ground,  invocating  the  dark- 
nesse  of  the  night,  and  the  windes,  intreating  them  not  to  leave  them,  nor  to 
forget  them,  or  else  to  take  away  their  lives,  and  free  them  from  the  labors 
they  indured  therein.  Theeves,  adulterers,  and  murtherers,  and  all  others 
offenders  had  great  feare  and  heavinesse,  whilest  this  flute  sounded;  so  as 
some  could  not  dissemble  nor  hide  their  offences.  By  this  meanes  they  all 
demanded  no  other  thing  of  their  god,  but  to  have  their  offences  concealed, 
powring  foorth  many  teares,  with  great  repentauiice  and  sorrow,  offering  great 
store  of  incense  to  appease  their  gods.  The  couragious  and  valiant  men, 
and  all  the  olde  souldiers,  that  followed  the  Arte  of  Warre,  hearing  this  flute, 
demaunded  with  great  devotion  of  God  the  Creator,  of  the  Lorde  for  whome 
wee  live,  of  the  sunne,  and  of  other  their  gods,  that  they  would  give  them 
victorie  against  their  ennemies,  and  strength  to  take  many  captives,  therewith 
so  honour  their  sacrifices.  This  ceremonie  was  doone  ten  dayes  before  the 
feast:  During  which  tenne  dayes  the  Priest  did  sound  this  flute,  to  the  end 
that  all  might  do  this  worship  in  eating  of  earth,  and  demauiid  of  their  idol 
what  they  pleased;  they  every  day  made  their  praiers,  with  their  eyes  lift  vp 
to  heaven,  and  with  sighs  and  groanings,  as  men  that  were  grieved  for  their 
sinnes  and  offences,' 


THE  FEAST  OF  TOXCATL.  425 


eight  attendants  that  had  been  with  him  all  the 
Almost  alone,  done  with  the  joys  of  beauty,  banquet, 
and  dance,  bearing  a  bundle  of  his  flutes,  he  walked  to 
a  little  ill-built  cu,  some  distance  from  the  road  men- 
tioned above,  and  about  a  league  removed  from  the  city. 
He  marched  up  the  temple  steps,  not  dragged,  not 
bound,  not  carried  like  a  common  slave  or  captive;  and 
as  he  ascended  he  dashed  down  and  broke  on  every 
step  one  of  the  flutes  that  he  had  been  accustomed  to 
play  on  in  the  days  of  his  prosperity.  He  reached  the 
top  :  by  sickening  repetition  we  have  learned  to  know 
the  rest;  one  thing  only,  from  the  sacrificial  stone  his 
body  was  not  hurled  down  the  steps,  but  was  carried 
by  four  men  down  to  the  Tzompantli,  to  the  place  of 
the  spitting  of  heads. 

And  the  chroniclers  say  that  all  this  signified  that 
those  who  enjoyed  riches,  delights  in  this  life,  should 
at  the  end  come  to  poverty  and  sorrow  —  so  determined 
are  these  same  chroniclers  to  let  nothing  escape  with- 
out its  moral. 

In  this  feast  of  Toxcatl,  in  the  cu  called  Huitzna- 
huac,  where  the  image  of  Huitzilopochtli  was  always 
kept,  the  priests  made  a  bust  of  this  god  out  of  tzoalli 
dough,  with  pieces  of  mizquitl-wood  inserted  by  way  of 
bones.  They  decorated  it  with  his  ornaments,  putting 
on  a  jacket  wrought  over  with  human  bones,  a  mantle 
of  very  thin  nequen,  and  another  mantle  called  the 
tlaquaquallo,  covered  with  rich  feathers,  fitting  the 
head  below  and  widening  out  above  ;  in  the  middle  of 
this  stood  up  a  little  rod,  also  decorated  with  feathers, 
and  sticking  into  the  top  of  the  rod  was  a  flint  knife 
half  covered  with  blood.  The  image  was  set  on  a 
platform  made  of  pieces  of  wood  resembling  snakes, 
and  so  arranged  that  heads  and  tails  alternated  all  the 
way  round  ;  the  whole  borne  by  many  captains  and 
men  of  war.  Before  this  image  and  platform  a  num- 
ber of  strong  youths  carried  an  enormous  sheet  of 
paper  resembling  pasteboard,  twenty  fathoms  long, 
one  fathom  broad,  and  a  little  less  than  an  inch  thick; 
it  was  supported  by  spear-shafts  arranged  in  pairs  of 


426          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

one  shaft  above  and  one  below  the  paper,  while  per- 
sons on  either  side  of  the  paper  held  each  one  of  these 
pairs  in  one  hand.     When  the  procession,  with  danc- 
ing and  singing,  reached  the  cu  to  be  ascended,  the 
snaky  platform  was  carefully  and  cautiously  hoisted 
up  by  cords  attached  to  its  four  corners,  the  image 
was  set  on  a  seat,  and  those  that  carried  the  paper 
rolled  it  up  and  set  down  the  roll  before  the  bust  of 
the  god.     It  was  sunset  when  the  image  was  so  set 
up;  and  the  following  morning  every  one  offered  food 
in  his  own  house  before  the  image  of  Huitzilopochtli 
there,  incensing  also  such  images  of  other  gods  as  he 
had,  and  then  went  to  offer  quails'  blood  before  the 
bust  set  up  on  the  cu.     The  king  began,  wringing  off 
the  heads  of  four  quails;  the  priests  offered  next,  then 
all  the  people;  the  whole  multitude  carrying  clay  fire- 
pans and  burning  copal  incense  of  every  kind,  after 
which  every  one  threw  his  live  coals  upon  a  great 
hearth  in  the  temple-yard.     The  virgins  painted  their 
faces,  put  on  their  heads  garlands  of  parched  maize 
with  strings  of  the  same  across  their  breasts,  deco- 
rated their  arms  and  legs  with  red  feathers,  and  car- 
ried black  paper  flags  stuck  into  split  canes.     The 
flags  of  the  daughters  of  nobles  were  not  of  paper,  but 
of  a  thin  cloth  called  canaoac,  painted  with  vertical 
black  stripes.     These  girls  joining  hands  danced  round 
the  great  hearth,  upon  or  over  which  on  an  elevated 
place  of  some  kind  there  danced,  giving  the  time  and, 
step,  two  men  having  each  a  kind  of  pine  cage  cov- 
ered with  paper  flags  on  his  shoulders,  the  strap  sup- 
porting which  passed,  not  across  the  forehead — the 
usual  way  for  men  to  carry  a  burden — but  across  the 
chest,  as  was  the  fashion  with  women.     The  priests  of 
the  temple,  dancing  on  this  occasion  with  the  women, 
bore  shields  of  paper,  crumpled  up  like  great  flowers; 
their  heads  were  adorned  with  white  feathers,  their 
lips  and  part  of  the  face  were  smeared  with  sugar-cane 
juice,  which  produced  a  peculiar  effect  over  the  black 
with  which  their  faces  were  always  painted.     They 
carried  in  their  hands  pieces  of  paper,  called  amas- 


DEATH  OF  THE  YXTEUCALLI.  427 

and  sceptres  of  palm-wood  tipped  with  a  black 
flower,  and  having  in  the  lower  part  a  ball  of  black 
feathers.  In  dancing  they  used  this  sceptre  like  a 
staff,  and  the  part  by  which  they  grasped  it  was 
wrapped  round  with  a  paper  painted  with  black  lines. 
The  music  for  the  dancers  was  supplied  by  a  party  of 
unseen  musicians,  who  occupied  one  of  the  temple 
buildings,  where  they  sat,  he  that  played  on  the 
drum  in  the  centre,  and  the  performers  on  the  other 
instruments  about  him.  The  men  and  women  danced 
on  till  night,  but  the  strictest  order  and  decency  were 
preserved,  and  any  lewd  word  or  look  brought  down 
swift  punishment  from  the  appointed  overseers. 

This  feast  was  closed  by  the  death  of  a  youth  who 
had  been  during  the  past  year  dedicated  to  and  taken 
care  of  for  Huitzilopochtli,  resembling  in  this  the  vic- 
tim of  Tezcatlipoca,  whose  companion  he  had  indeed 
been,  but  without  receiving  such  high  honors.  This 
Huitzilopochtli  youth  was  entitled  Yxteucalli,  or  Tla- 
cabepan,  or  Teicauhtzin,  and  was  held  to  be  the  image 
and  representative  of  the  god.  When  the  day  of  his 
death  came,  the  priests  decorated  him  with  papers 
painted  over  with  black  circles,  and  put  a  mitre  of 
eagles'  feathers  on  his  head,  in  the  midst  of  whose 
plumes  was  stuck  a  flint  knife,  stained  half-way  up 
with  blood  and  adorned  with  red  feathers.  Tied  to 
his  shoulders,  by  strings  passing  across  the  breast,  was 
a  piece  of  very  thin  cloth  about  a  span  square,  and 
over  it  hung  a  little  bag.  Over  one  of  his  arms  was 
thrown  a  wild  beast's  skin,  arranged  somewhat  like  a 
maniple;  bells  of  gold  jingled  at  his  legs  as  he  walked 
or  danced.  There  were  two  peculiar  things  connected 
with  the  death  of  this  youth :  first,  he  had  absolute 
liberty  of  choice  regarding  the  hour  in  which  he  was 
to  die;  and  second,  he  was  not  extended  upon  any 
block  or  altar,  but  when  he  wished  he  threw  himself 
into  the  arms  of  the  priests,  and  had  his  heart  so  cut 
out.  His  head  was  then  hacked  off  and  spitted  along- 
side of  that  of  the  Tezcatlipoca  youth,  of  whom  we 
have  spoken  already.  In  this  same  day  the  priests 


428          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

made  little  marks  on  children,  cutting  them,  with  thin 
stone  knives,  in  the  breast,  stomach,  wrists,  and  fleshy 
part  of  the  arms — marks,  as  the  Spanish  priests  con- 
sidered, by  which  the  devil  should  know  his  own 
sheep.85  The  ceremonies  of  the  ensuing  monthly  fes- 
tivals have  already  been  described  at  length.86 

There  were,  besides,  a  number  of  movable  feasts  in 
honor  of  the  higher  gods,  the  celestial  bodies,  and  the 
patron  deities  of  the  various  trades  and  professions. 
Sahagun  gives  an  account  of  sixteen  movable  feasts, 
many  of  which,  however,  contained  no  religious  ele- 
ment.87 The  first  was  dedicated  to  the  sun,  to  whom 
a  ghostly  deputation  of  eighteen  souls  was  sent  to 
make  known  the  wants  of  the  people,  and  implore 
future  favors.  The  selected  victims  were  ranged  in 
order  at  the  place  of  sacrifice,  and  addressed  by  the 
priest,  who  exhorted  them  to  bear  in  mind  the  sacred 
nature  of  their  mission,  and  the  glory  which  would  be 
theirs  upon  its  proper  fulfilment.  The  music  now 
strikes  up;  amid  the  crash  and  din  the  victims  one 
after  another  are  stretched  upon  the  altar;  a  few 
flashes  of  the  iztli-knife  in  the  practised  hand  of  the 
slayer,  and  the  embassy  has  set  out  for  the  presence 
of  the  sun.88 

The  sixth,  seventh,  and  eleventh  festivals  were  cele- 
brated to  Quetzalcoatl,  Tezcatlipoca,  and  Huitzilo- 
pochtli  respectively.  The  public  and  household  idols 
of  these  gods  were  at  such  seasons  decorated,  arid  pre- 
sented with  offerings  of  food,  quails,  and  incense. 
During  the  festival  of  the  god  of  fire,  the  thirteenth 
of  the  movable  feasts,  various  public  officials  were 
elected,  and  a  great  many  grand  banquets  given.  The 

85 Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  100-11;  Torquemada,  Monarq. 
Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  263-6;  Clavigero,  StoriaAnt.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  70-3. 

86  For   the   month   Etzalqualiztli,   see  this   volume,   pp.   334-43;   for  the 
months  Tecuilhuitzintli,  Hueytecuilhuitl,  and  Tlaxochimaco,  see  vol.  ii.  of 
this  work,  pp.  225-8;  for  Xocotlhuetzin  and  Ochpaniztli,  this  volume,  pp. 
385-9,  354-9;  forTeotleco,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  332-4;  f or  Tepeilhuitl,  Quecholli,  Pan- 
quetzaliztli,  and  Atemoztli,  this  volume,  pp.   343-6,  404-6,  297-300,  323-4, 
346-8;  for  Tititl,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  337-8;  for  Itzcalli,  this  volume,  pp.  390-3. 

87  Hist.   Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  194-7,  216.     There  are  other  scattered 
notices  of  these  movable  feasts,  which  will  be  referred  to  as  they  appear. 

88 Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apoloyttica,  MS.,  cap.  clxxvi. 


MISCELLANEOUS  FEASTS.  429 

atamalqualiztli,  or  'fast  of  bread  and  water,'  seems  to 
have  been  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  movable 
feasts.  The  people  prepared  for  its  celebration,  which 
took  place  every  eight  years,  by  a  rigid  fast,  broken 
only  by  a  mid-day  meal  of  water  and  unsalted  bread. 
Those  who  offended  the  gods  by  neglecting  to  observe 
this  fast  were  thought  to  expose  themselves  to  an 
attack  of  leprosy.  The  people  indulged  in  all  sorts  of 
amusements  during  the  holiday  season  which  suc- 
ceeded the  fast.  The  most  interesting  feature  of  the 
festivities  was  a  bal  masque,  which  was  supposed  to 
be  attended  by  all  the  gods.  The  chief  honors  of  the 
day  were,  however,  rendered  to  the  Tlalocs,  and  round 
their  effigy,  which  stood  in  the  midst  of  a  pond  alive 
with  frogs  and  snakes,  the  dancers  whirled  continually. 
It  was  a  part  of  the  ceremonies  for  a  number  of  men 
called  maxatecaz  to  devour  the  reptiles  in  the  pond; 
this  they  did  by  each  seizing  a  snake  or  a  frog  in  his 
teeth,  and  swallowing  it  gradually  as  he  joined  in  the 
dance;  the  one  who  first  bolted  his  titbit  cried  out 
triumphantly,  'Papa,  papa!' 

Every  fourth  year,  called  teoxihuitl,  or  'divine  year/ 
and  at  the  beginning  of  every  period  of  thirteen  years, 
the  feasts  were  more  numerous  and  on  a  larger  scale, 
the  fasts  more  severe,  and  the  sacrifices  far  greater  in 
number  than  upon  ordinary  occasions.89  The  entire 
series  of  festivals  may  be  said  to  have  closed  with  the 
solemn  Toxilmolpilia,  or  'binding  up  of  the  years/ 
which  took  place  every  fifty-two  years,  and  marked 
the  expiration  and  renewal  of  the  world's  lease  of 
existence.90 

89  Clavifjero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  84;  Sahagun,  Hist  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  77-8,   195-218.     The  last  five  days  of  the  year  were, 
according  to  Gomara,  Conq.  Hex.,  fol.  331,  devoted  to  religious  ceremonies, 
as  drawing  of  blood,  sacrifices,  and  dances,  but  most  other  authors  state  that 
they  were  passed  in  quiet  retirement. 

90  See  this  volume,  pp.  393-6. 


CHAPTER  X. 

GODS,   SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,   AND  WORSHIP. 

REVENUES  OF  THE  MEXICAN  TEMPLES — VAST  NUMBER  OF  THE  PRIESTS- 
MEXICAN  SACERDOTAL  SYSTEM — PRIESTESSES — THE  ORDERS  OF  TLAMAXCA- 
CAYOTL  AND  TELPOCHTILIZTLI — RELIGIOUS  DEVOTEES — BAPTISM — CIRCUM- 
CISION— COMMUNION — FASTS  AND  PENANCE — BLOOD-DRAWING — HUMAN 
SACRIFICES — THE  GODS  OF  THE  TARASCOS — PRIESTS  AND  TEMPLE  SER- 
VICE OF  MlCHOACAN — WORSHIP  IN  JALISCO  AND  OAJACA — VoTAN  AND 

QUETZALCOATL — TRAVELS  OF  VOTAN — THE  APOSTLE  WlXEPECOCHA— CAVE 
NEAR  XUSTLAHUACA — THE  PRINCESS  PlNOPIAA — WORSHIP  OF  COSTAHUN- 
TOX — TREE  WORSHIP. 

WE  have  seen  in  the  preceding  volume  that  the 
number  of  religious  edifices  was  very  great ;  that  in 
addition  to  the  temples  in  the  cities — and  Mexico 
alone  is  said  to  have  contained  two  thousand  sacred 
buildings — there  were  "  on  every  isolated  hill,  along 
the  roads,  and  in  the  fields,  substantial  structures  con- 
secrated to  some  deity."  Torquemada  estimates  the 
whole  number  at  eighty  thousand. 

The  vast  revenues  needed  for  the  support  and  repair 
of  the  temples,  and  for  the  maintenance  of  the  immense 
army  of  priests  that  officiated  in  them,  were  derived 
from  various  sources.  The  greatest  part  was  supplied 
from  large  tracts  of  land  which  were  the  property  of 
the  church,  and  were  held  by  vassals  under  certain 
conditions,  or  worked  by  slaves.  Besides  this,  taxes 
of  wine  and  grain,  especially  first-fruits,  were  levied 
upon  communities,  and  stored  in  granaries  attached 
to  the  temples.  The  voluntary  contributions,  from  a 
cake,  feather,  or  robe  to  slaves  or  priceless  gems,  given 

(430, 


TEMPLE  REVENUES.  431 

in.  performance  of  a  vow,  or  at  the  numerous  festivals, 
formed  no  unimportant  item.  Quantities  of  food  were 
provided  by  the  parents  of  the  children  attending 
the  schools,  and  there  were  never  wanting  devout 
women  eager  to  prepare  it.  In  the  kingdom  of  Tez- 
cuco,  thirty  towns  were  required  to  provide  fire- 
wood for  the  temples  and  palaces;1  in  Meztitlan,  says 
Chaves,  every  man  gave  four  pieces  of  wood  every 
five  days ;  it  is  easy  to  believe  that  the  supply  of  fuel 
must  have  been  immense,  when  we  consider  that  six 
hundred  fires  were  kept  continually  blazing  in  the 
great  temple  of  Mexico  alone.2  Whatever  surplus 
remained  of  the  revenues  after  all  expenses  had  been 
defrayed  is  said  to  have  been  devoted  to  the  support 
of  charitable  institutions  and  the  relief  of  the  poor;3 
in  this  respect,  at  least,  the  Holy  Mother  Church  of 
contemporary  Europe  might  have  taken  a  lesson  from 
her  pagan  sister  in  the  New  World. 

Each  temple  had  its  complement  of  ministers  to 
conduct  and  take  part  in  the  daily  services,  and  of 
servants  to  attend  to  the  cleansing,  firing,  and  other 
menial  offices.  In  the  great  temple  at  Mexico  there 
were  five  thousand  priests  and  attendants,4  the  total 
number  of  the  ecclesiastical  host  must  therefore  have 
been  immense;  Clavigero  places  it  at  a  million,  which 
does  not  appear  improbable  if  we  accept  Torquemada's 
statement  that  there  were  forty  thousand  temples,  as 
a  basis  for  the  computation.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered, however,  that  the  sacerdotal  body  was  not  com- 
posed entirely  of  permanent  members;  some  were 
merely  engaged  for  a  certain  number  of  years,  in  ful- 
filment of  a  vow  made  by  themselves  or  their  parents; 

1 '  Los  Pueblos,  que  &  los  Templos  de  la  Ciudad  de  Tetzcuco  Servian,  con 

Lena,  Carbon,  y  corteca  de  Roble,  eran  quince y  otros  quince  Pueblos 

Servian  los  otros  seis  meses  del  Ano,  con  lo  mismo,  a  las  Casas  Keales, 

y  Templo  Mai  or.'  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  164. 

2  Rapport,  in  Ternaux-Compans,  Voy.,  serie  ii.,  torn,  v.,  p.  305. 

3  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  164-6;  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apolo- 
gttica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxxix.,  cxli.     «E'  da  credersi,  che  quel  tratto  di  paese,  che 
avea  il   nome  di   Teotlalpan  (Terra  degli  Dei),  fosse  cosl    appellata,  per  es- 
servi  delle  possesioni  de'  Tempj.'  Clavijero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii., 
p.  36. 

4  Gomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  120. 


432          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

others  were  obliged  to  attend  at  intervals  only,  or  at 
certain  festivals,  the  rest  of  their  time  being  passed 
in  the  pursuit  of  some  profession,  usually  that  of  arms.5 

The  vast  number  of  the  priests,  their  enormous 
wealth,  and  the  blind  zeal  of  the  people,  all  combined 
to  render  the  sacerdotal  power  extremely  formidable. 
The  king  himself  performed  the  functions  of  high- 
priest  on  certain  occasions,  and  frequently  held  some 
sacred  office  before  succeeding  to  the  throne.  The 
heads  of  Church  and  State  seem  to  have  worked  ami- 
cably together,  and  to  have  united  their  power  to  keep 
the  masses  in  subjection.  The  sovereign  took  no  step 
of  importance  without  first  consulting  the  high-priests 
to  learn  whether  the  gods  were  favorable  to  the  project. 
The  people  were  guided  in  the  same  manner  by  the 
inferior  ministers,  and  this  influence  was  not  likely  to 
decrease,  for  the  priests  as  the  possessors  of  all  learn- 
ing, the  historians  and  poets  of  the  nation,  were  in- 
trusted with  the  education  of  the  youth,  whom  they 
took  care  to  mould  to  their  purposes. 

At  the  head  of  the  Mexican  priesthood  were  two 
supreme  ministers;  the  Teotecuhtli,  or  l divine  lord/ 
who  seems  to  have  attended  more  particularly  to 
secular  matters,  and  the  Hueiteopixqui,  who  chiefly 
superintended  religious  affairs.  These  ministers  were 
elected,  ostensibly  from  among  the  priests  most  distin- 
guished in  point  of  birth,  piety,  and  learning ;  but  as 
the  king  and  principal  nobles  were  the  electors,  the 
preference  was  doubtless  given  to  those  who  were  most 
devoted  to  their  interests,  or  to  members  of  the  royal 
family.6  They  were  distinguished  by  a  tuft  of  cotton 

*>Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  p.  112;  Clavigero,  Storla  Ant.  del 
Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  30-7. 

6  Torquemada,  Monarq.  2nd.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  175-7;  Clavigcro,  Rtoria  Ant. 


perfect,  without  reference  to  birth.  J/i*l.  </<•//.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  pp.  -'7(1  7. 
There  are  two  inconsistencies  in  this,  the  only  strong  contradiction  of  the 


of  old  writers,  who  state  that  the  latter  office  waa  hereditary  in  a  curtain, 


MEXICAN  PRIESTHOOD.  433 

falling  down  upon  the  breast.  Their  robes  of  cere- 
mony varied  with  the  nature  of  the  god  whose  festival 
they  celebrated.  In  Tezcuco  and  Tlacopan,  the  pontifi- 
cal dignity  was  always  conferred  upon  the  second  son 
of  the  king.  The  Totonacs  elected  their  pontiff  from 
among  the  six  chief  priests,  who  seem  to  have  risen 
from  the  ranks  of  the  Centeotl  monks;  the  ointment 
used  at  his  consecration  was  composed  partly  of  chil- 
dren's blood.  High  as  was  the  high-priest's  rank,  he 
was  not  by  any  means  exempt  from  punishment;  in 
Ichatlan,  for  instance,  where  he  was  elected  by  his 
fellow-priests,  if  he  violated  his  vow  of  celibacy  he  was 
cut  in  pieces,  and  the  bloody  limbs  were  given  as  a 
warning  to  his  successor.7 

Next  in  rank  to  the  two  Mexican  high-priests  was 
the  Mexicatlteohuatzin,  who  was  appointed  by  them, 
and  seems  to  have  been  a  kind  of  vicar-general.  His 
duties  were  to  see  that  the  worship  of  the  gods  was 
properly  observed  throughout  the  kingdom,  and  to 
supervise  the  priesthood,  monasteries,  and  schools. 
His  badge  of  office  was  a  bag  of  incense  of  peculiar 
shape.  Two  coadjutors  assisted  him  in  the  discharge 
of  his  duties;  the  Huitzuahuacteohuatzin,  who  acted 
in  his  place  when  necessary,  and  the  Tepanteohuatzin, 
who  attended  chiefly  to  the  schools.8  Conquered 

district.  '  Al  Summo  Pontifice  llamaban  en  la  lengua  mexicana  Tehnatecolt. ' 
L  iff  (.'twas,  Hint.  Apoloydtica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxxiii.  *  El  mayor  de  todos  que  es 
auperlado,  Achcauhtli.'  Gomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  323.  But  this  was  the  title 
of  the  Tlascaltec  high-priest.  'A  los  supremos  Sacerdotes . . . .  llamauan  en 
su  antigua  lengua  Papas.'  Acoftta,  Hist,  de  las  Ynd.,  p.  336.  See  also  Clva- 
ves,  Rapport,  in  Ternaux-Compans,  Voy.,  serie  ii.,  torn,  v.,  pp.  303-4. 

7  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  177,  180;  Cfaviyero,  Storia  Ant. 
del  Afrwico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  41;  Jferrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  xv.; 
Las  Canoe,  Hint.  Apolo<j6tica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxxiii. 

&Sa/iar/un,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  218-19.  Brasseur  de  Bour- 
bourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  549-51,  whose  chief  authority  is  Her- 
nandez, and  who  is  not  very  clear  in  his  description,  holds  that  the  Mexi- 
catlteohuatzin was  the  supreme  priest,  and  that  he  also  bore  the  title  of 
Teotecuhtli,  the  rank  of  chief  priest  of  Huitzilopochtli,  and  was  the  right- 
hand  minister  of  the  king.  Quetzalcoatl's  high-priest  he  places  next  in 
rank,  but  outside  of  the  political  sphere.  On  one  page  he  states  that  the 
high-priest  was  elected  by  the  two  chief  men  in  the  hierarchy,  and  on  another 
he  distinctly  implies  that  the  king  made  the  higher  appointments  in  order  to 
control  the  church.  The  sacrificing  priest,  whom  he  evidently  holds  to  be 
the  same  as  the  high-priest,  he  invests  with  the  rank  of  generalissimo,  and 
heir  to  the  throne. 

VOL.  III.    28 


434          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

provinces  retained  control  over  their  own  religious 
affairs.9  Among  other  dignitaries  of  the  church  may 
be  mentioned  the  Topiltzin,  who  held  the  hereditary 
office  of  sacrificer,  in  which  he  was  aided  by  five  as- 
sistants;10 the  Tlalquimiloltecuhtli,  keeper  of  relics 
and  ornaments;  the  Ometochtli,  composer  of  hymns; 
the  Tlapixcatzin,  musical  director;  the  Epcoaquacuil- 
tzin,  master  of  ceremonies;  the  treasurer;  the  master 
of  temple  properties;  and  a  number  of  leaders  of 
special  celebrations.  Besides  these,  every  ward,  or 
parish,  had  its  rector,  who  performed  divine  service 
in  the  temple,  assisted  by  a  number  of  inferior  priests 
and  school-children.  The  nobles  kept  private  chap- 
lains to  attend  to  the  worship  of  the  household  gods, 
which  every  one  was  required  to  have  in  his  dwelling.11 
The  statement  of  some  writers  indicates  that  the  body 
of  priests  attached  to  the  service  of  each  god  was  to 
a  certain  extent  independent,  and  governed  by  its  own 
rules.  Thus  in  some  wards  the  service  of  Huitzilo- 
pochtli  was  hereditary,  and  held  in  higher  estimation 
than  any  other. 

The  distinguishing  dress  of  the  ordinary  priests  was 
a  black  cotton  cloth,  from  five  to  six  feet  square,  which 

9  Carbajal  states  that  a  temple  bearing  the  name  of  the  people,  or  their 
chief  town,  was  erected  in  the  metropolis,  and  attended  by  a  body  of  priests 
brought  from  the  province.  Discurso,  p.  110.     This  may,  however,  be  a  mis- 
interpretation of  Torquemada,  who  gives  a  description  of  a  building  attached 
to  the  chief  temple  at  Mexico,  in  which  the  idols  of  subjugated  people  were 
kept  imprisoned,  to  prevent  them  from  aiding  their  worshippers  to  regain 
their  liberty. 

10  Sonje  authors  seem  to  associate  this  office  with  that  of  the  pontiff,  but 
it  appears  that  the  high-priest  merely  inaugurated  the  sacrifices  on  especial 
occasions.     *  Era  esta  vna  dignidad  suprema,  y  entre  ellos  teiiida  en  mucho, 
la  qual  se  heredaua  como  cosa  de  mayorazgo.     El  ministro  que  teriia  oficio 
de  matar ....  era  tenido  y  reuerenciado  como  supreme  Sacerdote,  o  Pontifice. ' 
Acosta,  Hist,  de  las  Ynd.,  p.  352.      'Era  como  decir,  el  Sumo  Sacerdote,  al 
qual,  y  no  a  otro,  era  dado  este  oficio  de  abrir  los  Hombres  por  los  pechos, 
....  siendo  comunmente  los  herederos,  de  este  Patrimonio,  y  suerte  Eclesi- 
astica,  los  primogenitos.'  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  117.     It  is 
difficult  to  decide  upon  the  interpretation  of  these  sentences.     The  expres- 
sion of  his  being  '  held  or  reverenced  as  pontiff '  certainly  indicates  that  an- 
other priest  held  the  office;  so  does  the  sentence,  '  it  was  inherited  by  the 
first-born  '  of  certain  families.     But  the  phrase,  '  el  Sumo  Sacerdote,  al  qual 
y  no  a  otro,  era  dado  este  oficio, '  points  very  directly,  to  the  high-priest  as 
the  holder  of  the  post. 

11  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.   178-9;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant. 
del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  37-9;  Sahayun,  JSirt.   Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  218- 
26;  Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  551. 


MEXICAN  PRIESTESSES.  435 

hung  from  the  back  of  the  head  like  a  veil.  Their 
hair,  which  was  never  cut  and  frequently  reached  to 
the  knees,  was  painted  black  and  braided  with  cord ; 
during  many  of  their  long  fasts  it  was  left  unwashed, 
and  it  was  a  rule  with  some  of  the  more  ascetic  orders 
never  to  cleanse  their  heads.12  Reed  sandals  pro- 
tected their  feet.  They  frequently  dyed  their  bodies 
with  a  black  mixture  made  of  ocotl-root,  and  painted 
themselves  with  ochre  and  cinnabar.  They  bathed 
every  night  in  ponds  set  apart  for  the  purpose  within 
the  temple  enclosure.  When  they  went  out  into  the 
mountains  to  sacrifice,  or  do  penance,  they  anointed 
their  bodies  with  a  mixture  called  teopatli,  which  con- 
sisted of  the  ashes  of  poisonous  insects,  snakes,  and 
worms,  mixed  with  ocotl-root,  tobacco,  ololiuhqui,  and 
sacred  water.  This  filthy  compound  was  supposed  to 
be  a  safeguard  against  snake-bites  and  the  attack  of 
wild  beasts.13 

Sacred  offices  were  not  occupied  by  males  only ;  fe- 
males held  positions  in  the  temples,  though  they  were 
excluded  from  the  sacrificial  and  higher  offices.  The 

O 

manner  in  which  they  were  dedicated  to  the  temple 
school  has  been  already  described.14  Like  the  Roman 
vestals,  their  chief  duty  seems  to  have  been  to  tend 
the  sacred  fires,  though  they  were  also  required  to 
place  the  meat  offerings  upon  the  altar,  and  to  make 
sacerdotal  vestments.  The  punishment  inflicted  upon 
those  who  violated  their  vow  of  chastity  was  death. 
They  were  divided  into  watches,  and  during  the  per- 
formance of  their  duties  were  required  to  keep  at  a 

l*Gomara,  Ccnq.  Mex.,  fol.  323-4.  He  describes  the  dress  as  'vna  ropa 
de  algodon  blanca  estrecha,  y  larga,  y  eiicima  vna  manta  por  capa  anudada 

al  hombro Tiznaunse  los  dios  f estiuales,  y  quando  su  regla  mandaua  de 

negro  las  piernas, '  etc. 

13  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  39-40;  Acosta,  Hist,  de 
las  Ynd.,  pp.  369-71.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  thinks  that  the  teopatli  was 
the  ointment  used  at  the  consecration  of  the  high-priest,  but  it  is  not  likely 
that  a  preparation  which  served  monks  and  invalids  as  body  paint  would  be 
applied  to  the  heads  of  high-priests  and  kings.  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii., 
p.  558.  Every  priestly  adornment  had,  doubtless,  its  mystic  meaning.  The 
custom  of  painting  the  body  black  was  first  done  in  honor  of  the  god  of 
Hades.  Boturini,  Idea,  p.  117. 

uSee  vol.  ii.,  pp.  242  et  seq. 


436          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

proper  distance  from  the  male  assistants,  at  whom 
they  did  not  even  dare  to  glance.15 

Of  the  several  religious  orders,  the  most  renowned 
for  its  sanctity  was  the  Tlamaxcacayotl,  which  was 
consecrated  to  the  service  of  Quetzalcoatl.  The  supe- 
rior of  this  order,  who  was  named  after  the  god,  never 
deigned  to  issue  from  his  seclusion  except  to  confer 
with  the  king.  Its  members,  called  tlamacaxqui,  led 
a  very  ascetic  life,  living  on  coarse  fare,  dressing  in 
simple  black  robes,16  and  performing  all  manner  of 
hard  work.  They  bathed  at  midnight,  and  kept 
watch  until  an  hour  or  two  before  dawn,  singing 
hymns  to  Quetzalcoatl;  on  occasions  some  of  them 
would  retire  into  the  desert  to  lead  a  life  of  prayer 
and  penance,  in  solitude.  Children  dedicated  to  this 
order  were  distinguished  by  a  collar  called  yanuati, 
which  they  wore  till  their  fourth  year,  the  earliest 
age  at  which  they  were  admitted  as  novices.  The 
females  who  joined  these  orders  were  not  necessarily 
virgins,  for  it  seems  that  married  women  were  ad- 
mitted.17 

The  order  of  Telpochtiliztli,  '  congregation  of  young 
men/  was  composed  of  youths  who  lived  with  their 
parents,  but  met  at  sunset  in  a  house  set  apart  for 
them,  to  dance  and  chant  hymns  in  honor  of  their 
patron  god,  Tezcatlipoca.  Females  also  attended 
these  meetings,  and  according  to  report,  strict  decorum 
was  maintained,  at  least  while  the  services  lasted.18 

Acosta  makes  mention  of  certain  ascetics  who  dedi- 
cated themselves  for  a  year  to  the  most  austere  life; 

15  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  189-91;  Sahayim,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  pp.  223-31;  Motolinia,  H'mt.  Indios,  in  fcazlxtlceta,  Col.  de 
Doc.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  53-4.  '  Sustentabanse  del  trabajo  de  sus  manos  6  por  sus 
padres  y  parientes.'  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  p.  107. 

16 '  Trahian  en  las  cabecas  coronas  como  frayles,  poco  cabello,  aunque 
crezido  hasta  media  oreja,  y  mas  largo  por  el  colodrillo  hasta  las  espaldas,  y 
a  manera  de  tren9ado  le  atauan.'  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  ii.,  cap. 
xvi. 

17  Clavigero  asserts  that  at  the  age  of  two  the  boy  was  consecrated  to  the 
order  of  tlamacazcayotl  by  a  cut  in  the  breast,  and  at  seven  he  was  admitted. 
Storia  Ami.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  44;  Motolinia,  Hist.  Indios,  in  Icazbalceta, 
Col.  de  Doc.,  torn,  i.,  p.  53. 

18  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  22(M.     Whether  this  decorum 
was  preserved  after  the  adjournment  of  the  meeting,  is  a  point  which  some 
writers  are  inclined  to  doubt. 


RELIGIOUS  DEVOTEES.  437 

they  assisted  the  priests  at  the  hours  of  incensing,  and 
drew  much  blood  from  their  bodies  in  sacrifice.  They 
dressed  in  white  robes  and  lived  by  begging.19  Camargo 
refers  to  a  similar  class  of  penitents  in  Tlascala,  who 
called  themselves  tlamaceuhque,  and  sought  to  obtain 
divine  favor  by  passing  from  temple  to  temple  at  night, 
carrying  pans  of  fire  upon  their  heads;  this  they  kept 
up  for  a  year  or  two,  during  which  time  they  led  a  very 
strict  life.20  The  Totonacs  had  a  very  strict  sect,  lim- 
ited in  number,  devoted  to  Centeotl,  to  which  none 
were  admitted  but  widowers  of  irreproachable  charac- 
ter, who  had  passed  the  age  of  sixty.  It  was  they 
who  made  the  historical  and  other  paintings  from 
which  the  high-priest  drew  his  discourses.  They  were 
much  respected  by  the  people,  and  were  applied  to 
by  all  •  classes  for  advice,  which  they  gave  gravely, 
squatted  upon  their  haunches  and  with  lowered  eyes. 
They  dressed  in  skins,  and  ate  no  meat.21 

The  children,  who  were  all  required,  says  Las  Casas, 
to  attend  school  between  the  ages  of  six  and  nine,  ren- 
dered valuable  assistance  to  the  priests  by  performing 
the  minor  duties  about  the  temple.  Those  of  the 
lower  school  performed  much  of  the  outside  labor, 
such  as  carrying  wood  and  drawing  water,  while  the 
sons  of  the  nobility  were  assigned  higher  tasks  in  the 
interior  of  the  building.22 

The  daily  routine  of  temple  duties  was  performed 
by  bodies  of  priests,  who  relieved  each  other  at  in- 
tervals of  a  few  hours  or  days.  The  service,  which 
chiefly  consisted  of  hymn-chanting  and  incense-burn- 
ing, was  performed  four  times  each  day,  at  dawn, 
noon,  sunset,  and  midnight.  At  the  midnight  service 
the  priests  drew  blood  from  their  bodies  and  bathed 
themselves.  The  sun  received  offerings  of  quails  four 
times  during  the  day,  and  five  times  during  the  night.23 

19  Hist,  de  las  Ynd.,  pp.  341-2. 

29 Hist.  Tlax.,  in  fiouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn,  xcix.,  pp.  134-5. 

21  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apohyetica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxxii.;  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  p. 
yu. 

22  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apoloyetica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxxix.;  Torquemada,  Monarq. 
Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  185-6. 

* Clavigero,  Stona  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  39.     According  to  Torque- 


438          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

The  priests  of  Quetzalcoatl  sounded  the  hours  of  these 
watches  with  shell  trumpets  and  drums.  Thrice  every 
morning  the  Totonac  pontiff  wafted  incense  toward  the 
sun ;  after  which  the  elder  priests,  who  followed  him 
in  a  file,  according  to  rank,  waived  their  censers  three 
times  before  the  principal  idols,  and  once  before  the 
others;  finally,  incense  was  burned  in  honor  of  the 
pontiff  himself.  The  copal  that  remained  was  distrib- 
uted in  heaps  upon  the  various  altars.  Later  in  the 
day,  the  high-priest  delivered  a  lecture  before  the 
priests  and  nobles.24  Their  prayers  were  standard 
compositions,  learned  by  rote  at  school;25  while  recit- 
ing them,  they  assumed  a  squatting  posture,26  usually 
with  the  face  toward  the  east;  on  occasions  of  great 
solemnity  they  prostrated  themselves.  A  test  was 
sometimes  applied  to  ascertain  whether  the  deity  was 
disposed  to  respond  to  the  prayers  of  the  nation,  when 
offered  for  a  particular  purpose.  This  was  done  by 
sprinkling  snuff  upon  the  altar,  and  if,  shortly  after- 
ward, the  foot-print  of  an  animal,  particularly  that 
of  an  eagle,  was  found  impressed  in  the  snuff,  it  was 
regarded  as  a  mark  of  divine  favor,  and  great  was  the 
shouting  when  the  priest  announced  the  augury.27 

Many  rites  arid  ceremonies  were  found  to  exist 
among  the  civilized  nations  of  America  that  were  very 
similar  to  certain  others  observed  by  Jews  and  Chris- 

mada,  the  night  service  was  partly  devoted  to  the  god  of  night.  Monarq.  Ind.t 
torn,  ii.,  p.  227. 

24 Hist.  Apologttica,  MS.,  cap.  clxxv. ;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii., 
pp.  224-5,  275;  Acosta,  Hist,  de  las  Ynd.,  pp.  336,  343;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen., 
dec.  iii.,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  xv. 

25  This  was  the  answer  given  by  Juan  de  Tovar,  in  his  Hist.  Ind. ,  MS. , 
to  the  doubts  expressed  by  Acosta  as  to  the  authenticity  of  the  long-winded 
prayers  of  the  Mexicans,  whose  imperfect  writing  was  not  well  adapted 
reproduce  orations.  Helps'  Span.  Conq.,  vol.  i.,  p.  282. 

MMendi?ta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  p.  93.  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  24,  certainly  says:  'Taceano  le  loro  preghiere  comunemente  inginoc- 
chioiie; '  but  we  are  told  by  Sahagun  and  others  that  when  they  approached 
the  deity  with  most  humility,  namely,  at  the  confession,  a  squatting  position 
was  assumed;  the  same  was  done  when  they  delivered  orations.  The  great- 
est sign  of  adoration,  according  to  Camargo,  was  to  take  a  handful  of  earth 
and  grass  and  eat  it;  very  simflar  to  the  manner  of  taking  an  oath  or  greet- 
ing a  superior,  which  consisted  in  touching  the  hand  to  the  ground  and  then 
putting  it  to  the  lips.  Hist.  Tlax.,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn, 
xcix.,  p.  168. 

'"  Ib. 


BAPTISM  AND  CIRCUMCISION.  439 

tians  in  the  Old  World.  The  innumerable  speculators 
on  the  origin  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the  New 
World,  or  at  least  on  the  origin  of  their  civilization, 
have  not  neglected  to  bring  forward  these  coincidences 
—there  is  no  good  reason  to  suppose  them  anything 
else — in  support  of  their  various  theories. 

The  cleansing  virtue  of  water  would  naturally  sug- 
gest its  adaptability  to  the  purification  of  spiritual 
stains;  the  priests  and  ascetics,  plunging  at  midnight, 
with  their  self-inflicted  wounds  unclosed,  into  the  icy 
pool  within  the  temple  enclosure,  had  this  end  in  view ; 
there  is  therefore  no  cause  to  wonder  that  baptism 
developed  into  an  established  rite.  The  fact  that 
infants  were  baptized  immediately  after  birth  proves 
that  these  people  believed,  with  the  Christians  and 
Jews,  that  sin  is  inherited;  but  this,  to  my  thinking 
at  least,  does  not  necessarily  show  that  any  commu- 
nication or  connection  of  any  kind  ever  took  place  or 
existed  between  the  inhabitants  of  the  Old  World  and 
those  of  the  New.  They  saw  that  life  was  not  all 
happiness;  they  saw  that  a  man's  suffering  begins  at 
his  birth;  they  were  peculiarly  apt  to  regard  every 
misfortune  as  a  direct  visitation  of  the  offended  gods, 
whose  anger  they  continually  deprecated  by  prayer 
and  sacrifice ;  how,  then,  could  they  help  but  believe 
in  the  inherency  of  sin — in  the  visiting  of  the  sins  of 
the  fathers  upon  the  children — while  the  suffering 
entailed  upon  irresponsible  infancy  was  continually 
before  them? 

The  rite  of  circumcision  has  been  the  main-stay  of 
the  numerous  theorists  who  have  attempted  to  prove 
that  the  native  Americans  are  descended  from  the 
Jews;  but  with  the  same  evidence  they  may  be  proved 
to  be  descended  from  the  Caffirs,  the  South  Sea 
Islanders,  the  Ethiopians  the  Egyptians,  or  from  any 
Mahometan  people  who  all  either  have  practised 
or  do  now  practise  circumcision.28  Brinton  thinks 
that  the  rite  was  probably  a  symbolic  renunciation  of 

28  At  the  present  day  the  rite  of  circumcision  may  be  traced  almost  in  an. 
unbroken  line  from  China  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 


440          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

the  lusts  of  the  flesh;29  but  as  it  would  be  difficult  to 
find  a  more  licentious  race  than  the  American,  this 
supposition  is  unsatisfactory.  After  all,  why  need  we 
grope  among  the  recesses  of  an  obscure  cult  for  the 
meaning  and  origin  of  a  custom  which  may  have  had 
no  religious  ideas  connected  with  it?  We  know  that 
several  of  the  nations  of  the  Old  World  practised  cir- 
cumcision merely  for  purposes  of  cleanliness  and  con- 
venience: why  not  also  the  Americans? 

A  rite  analogous  in  some  aspects  to  the  Christian 
communion  was  observed  on  certain  occasions.  Thus, 
in  the  fifteenth  month,  a  dough  statue  of  Huitzilo- 
pochtli  was  broken  up  and  distributed  among  the  men ; 
this  ceremony  was  called  teoqualo,  meaning  'the  god 
is  eaten.'  At  other  times,  sacred  cakes  of  amaranth 
seeds  and  honey  were  stuck  upon  maguey  thorns  and 
distributed.  Mendieta  states  that  tobacco  was  eaten 
in  honor  of  Cihuacoatl.  The  Totonacs  made  a  dough  of 
first-fruits  from  the  temple  garden,  ulli,  and  the  blood 
of  three  infants  sacrificed  at  a  certain  festival ;  of  this 
the  men  above  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  the 
women  above  sixteen,  partook  every  six  months;  as 
the  dough  became  stale,  it  was  moistened  with  the 
heart's  blood  of  ordinary  victims.30  The  rite  of  con- 
fession has  been  already  described.31 

Fasting  was  observed  as  an  atonement  for  sin,  as 
well  as  a  preparation  for  solemn  festivals.  An  ordi- 
nary fast  consisted  in  abstaining  from  meat  for  a  period 
of  from  one  to  ten  days,  and  taking  but  one  meal  a 
day,  at  noon ;  at  no  other  hour  might  so  much  as  a 
drop  of  water  be  touched.  In  the  'divine  year'  a  fast 
of  eighty  days  was  observed.  Some  of  the  fasts  held 
by  the  priests  lasted  one  hundred  and  sixty  days,  and 
owing  to  the  insufficient  food  allowed  and  terrible 
mutilations  practised,  these  long  feasts  not  un- 
frequently  resulted  fatally  to  the  devotees.  The 

29  Myths,  p.  147. 

30  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  83;  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecks.,  pp. 
108-9;  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apologetica,  MS.,  cap.  clxxv. ;  Explication  del  Codex 
Telleriano-JRemensis,  in  Kimjsborouylis  Mex-  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  133. 

31  See  this  volume,  pp,  380-4. 


FASTS  AND   PEXANCE.  441 

high-priest  sometimes  set  a  shining  example  to  his 
subordinates,  by  going  into  the  mountains,  and  there 
passing  several  months  in  perfect  solitude,  praying, 
burning  incense,  drawing  blood  from  his  body,  and 
supporting  life  upon  uncooked  maize.32 

In  Teotihuacan,  four  priests  undertook  a  four  years' 
penance,  which,  if  strictly  observed,  entitled  them  to 
be  regarded  as  saints  forever  after.  A  thin  mantle 
and  a  breech-clout  were  all  the  dress  allowed  them,  no 
matter  what  the  weather  might  be ;  the  bare  ground 
was  their  only  bed,  a  stone  their  softest  pillow;  their 
noonday  and  only  meal  was  a  two-ounce  cake,  and  a 
small  bowl  of  porridge  made  of  meal  and  honey,  except 
on  the  first  of  each  month,  when  they  were  allowed  to 
take  part  in  the  general  banquets.  Two  of  them 
watched  every  alternate  night,  drawing  blood  and 
praying.  Every  twentieth  day  they  passed  twenty 
sticks  through  the  upper  part  of  the  ear ;  and  these, 
Gomara  solemnly  assures  us,  were  allowed  to  accumu- 
late from  month  to  month,  so  that  at  the  end  of  the  four 
years,  the  ear  held  four  thousand  three  hundred  and 
twenty  sticks,  which  was  burned  in  honor  of  the  gods 
at  the  expiration  of  the  time  of  penance.33 

Blood-drawing  was  the  favorite  and  most  common 
mode  of  expiating  sin  and  showing  devotion.  Chaves 
says  that  the  people  of  Meztitlan  drew  blood  every 
five  days,  staining  pieces  of  paper  with  it,  and  offering 
them  to  the  god.34  The  instruments  used  in  ordinary 
scarification  were  maguey  thorns,  which  were  offered 
to  the  idol,  and  afterward  burned,  but  for  more  severe 
discipline,  iztli  knives  were  used,  arid  cords  or  sticks 
were  passed  through  the  tongue,  ears,  or  genitals 

32  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  212-13;  Acosta,  Hist,  de  Ins 
Ynd,,  p.  343;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii ,  pp.  275-6 

a3  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  336.  Some  of  these  sticks  were  thicker  than  a  finger, 
'  y  largos,  como  el  tamano  de  vn  braco. '  '  Eran  en  numero  de  qua.trocientas. ' 
Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  102-3;  Motolmia,  Hist.  Indios,  in 
Icazhaiceta,  Col.  de  Doc.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  51-2. 

a4  JRapport,  in  Ternaux-Compans,  Voy.,  serie  ii.,  torn,  v.,  p.  305.  The 
Mexican  priests  performed  this  sacrifice  every  five  days.  Explanation  of  the 
Codex  Vaticanus,  in  Kingsborouyli '.<?  Mc.r.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  225.  '  De  la  san- 
gre  que  sacaban  de  las  partes  del  Cuerpo  en  cada  provincia  teman  diferente 
costumbre.'  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apnfa'jet^,  MS.,  cap.  clxx. 


442          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

The  offering  most  acceptable  to  the  Nahua  divini- 
ties was  human  life,  and  without  this  no  festival  of 
any  importance  was  complete.  The  origin  of  the  rite 
of  human  sacrifice,  as  connected  with  sun-worship  at 
least,  dates  back  to  the  earliest  times.  It  is  men- 
tioned in  the  story  of  the  first  appearance  of  the  sun 
to  the  Mexicans,  which  relates  how  that  luminary 
refused  to  proceed  upon  its  daily  circuit  until  appeased 
by  the  sacrifice  of  certain  heroes  who  had  offended 
it.35  Some  affirm  that  human  sacrifice  was  first  intro- 
duced by  Tezcatlipoca ;  others  again  say  that  it  was 
practised  before  Quetzalcoatl's  time,  which  is  likely 
enough,  if,  as  we  are  told,  that  prophet  not  only 
preached  against  it  as  an  abomination,  but  shut  his 
ears  with  both  hands  when  it  was  even  mentioned. 
Written  or  painted  records  show  its  existence  in 
1091.  though  some  native  writers  assert  that  it  was 
not  practised  until  after  this  date.  The  nations  that 
encompass  the  Aztecs  ascribe  the  introduction  of 
human  sacrifice  to  the  latter  people — a  statement 
accepted  by  most  of  the  early  historians,  who  relate 
that  the  first  human  victims  were  four  Xochimilcos, 
with  whose  blood  the  newly  erected  altar  of  Huitzilo- 
pochtli  was  consecrated.36 

The  number  of  human  victims  sacrificed  annually  in 
Mexico  is  not  exactly  known.  Las  Casas,  the  cham- 
pion of  the  natives,  places  it  at  an  insignificantly  low 
figure,  while  Zumarraga  states  that  twenty  thousand 
were  sacrificed  in  the  capital  alone  every  year.  That 
the  number  was  immense  we  can  readily  believe, 

35  See  this  volume,  p.  61. 

3eClaugero,  Storia  Ant,  del  Messico,  torn,  i.,  pp.  165-7.  Torquemada, 
however,  mentions  one  earlier  sacrifice  of  some  refractory  Mexicans,  who 
desired  to  leave  their  wandering  countrymen  and  settle  at  Tula,  contrary  to 
the  command  of  the  god.  Monarq.  Intl.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  115-16,  50.  'On  pre- 
fcend  que  cet  usage  vint  de  la  province  de  Chalco  dans  celle  de  Tlaxcallan. ' 
Camaryo,  Hist.  Tlax.,  in  Nouvelks  Annales  des  Voy.t  1843,  torn,  xcviii.,  p. 
199;  Brasseur  de  jBourloury,  Quatre  Lett-res,  p.  343.  'Quetzalcoatle  was  the 
first  inventor  of  sacrifices  of  human  blood. '  Explanation  of  Codex  Vaticanus, 
in  Kinysborough's  Max.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  201.  It  is  conceded,  however,  by 
other  writers,  that  Quetzalcoatl  was  opposed  to  all  bloodshed.  See  this  vol- 
ume, p.  278  Miiller,  Amerikanische  (Jrreliyionen,  p.  628,  thinks  that  the  Az- 
tecs introduced  certain  rites  of  human  sacrifice,  which  they  connected  with 
others  already  existing  in  Mexico. 


HUMAN  SACRIFICES.  443 

when  we  read  in  Torquemada,  Ixtlilxochitl,  Boturini, 
and  Acosta,  that  from  seventy  to  eighty  thousand 
human  beings  were  slaughtered  at  the  inauguration  of 
the  temple  of  Huitzilopochtli,  and  a  proportionately 
large  number  at  the  other  celebrations  of  the  kind.37 

The  victims  were  mostly  captives  of  war,  and  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  obtaining  these,  wars  were  often 
made ;  a  large  proportion  of  the  sacrificed,  however, 
were  of  slaves  and  children,  either  bought  or  presented 
for  the  purpose,  and  condemned  criminals.  Moreover, 
instances  are  not  wanting  of  devout  people  offering 
themselves  voluntarily  for  the  good  of  the  people  and 
the  honor  of  the  god.38  The  greater  part  of  the 
victims  died  under  the  knife,  in  the  manner  so  often 
described;39  some,  however,  were,  as  we  have  seen  in 
the  preceding  volume,  burned  alive;  children  were 
often  buried  or  immured  alive,  or  drowned;  in  some 
cases  criminals  were  crushed  between  stones.  The 
Tlascaltecs  frequently  bound  the  doomed  one  to  a  pole 
and  made  his  body  a  target  for  their  spears  and  arrows. 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  what  religious  ideas  were 
connected  with  the  almost  universal  practice  of  anthro- 
pophagy. We  have  seen  that  several  of  the  savage 
tribes  ate  portions  of  slain  heroes,  thinking  thereby 
to  inherit  a  portion  of  the  dead  man's  good  qualities; 
the  same  reason  might  be  assigned  for  the  cannibalism 
of  the  Aztecs,  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  they  ate 
the  flesh  of  sacrificed  slaves  and  children  as  well  as 
that  of  warriors  and  notable  persons.  Whatever  may 
have  been  the  original  significance  of  the  rite,  it  is 
most  probable  that  finally  the  body,  the  essence  of 

37  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  p.  186.  'Eran  cada  ano  estos  Ninos 
sacrificados  mas  de  veinte  mil  por  cuenta. '  Id.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  120.  A  miscon- 
struction of  Zumarraga,  who  does  not  specify  them  as  children.  Clavigero, 
Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  49;  torn,  i.,  p.  257;  Ixtlilxochitl,  Hist. 
Chick.,  in  Kingsborowjtis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  ix.,  p.  268;  Boturini,  Idea,  p.  28. 
'Afirman  que  auia  vez  que  passauan  de  cinco  mil,  y  dia  vuo  que  en  diuersas 
partes  fueron  assi  sacrificados  mas  de  veynta  mil.'  Acosta,  Hist,  de  las  Ynd., 
p.  356.  Gomara  states  that  the  conquerors  counted  136,000  skulls  in  one 
skull-yard  alone.  Cong.  Mex.,  fol  122. 

8  '  Non  f urono  mai  veduti  i  Messicani  sacriucare  i  prop]  lor  Nazionali,  se 
non  coloro,  che  per  Ii  loro  delitti  erano  rei  di  morte.  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant. 
del  Messico,  torn,  iv.,  p.  299.  A  rather  hasty  assertion. 

aa  See  vol.  ii.,  p.  307. 


444          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP, 

which  served  to  regale  the  god,  was  regarded  merely 
as  the  remains  of  a  divine  feast,  and  therefore,  as 
sacred  food.  It  is  quite  possible,  however,  that  re- 
ligious anthropophagy  gradually  degenerated  into  an 
unnatural  appetite  for  human  flesh,  and  nothing  more. 

I  here  close  the  review  of  the  Aztec  gods.  Like 
most  of  its  branches,  this  great  centre  of  North 
American  mythology  rests  on  natural  phenomena  and 
anthropomorphic  creations,  with  an  occasional  euhemer- 
istic  development  or  apotheosis,  but  is  attended  by  a 
worship  so  sanguinary  and  monstrous  that  it  stands  out 
an  isolated  spectacle  of  the  extreme  to  which  fanatical 
zeal  and  blind  superstition  can  go.  A  glance  at  the 
Greek  and  Roman  mythology  is  sufficient  to  show  how 
much  purer  was  the  Nahua  conception  of  divine 
character.  The  Nahua  gods  did  not,  like  those  of 
Greece,  play  with  vice,  but  rather  abhorred  it.  Tez- 
catlipoca  is  the  only  deity  that  can  be  fairly  compared 
with  the  fitful  Zeus  of  Homer — now  moved  with  ex- 
treme passion,  now  governed  by  a  noble  impulse,  now 
swayed  by  brutal  lust,  now  drawn  on  by  a  vein  of 
humor.  But  the  polished  Greek,  poetic,  refined,  full 
of  ideas,  exulting  in  his  strong,  beautiful,  immoral 
gods,  and  making  his  art  immortal  by  his  sublime 
representations  of  them,  presents  a  picture  very  dif- 
ferent from  the  Aztec,  phlegmatic,  bloody-minded, 
ferocious,  broken  in  body  and  in  spirit  by  the  excesses 
of  his  worship,  overshadowed  by  countless  terrors  of 
the  imagination,  quaking  continually  before  gods  who 
feast  on  his  flesh  and  blood.  Nevertheless,  there  was 
one  bright  spot,  set  afar  off  on  the  horizon,  upon  which 
the  Aztec  might  look  and  hope.  Like  the  Brahmans, 
the  Buddhists,  and  the  Jews,  he  looked  forward  to  a 
new  era  under  a  great  leader,  even  Quetzalcoatl,  who 
had  promised  to  return  from  the  glowing  east,  bringing 
with  him  all  the  prosperity,  peace,  and  happiness  of 
his  former  reign.  The  Totonacs,  also,  knew  of  one  in 
heaven  who  pleaded  unceasingly  for  them  with  the 


WORSHIP  IN  MICHOACAK  445 

great  god,  and  .who  was  ultimately  to  bring  about  a 
gentler  era. 

Worship,  in  Michoacan,  though  on  a  smaller  scale, 
was  very  similar  to  that  in  Mexico,  The  misty  form 
of  a  Supreme  Being  that  hovers  though  the  latter 
here  assumes  a  more  distinct  outline,  however.  A 
First  Cause,  a  Creator  of  All,  a  Ruler  of  the  World, 
who  bestows  existence  and  regulates  the  seasons,  is 
recognized  in  the  god  Tucapacha;  an  invisible  being 
whose  abode  is  in  the  heaven  above,  an  inconceivable 
being  whom  no  image  can  represent,  a  merciful  being 
to  whom  the  people  may  hopefully  pray.40  But  the 
very  beauty  and  simplicity  of  the  conception  of  this 
god  seem  to  have  operated  against  the  popularity  of 
his  worship.  The  people  needed  a  less  shadowy  per- 
sonification of  their  ideas,  and  this  they  found  in  Curi- 
caneri,  originally  the  patron  divinity  of  the  Chichimec 
rulers  of  the  country,  and  by  them  exalted  over  Xara- 
tanga,  the  former  head  god  of  the  Tarascos.  Brasseur 
de  Bourbourg  thinks  Curicaneri  to  be  identical  with 
the  sun?  and  gives  as  his  reason  that  the  Chichimecs 
presented  their  offerings  first  to  that  luminary,  and 
then  to  the  inferior  deities.  There  is  another  point 
that  seems  to  favor  this  view,  The  insignia  of  Curi- 
caneri and  Xaratanga  were  carried  by  the  priests  in 
the  van  of  the  army  to  inspire  courage  and  confidence 
of  victory.  Before  setting  out  on  the  march,  a  fire  was 
lighted  before  the  idol,  and  as  the  incense  rose  to 
heaven,  the  priest  addressed  the  god  of  fire,  implor- 
ing him  to  accept  the  offering  and  favor  the  expedi- 
tion.41 The  image  of  Curicaneri  was  profusely  adorned 
with  jewels,  each  one  of  which  represented  a  human 
sacrifice  made  in  honor  of  the  god. 

The  goddess  Xaratanga,  though  second  in  rank, 
seems  to  have  occupied  the  first  place  in  the  affections 
of  the  Tarascos,  in  spite  of  the  myth  which  associates 

^Salazary  Olarte,  Hist.  Conq.  Hex.,  p.  71  j  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii., 
lib.  iii.,  cap.  x. 

*lBeasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  79-82.  This  au- 
thor gives  the  name  as  Curicaweri. 


446          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

her  name  with  the  downfall  of  the  native  dynasty, 
saying  that  she  transformed  their  princes  into  snakes, 
because  they  appeared  drunk  at  her  festivals,  and 
thus  afforded  the  Chichimecs  an  opportunity  to  seize 
the  sceptre.  The  priests  did  their  utmost,  besides,  to 
maintain  her  prestige,  and  they  were  successful,  as  we 
have  seen  from  the  position  of  the  goddess  by  the  side 
of  Curicaneri,  in  the  van  of  the  army. 

Among  the  inferior  gods  were  Manovapa,  son  of 
Xaratanga,  and  Taras,  from  whom,  says  Sahagun,  the 
Tarascos  took  their  name,  and  who  corresponded  to 
the  Mexican  Mixcoatl.  The  Matlaltziricas  worshipped 
Coltzin,  suffocating  before  his  image  the  few  human 
beings  offered  to  him.  They  reverenced  very  highly, 
also,  a  great  reformer,  Surites,  a  high -priest,  who 
preached  morality,  and,  inspired  by  a  prophetic  spirit, 
is  said  to  have  prepared  the  people  for  a  better  faith, 
which  was  to  come  from  the  direction  of  the  rising 
sun.  The  festivals  of  the  Peranscuaro,  which  corre- 
sponded to  our  Christmas,  and  the  Zitacuarencuaro, 
or  'resurrection/  were  instituted  by  Surites.  These 
ideas,  however,  bear  traces  of  having  been  'improved' 
by  the  padres. 

The  priests  of  Michoacan  exercised  even  a  greater 
influence  over  the  people  than  those  of  Mexico.  In 
order  to  retain  this  power,  they  appealed  to  the  re- 
ligious side  of  the  people's  character  by  thundering 
sermons  and  solemn  rites,  and  to  their  affections  by 
practising  charity  at  every  opportunity.  The  king 
himself,  when  he  paid  his  annual  visit  to  the  high- 
priest  to  inaugurate  the  offering  of  first-fruits,  set  an 
example  of  humility  by  kneeling  before  the  pontiff  and 
reverently  kissing  his  hand.  The  priests  of  Michoa- 
can formed  a  distinct  class,  composed  of  three  orders, 
at  the  head  of  which  stood  the  high  priest  of  Curi- 
caneri.42 Those  who  served  the  goddess  Xaratanga 
were  called  watarecha,  and  were  distinguished  by  their 

42 '  El  Sumo  Sacerdote  Curinacanery. '  Beaumont,  Cr6n.  Meclioacan,  MS., 
p.  52 


WORSHIP  IN  JALISCO.  447 

-  shaven  crowns,  long  black  hair,  and  tunics  bordered  with 
red  fringe.43  Marriage  was  one  of  their  privileges. 

The  temple  service  of  Michoacan  was  much  the 
same  as  in  Mexico.  Human  sacrifices,  which  seern  to 
have  been  introduced  at  a  late  period,  were  probably 
very  numerous,  since  hundreds  of  human  victims  were 
immolated  at  the  funeral  of  a  monarch.  The  hearts 
of  the  sacrificed  were  eaten  by  the  priests,  says  Beau- 
mont, and  this  is  not  unlikely,  since  the  Otomi  popu- 
lation of  Michoacan  sold  flesh  in  the  public  market. 
During  seasons  of  drought  the  Otomfs  sought  to  pro- 
pitiate the  rain-gods  by  sacrificing  a  virgin  on  the  top 
of  a  hill.44 

In  Jalisco,  several  forms  of  worship  appear,  each 
with  its  special  divinities.  These  were  mostly  genii 
of  natural  features.  Thus  the  towns  about  Chapala 
paid  divine  honors  to  the  spirit  of  the  lake,  who  was 
represented  by  a  misshapen  image  with  a  miniature 
lake  before  it.  The  people  of  other  places  had  idols 
mounted  on  rocks,  or  represented  in  the  act  of  fight- 
ing with  a  wild  animal  or  monster.  In  Zentipac  and 
Acaponeta  the  stars  were  honored  with  offerings  of 
the  choicest  fruit  and  flowers.  Equally  innocent  were 
the  offerings  brought  to  Piltzinteolli,  the  *  child  god,' 
whose  youthful  form  was  reared  in  several  places.  An 
instance  of  apotheosis  occurred  in  Nayarit,  where  the 
skeleton  of  a  king,  enthroned  in  a  cave,  received  divine 
honors. 

Among  the  temples  consecrated  to  the  various  idols 
may  be  mentioned  one  in  Jalisco,  which  was  a  square 
pyramid,  decorated  with  breastwork  and  turrets,  to 
which  access  was  had  by  a  staircase  sixty  feet  in  height. 

43 '  Guirnaldas  de  fluecos  colorados,'  says  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib. 
iii.,  cap  x. 

^  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  x.;  Beaumont,  Cr6n.  Mechoa- 
can,  MS.,  pp.  52-3,  75;  Alegre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  i.,  pp.  91-2;  Bras- 
seur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  59,  64-5,  79-82;  Torquemada, 
Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  525.  Carbajal  Espinosa,  Hist.  Mex.,  torn,  i.,  pp. 
291-2,  thinks  that  the  sacrifices  were  introduced  by  surrounding  tribes,  and 
that  cannibalism  was  unknown  to  the  Tarascos.  '  Sacrificaban  culebras,  aves 
y  cone j  os,  y  no  los  hombres,  aunque  fuesen  cautivos,  porque  se  Servian  de 
ellos,  como  de  esclavos.'  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  lib.  x.,  p.  138.  See 
also  vol.  ii.,  pp.  620-1,  of  this  work. 


448          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

At  each  of  the  four  corners  was  a  hearth  so  arranged 
that  the  smoke  from  the  sacred  fire  spread  in  a  dense 
cloud  over  the  temple.  Another,  at  Teul,  consisted 
of  a  stone  building,  five  fathoms  in  length  by  three 
in  breadth,  and  gradually  widening  toward  the  top. 
Two  entrances,  one  at  the  north  corner,  the  other  at 
the  south,  each  with  five  steps,  gave  admission  to  the 
interior;  close  by  were  several  piles,  formed  of  the 
bones  of  the  sacrificed. 

The  festivals  which  took  place  seem  to  have  been 
disgraced,  not  only  by  excesses  of  the  most  infamous 
character,  but  by  the  most  horrible  cruelties,  if  we 
are  to  believe  Oviedo,  who  writes  of  furnaces  filled 
with  charred  human  remains.  These  sacrifices,  how- 
ever, if  sacrifices  they  were,  which  were  common  in 
the  north-eastern  parts,  where  intercourse  with  Mex- 
ico had  produced  many  changes,  do  not  appear  as  we 
advance  southward.  Not  only  do  they  entirely  van- 
ish, but  the  chroniclers  state  that  in  Colima,  which 
was  reputed  to  have  been  at  one  time  governed  by  a 
very  wise  prince,  no  outward  worship  of  any  kind 
could  be  found;  moreover,  they  hint  at  an  atheism 
having  existed  there,  restricted  only  by  moral  precepts. 
But  the  reality  of  an  oasis  of  this  character,  in  the 
midst  of  the  most  degraded  superstitions  and  the  wild- 
est fanaticism,  is  at  the  least  doubtful,  and  the  work 
of  the  Fathers  seems  to  be  once  more  apparent.45 

The  worship  of  Oajaca  bore  even  a  stronger  resem- 
blance to  that  of  Mexico  than  did  that  of  Michoacan, 
and  the  assertion  of  some  modern  writers  that  both 
nations  have  a  common  origin  seems  fully  borne  out 
by  the  records  of  the  old  chroniclers.  The  array  of 
gods  was,  if  possible,  greater,  for  almost  every  feature 
of  the  grand,  wild  scenery,  every  want,  every  virtue, 

45 Beaumont,  Cr6n.  Mechoacan,  MS.,  p.  232,  tells  of  a  Supreme  Being  in 
heaven,  and  with  him  an  ever-young  virgin,  from  whom  all  men  descend — a 
belief  which  the  child  god  is  said  to  have  promulgated;  but  the  account 
seems  somewhat  confused  both  as  to  place  and  authority.  Alegre,  Hist.  Comp. 
de  Jems,  torn,  iii.,  p.  197,  and  Padilla,  Conq.  N.  Galicia,  MS.,  p.  8,  mention 
additional  gods,  but  give  no  description.  VUla-Senor  y  Sanchez,  Theatro,  torn, 
ii.,  pp.  269-70;  Akedo,  Diccionario,  torn,  iii.,  p.  299;  Tello,  in  Icad>alceta,  Col. 
de  Doc.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  363;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  566;  Gil,  in  Soc. 
Mex.  Geog.t  Boletin,  torn  viii.,  pp.  496-8. 


WORSHIP  IN  OAJACA.  449 

even  every  vice,  says  Burgoa,  had  one  of  more  patron 
deities,  to  whom  offerings  were  made  on  the  house- 
hold altars.  This  was  especially  the  case  in  the  upper 
district  of  Mizteca  and  Zapoteca,  where  the  rugged, 
cloud-capped  peaks,  dense  forests,  boiling  cataracts, 
and  stealthy  streams,  all  tended  to  fill  the  crude  mind 
of  the  native  with  a  superstitious  awe  that  must  have 
vent.  Through  all  this  may  be  discerned  the  vague 
shape  of  a  Supreme  Being,  bearing  many  titles,  such 
as  Piyetao  Piyexoo,  'one  without  being,'  Pitao  Coza- 
ana,  'creator  of  beings/  Wichaana,  ( creator  of  men 
and  fishes/  Coquiza-Chibataya  Cozaanatao,  'the  sus- 
tainer  and  governor  of  all/  and  a  multitude  of  other 
titles,  which  merely  serve  to  show  how  indefinite  was 
the  position  this  Invisible  One  occupied  in  the  minds 
of  a  people  unable  to  rise  to  a  definite  conception 
of  his  eminence,  and  grovelling  before  the  hideous 
gnomes  bred  of  their  own  imagination.46 

When  the  disciples  of  Quetzalcoatl,  the  Toltec  god 
arid  law-giver,  went  forth  at  the  command  of  their 
master  to  preach  his  doctrines,  some  are  said  to  have 
wended  their  way  to  Oajaca,  where  they  founded  sev- 
eral centres  of  worship/7  and  among  them  Achiuhtla, 
the  headquarters  of  the  Miztec  religion,  situated  in 
the  most  rugged  part  of  the  mountains.  Here,  in  a 
cave,  the  interior  of  which  was  filled  with  idols  set  up 
in  niches  upon  stones  dyed  with  human  blood  and 
smoke  of  incense,  was  a  large  transparent  chalchi- 
uite,48  entwined  by  a  snake  whose  head  pointed  toward 
a  little  bird  perched  on  the  apex.  This  relic,  worshipped 
since  time  immemorial  under  the  name  of  the  'heart 
of  the  people/  has  all  the  chief  attributes  of  Quetzal- 

6'Les  dieux,  de  quelque  nature  qu'ils  fussent  avaient  dans  la  langue 
zapoteque  le  nom  de  ' '  Pitao, "  qui  correspond  a  1'idee  du  grand-esprit,  d'un 
esprit  etendu.  Brasseur  de,  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  26-7. 

7  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Intl.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  255-6,  also  refers  to  emigra- 
tion of  Toltec  chiefs  to  found  new  states. 

3 '  Vna  esmeralda  tan  grande  como  vn  gruesso  pimiento  de  esta  tierra, 
tenia  labrado  encima  vna  auesita,  6  pajarillo  con  grandissimo  primor,  y  de 
arriba  h  baxo  enroscada  vna  culebrilla  con  el  mesmo  arte,  la  piedra  era  tan 
transparente,  que  brillaba  desde  el  fondo.'  Burgoa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  ii., 
pt.  i.,  fol.  156. 

VOL.  III.    29 


450          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

coatl :  the  stone,  the  emblem  of  the  air-god,  the  snake, 
and  the  bird;  yet  how  mutilated  the  original  myth, 
how  much  of  its  beautiful  significance  gone !  Burgoa 
invests  the  relic  with  another  attribute  in  making  it 
the  supporter  of  the  earth,  another  Atlas,  in  fact,  whose 
movements  produce  earthquakes.  This  also  accords 
with  the  character  of  Quetzalcoatl,  who,  under  the 
name  of  Huemac,  was  supposed  to  produce  earth- 
quakes. The  Zapotecs,  besides,  prayed  to  it  for  vic- 
tory and  wealth,  and  Quetzalcoatl,  as  the  'peace-god/ 
could  doubtless  influence  the  former,  while  the  latter 
gift  was  always  in  his  power.49  In  several  other  places 
were  idols  with  the  same  name,  as  at  Yangiiistlan,  Chal- 
catongo,  and  Coatlan,  where  the  temples  were  caves — 
a  fact  worthy  of  note  when  we  consider  that  Quetzal- 
coatl is  stated  by  the  myth  to  have  erected  temples  to 
Mictlantecutli,  the  Mexican  Pluto.50 

The  few  authors,  however,  who  have  referred  to 
this  relic  nearly  all  hold  it  to  represent  Yotan :  the  old 
writers  doubtless  because  the  name  signifies  ' heart,'51 
in  the  Tzendal  dialect  of  Chiapas,  where  he  was  the 
most  prominent  deity ;  the  modern,  because  its  attri- 
butes accord  with  those  of  this  god.  But  Votan  has  so 
much  in  common  with  Quetzalcoatl  that  some  writers 
are  inclined  to  consider  them  identical,  or  at  least  re- 
lated. Mliller,  however,  declares  him  to  be  an  origi- 
nal Maya  snake-god,  one  of  the  thirteen  chief  snakes, 
to  whom  the  bird  attribute  was  given  at  a  late  period, 
borrowed,  perhaps,  from  Quetzalcoatl.  He  is  grad- 
ually anthropomorphized  into  one  of  the  many  leaders 
whose  names  have  been  given  to  the  days  of  the  month, 
Votan  taking  the  third  of  the  four  names  that  desig- 

49  Burgoa  gives  the  relic  in  this  instance  a  title  which  varies  somewhat  in 
the  wording,  although  the  former  sense  remains:   'El  Alma,  y  cora9on  del 
Royno.'  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  ii.,  pt.  ii.,  vol.  396.     Davila  Padilla,  Hist.  Fvnd. 
Mex.,  p.  639,  mentions  an  idol  among  the  Zapotecs  in   shape  of  a  hand, 
which  may  have  represented  Huemac. 

50  The  Zapotecs  had  other  temples  also,  fashioned  like  those  of  Mexico  in 
superimposed   terraces   of   stone-cased  earth.     Burgoa  describes  one  which 
measured  2,000  paces  in  circumference,  and  rose  to  a  height  of  88-90  feet; 
on  each  terrace  stood  an  adobe  chapel  with  a  well  attached  for  the  storage  of 
water.     On  the  occasion  of  a  great  victory  another  terrace  was  added  to  the 
pile.   Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  i.,  pt.  ii.,  fol.  198. 

61  Cabrera,  Teatro,  in  Rio's  Description,  p.  37. 


VOTAN  AND  QUETZALCOATL.  451 

nated  days  as  well  as  years.  Yet  Professor  Miiller 
concedes  that  the  god  was  brought  from  Cholula,  and 
that  certain  especial  attributes  of  Quetzalcoatl  may  be 
recognized  in  the  figures  ou  the  Palenque  ruins,  which 
probably  refer  to  Votan;  and  further,  that  a  phase  of 
the  myth  seems  to  point  to  him.  as  the  grandson  of 
Quetzalcoatl.52  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  while  accept- 
ing his  identity  with  the  -  Heart  of  the  people/  considers 
that  the  double  aspect  of  the  tradition  allows  us  to 
suppose  that  there  were  several  Votans,  or  that  this 
name  was  accorded  to  deserving  men  who  came  after 
him.  At  times  he  seems  to  fye  a  mythic  creation,  the 
mediator  between  man  and  God,  the  representation  of 
wisdom  and  power;  at  times  a  prince  and  legislator  who 
introduced  a  higher  culture  among  his  people.  The 
analogy  presented  by  traditions  between  Votan,  Gucu- 
matz,  Cukulcan,  and  Quetzalcoatl  would  lead  us  to 
believe  that  one  individual  united  in  his  person  all 
these  appellations.  Nevertheless,  a  comparison  of  the 
different  traditions  admits  of  two,  Votan  and  Quetzal 
coatl,  the  other  names  having  the  same  signification  as 
the  latter. 

It  is  certain,  however,  that  from  them,  whether 
heroes,  priests,  rulers,  or  warriors,  Central  America 
received  the  culture  which  their  successors  brought 
to  such  perfection.  The  knowledge  of  one  Supreme 
Being  appears  to  have  been  among  the  first  dogmas 
instilled  into  the  minds  of  their  people;  but  in  the 
tradition  presented  to  us,  the  hero's  name  is  often  con- 
founded with  that  of  the  divinities.53  Like  Quetzal- 
coatl, Votan  was  the  first  historian  of  his  people,  and 
wrote  a  book  on  the  origin  of  the  race,  in  which  he 
declares  himself  a  snake,  a  descendant  of  Imos,  of 
the  line  of  Chan,  of  the  race  of  Chivim.54  One  of  his 

52  He  also  calls  him  the  Miztec  Cultur  god.    Amerdcanisclie  Urreliqioner.* 
pp.  486-90. 

53  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  44-5. 

54 Chan,  ' snake,'  was  the  name  of  a  tribe  of  Lacandones,  near  Palenque, 
known  also  as  Colhuas,  Chanes,  or  Quinames.  Brasseur  de  Bvurboury,  Popol 
Vuh,  p.  109.  The  book  referred  to,  or  a  copy  of  it,  written  in  the  Tzendal 
or  Quiche  language,  was  in  the  possession  of  Nunez  de  la  Vega,  Bishop  of 
Chiapas,  who  published  short  extracts  of  it  in  his  Constitut.  Diceces,  but 
seems  to  have  had  it  burned,  together  with  other  native  relics,  in  1691, 


452          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

titles  was  'lord  of  the  hollow  tree/  the  tepahuaste/  or 
teponaztli."5 

From  the  confused  tradition  of  the  Tzendals,  as 
rendered  by  Nunez  de  la  Vega  and  Ordonez  y  Aguiar, 
it  seems  that  Votan  proceeded  by  divine  command  to 
America,  and  there  portioned  out  the  land.56  He  ac- 
cordingly departed  from  Valum  Chivim,  passed  by  the 
1  dwelling  of  the  thirteen  snakes/  and  arrived  in  Valum 
Votan,57  where  he  took  with  him  several  of  his  family 
to  form  the  nucleus  of  the  settlement.  With  them  he 
passed  through  the  island-strewn  Laguna  de  Terminos, 
ascended  the  Usumacinta,  and  here,  on  one  of  its 
tributaries,  founded  Nachan,58  or  Palenque,  the  future 
metropolis  of  a  mighty  kingdom,  and  one  of  the  reputed 
cradles  of  American  civilization.  The  Tzendal  inhabi- 

at  Huehuetan.  Previous  to  this,  however,  Ordonez  y  Aguiar  had  obtained  a 
copy  of  it,  written  in  Latin  characters,  and  gave  a  resume  of  the  contents 
in  his  Hist.  del'Cielo,  MS.  This  author  contradicts  himself  by  stating,  in 
one  part  of  his  MS.,  that  the  original  was  written  by  a  descendant  of  Votan. 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,  pp.  Ixxxvii.,  cviii.;  Tschudts  Peruvian 
Antiq.,  p.  12;  Cabrera,  Teatro,  in  Bio's  Descrip.,  pp.  33-4.  Cabrera,  who 
bases  his  account  of  the  myth  on  Ordonez'  rendering,  which  he  at  times  seems 
to  have  misunderstood  and  mutilated,  thinks  that  Chivim  refers  to  Tripoli, 
and  it  is  the  same  as  Hivim  or  Givim,  the  Phoenician  word  for  snake,  which, 
again,  refers  to  Hivites,  the  descendants  of  Heth,  son  of  Canaan.  Votan's 
expression,  as  given  in  his  book,  '  I  am  a  snake,  a  Chivim, '  signifies  '  I  a:n  a 
Hivite  from  Tripoli.'  Teatro,  in  Rio's  Dcscrip.,  pp.  34  et  seq. 

55  Botunni,  Idea,  p.  115.     It  may  be  of  interest  to  compare  his  name  with 
Odon  in   the   Michoacan   calendar,    and   Oton,    the    Otomi   god  and   chief. 
Humboldt  was  particularly  struck  with  its  resemblance  to  Odin,  the  Scan- 
dinavian god-hero.    Vues,  torn,  i.,  p.  208;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vult, 
p.  Ixxvi. 

56  Equivalent  to  laying  the  foundation  for  civilization.     According  to  Or- 
dofiez,  he  was  sent  to  people  the  continent;  a  view  also  taken  by  Clavigero, 
Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  i.,  pp.   150-1.     Torquemada's  account  of  the 
spreading  of  the  Toltecs  southward  may  throw  some  light  on  this  subject. 
Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  256  et  seq. 

67  Valum  Chivim,  Valum  Votan,  land  of  Chivim  and  Votan.  See  note  15. 
Cabrera  considers  two  marble  columns  found  at  Tangier,  with  Phoenician 
inscriptions,  a  trace  of  his  route;  the  dwellings  of  the  thirteen  snakes  are 
thirteen  islands  of  the  Canary  group,  and  Valum  Votan,  the  Island  of  Santo 
Domingo.  Teatro,  in  Jtio's  Descrip.,  pp.  34  et  seq.  Miiller,  Amerikanische 
Urrellyionen,  p.  439,  hints  significantly  at  the  worship  of  the  snake-god 
Votan,  on  Santo  Domingo  Island,  under  the  name  of  Vaudoux.  Brasseur  do 
Bourbourg's  ideas  on  this  point  have  already  been  made  pretty  evident  in  the 
account  Qf  Quetzalcoatl's  myth.  The  thirteen  snakes  may  mean  thirteen 
chiefs  of  Xibalba.  There  is  a  ruin  bearing  the  name  of  Valum  Votan  about 
nine  leagues  from  Ciuclad  Real,  Chiapas.  Popol  Vuh,  p.  Ixxxviii.  Ordonez 
holds  Valum  Votan  to  be  Cuba,  whence  he  takes  seven  families  with  him. 
Cabrera,  ubi  sup. 

1)8 Ordonez  says  the  original  Na-chan  means  'place  of  snakes.'  Brasseur  de 
Bourbourfj,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  p.  69. 


TRAVELS   OF  VOTAN.  453 

tants  bestowed  upon  the  strange-looking  new-comeis 
the  name  Tzequiles,  'men  with  petticoats,'  on  account 
of  their  long  robes,  but  soon  exchanged  ideas  and  cus- 
toms with  them,  submitted  to  their  rule,  and  gave 
them  their  daughters  in  marriage.  This  event  is  laid 
a  thousand  years  before  Christ.53 

Ordonez  proceeds  to  say  that  Votan,  after  the  estab- 
lishment of  his  government,  made  four  or  more  visits 
to  his  former  home.  On  his  first  voyage  he  came  to 
a  great  city,  wherein  a  magnificent  temple  was  in 
course  of  erection;  this  city  Ordonez  supposed  to  be 
Jerusalem;  he  next  visited  an  edifice  which  had  been 
originally  intended  to  reach  heaven,  an  object  defeated 
by  a  confusion  of  tongues ;  finally  he  was  allowed  to 
penetrate  by  a  subterranean  passage  to  the  root  of 
heaven.60  On  returning  to  Palenque,  Votan  found 
that  several  more  of  his  nations  had  arrived;  these  he 
recognized  as  snakes,  and  showed  them  many  favors, 
in  return  for  which  his  supremacy  was  made  secure, 
and  he  was  at  last  apotheosized.61  Among  the  monu- 
ments left  by  the  hero  was  a  temple  on  the  Huehuetan 
River,  called  'house  of  darkness,'  from  its  subterra- 
nean chambers,  where  the  records  of  the  nation  were 
deposited  under  the  charge  of  a  fixed  number  of  old 

59  A  date  which  is  confirmed  by  the  Chimalpopoca  MS.  Brasseur  de  Bour- 
bourg,  Popol  Vu/t,  p.  Ixxxviii.     One  tradition  makes  the  Tzequiles  speak  a 
Nahua  dialect,  but  it  is  possible  that  Ordonez  confounds  two  epochs.  Id., 
Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  p.  70. 

60  la  the  traditions  presented  on  pp.  67-8,  50,  of  this  volume,  will  be 
found  reference  to  Cholula  as  the  place  where  the  tower  of  Babel  was  built, 
and  to  the  confusion  of  tongues,  which  tends  to  connect  this  myth  with  those 
of  the  neighboring  country.     Ordonez'  orthodox  ideas  have  probably  added 
much  to  the  native  MS.  from  which  he  took  his  account,  yet  Nunez  de  la 
Vega  agrees  with  him  in  most  respects.     Cabrera,  Teatro,  in  Rio's  Descrip. , 
p.  84,  considers  the  great  city  to  be  Rome,  but  agrees  with  his  authorities 
that  the  latter  edilice  is  the  tower  of  Babel.     A  Tzendal  legend  relates  that 
a  subterranean  passage,  leading  from  Palenque  to  Tulha,  near  Ococingo,  was 
constructed  in  commemoration  of  the  celestial  passage,  or  'serpent  hole,' 
into  which  Votan  in  his  quality  of  snake  was  admitted.  Brasseur  de  Bmir- 
bourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  72-3. 

61  Cabrera  has  it  that  the  new-comers  are  seven  Tzequiles,  or  shipwrecked 
countrymen  of  Votan.     The  voyages  and  other  incidents  he  considers  con- 
firmed by  the  sculptures  on  the  Palenque  ruins,  which  shows  Votan  sur- 
rounded by  symboh  of  travel,  indications  of  the  places  visited  in  the  Old  and 
New  World;  he  recognizes  the  attributes  of  Osiris  in  the  idol  brought  over  by 
Votan,  with  the  intention  of   establishing  its  worship  in  the  New  World. 
Lastly,  Votan  and  his  families  are  Carthaginians.   Teatro  in  Rio's  Description. 
pp.  95,  34. 


454          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

men,  termed  tlapianes,  or  guardians,  and  an  order  of 
priestesses,  whose  superior  was  likewise  the  head  of 
the  male  members.  Here  were  also  kept  a  number  of 
tapirs,  a  sacred  animal  among  the  people.62 

The  claims  of  Votan  to  be  considered  as  the  'heart 
of  the  people/  are  supported,  according  to  the  above 
accounts,  chiefly  by  his  name,  which  means  *  heart/ 
and  by  the  fact  that  a  chalchiuite,  of  which  stone  the 
relic  was  made,  was  placed  by  the  Mexicans  and  other 
peoples  between  the  lips  of  deceased.  The  other  attri- 
butes accord  more  with  the  character  of  Quetzalcoatl, 
as  we  have  seen,  and  the  tradition  is  very  similar ;  its 
confusion  goes  to  show  that  it  is  a  mutilated  version 
of  the  Toltec  myth.  If  we  accept  Votan  as  a  grand- 
son of  Quetzalcoatl,  we  may  also  suppose  that  he  was 
one  of  the  disciples  sent  out  by  the  prophet  to  spread 
his  doctrines,  and  that  his  own  name  has  been  substi- 
tuted for  that  of  his  master.  This  view  is  favored  by 
the  fact  that  Quetzalcoatl  is  identified  with  the  snake- 
heroes  of  Yucatan  and  Guatemala,  countries  that  lie 
beside  and  beyond  Chiapas.  Then,  again,  we  find 
that  Votan' s  worship  was  known  in  Cholula,  and  that 
he  landed  in  the  very  region  where  the  former  hero 
disappeared.  However  doubtful  the  preceding  tradi- 
tion may  be,  there  is  one  among  the  Oajacans  which 
to  me  has  all  the  appearance  of  a  mutilated  version  of 
the  myth  of  Quetzalcoatl,  deformed  still  more  by  the 
orthodox  Fathers.  In  very  remote  times,  about  the 
era  of  the  apostles,  according  to  the  padres,  an  old 
white  man,  with  long  hair  and  beard,  appeared  sud- 
denly at  Huatulco,  coming  from  the  south-west  by 
sea,  and  preached  to  the  natives  in  their  own  tongue, 
but  of  things  beyond  their  understanding.  He  lived 
a  strict  life,  passing  the  greater  part  of  the  night  in  a 

62 The  ruins  of  Huehuetan,  'city  of  old  men,' are  still  to  be  seen.  Bras- 
seur  de  Bourboury,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  73-4;  Tschwtfs Peruvian  Antitj., 
pp.  11-15;  Domenec/is  Deserts,  vol.  i.  pp.  10-21.  Vega  mentions  that  at 
Teopixca  in  Chiapas  he  found  several  families  who  bore  the  hero's  name  and 
claimed  to  be  descendants  of  his.  This  has  little  value,  however,  for  we 
know  that  priests  assumed  the  name  of  their  god,  and  nearly  all  mythical 
heroes  have  had  descendants,  as  Zeus,  Herakles,  and  others.  Boturini,  Idea, 
P  H5. 


THE  APOSTLE  WIXEPECOCHA.  455 

kneeling  posture,  and  eating  but  little.  He  disap- 
peared shortly  after  as  mysteriously  as  he  had  come, 
but  left  as  a  memento  of  his  visit  a  cross,  which  he 
planted  with  his  own  hand,  and  admonished  the  peo- 
ple to  preserve  it  sacredly,  for  one  day  they  would  be 
taught  its  significance.68  Some  authors  describe  a  per- 
sonage of  the  same  appearance  and  character,  coming 
from  the  same  quarter,  and  appearing  in  the  country 
shortly  after,  but  it  is  doubtless  the  same  old  man, 
who,  on  leaving  Huatulco,  may  have  turned  his  steps 
to  the  interior.  His  voice  is  next  heard  in  Mictlan,64 
inveighing  in  gentle  but  firm  accents  against  the 
pleasures  of  this  world,  and  enjoining  repentance  and 
expiation.  His  life  was  in  strict  accordance  with  his 
doctrines,  and  never,  except  at  confession,  did  he  ap- 
proach a  woman.  But  the  lot  of  Wixepecocha,  as  the 
Zapotecs  call  him,  was  that  of  most  reformers.  Perse- 
cuted by  those  whose  vice  and  superstitions  he  at- 
tacked, he  was  driven  from  one  province  to  another, 
and  at  last  took  refuge  on  Mount  Cempoaltepec. 
Even  here  his  pursuers  followed  him,  climbing  its 
craggy  sides  to  lay  hands  upon  the  prophet.  Just  as 
they  reached  the  summit,  he  vanished  like  a  shadow, 
leaving  only  the  print  of  his  feet  upon  the  rock.65 

Among  the  points  in  this  myth  that  correspond  to 
the  character  of  Quetzalcoatl  may  be  noticed  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  prophet  from  the  south-west,  which 
agrees  with  the  direction  of  the  moisture-bearing 
winds,  the  chief  attribute  of  the  Toltec  god ;  the  cross, 
which  indicates  not  only  the  four  winds,  but  the  rain 
of  which  they  are  the  bearers,  attributes  recognized 
by  the  Mexicans  who  decorated  the  mantle  of  the  god 
with  crosses ;  the  long  beard,  the  white  face,  and  the 
dress,  which  all  accord  with  the  Toltec  Quetzalcoatl. 

63  A  portion  of  this  relic  was  sent  to  Pope  Paul  V.,  in  1613;  the  remain- 
der was  deposited  in  the  cathedral  for  safe-keeping.  Burgoa,  Geoy.  Descrip., 
torn,  ii.,  pt.  ii.,  fol.  350-2. 

64  The  place  of  the  dead,   or  hades,  also  called  Yopaa,  land  of  tombs. 
Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ. ,  torn.  iii. ,  p.  9. 

6u  Fray  Juan  de  Ojedo  saw  and  felt  the  indentation  of  two  feet  upon  the 
rook,  the  muscles  and  toes  as  distinctly  marked  as  if  they  had  been  pressed 
upon  soft  wax.  The  Mijes  had  tlii>  tradition  written  in  characters  on  skin. 
Bvrgoa,  Geoj.  Descrip.,  torn,  ii,  pi  ii.,  fof.  299. 


456          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Like  him,  Wixepecocha  taught  gentle  doctrines  of 
reform,  like  him  he  was  persecuted  and  forced  to 
wander  from  place  to  place,  and  at  last  disappeared, 
leaving  his  followers  the  hope  of  a  better  future.  The 
doctrine  of  Wixepecocha  took  root  and  flourished  in 
the  land  he  had  consecrated  with  his  toils  and  prayers, 
and,  according  to  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Wiyatao, 
the  pontiff  of  Zapotecapan,  was  vicar  and  successor  of 
the  'prophet  of  Monapostiac.'66 

The  early  padres  saw  in  this  personage  none  other 
than  St  Thomas,  the  apostle,  who  had  walked  across 
to  plant  the  cross  and  prepare  the  way  for  Christianity. 
There  is,  or  was  until  recently,  a  statue  of  him  in  the 
village  of  Magdalena,  four  leagues  from  Tehuantepec, 
which  represented  him  with  long  white  beard,  and 
muffled  up  in  a  long  robe  with  a  hood,  secured  by  a 
cord  round  the  waist;  he  was  seated  in  a  reflective 
attitude,  listening  to  the  confession  of  a  woman  kneel- 
ing by  his  side.67  A  similar  statue  is  mentioned  by 
Burgoa  as  having  existed  in  a  cave  not  far  from 
Xustlahuaca,  in  Mistecapan,63  where  it  stood  near  the 
entrance,  on  a  marble  monolith  eleven  feet  in  height. 
The  approach  to  the  cavern  appears  to  have  formerly 
led  through  a  beautiful  garden;  within  were  masses 
of  stalactite  of  the  most  fantastic  and  varied  forms, 
many  of  which  the  people  had  fashioned  into  images 
of  different  kinds,  and  of  .the  most  artistic  execution, 
says  the  padre,  whose  fancy  was  doubtless  aided  by 
the  twilight  within.  Here  lay  the  embalmed  bodies 
of  kings  and  pontiffs,  surrounded  by  treasures,  for 
this  was  a  supposed  entrance  to  the  flowered  fields  of 
heaven.  The  temple  cave  at  Mictlan  bore  a  similar 
reputation,  and  served  as  a  sepulchre  for  the  Zapotec 

60  A  name  given  to  Wixepecocha  by  the  tradition,  which  adds  that  he  was 
seen  on  the  island  of  Monapostiac,  near  Tehuantepec,  previous  to  his  final 
disappearance.  Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  Hint.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  411. 
Quetzalcoatl  also  disappeared  seaward. 

07  He  debarked  near  Tehuantepec,  bearing  a  cross  in  his  hand;  Gondra, 
Itasyos  y  senates  de  la  primera  predication  en  el  Nuevo-Mundo,  MS. ;  Carriedo, 
ExtudioA,  Hint,  del  Estado  Oaxaqueno,  torn,  i.,  cap.  i.;  Brasseur  de  Bourhoanj, 
Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  9-10. 

t8  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  seems  to  place  it  at  Chalcatongo.  Hist.  Nat.  Civ., 
torn,  iii.,  p.  19;  Burgoa,  Georj.  Descrip.,  torn,  ii.,  pt.  L,  fol.  170. 


GODS  OF  OAJACA.  457 

grandees.  It  consisted  of  four  chief  divisions,  the 
largest  forming  the  sanctuary  proper,  the  second  and 
third  the  tombs  of  kings  and  pontiffs,  and  the  fourth  a 
vestibule  to  an  immense  labyrinthine  grotto,  in  which 
brave  warriors  were  occasionally  buried.  Into  this, 
the  very  anteroom  of  paradise,  frenzied  devotees 
would  at  times  enter,  and  seek  in  its  dark  mazes  for 
the  abode  of  the  gods;  none  ever  returned  from  this 
dread  quest,  for  the  entrance  was  closed  with  a  great 
stone,  and  doubtless  many  a  poor  wretch  as  he  touched 
in  his  last  feeble  gropings  the  bones  of  those  who  had 
preceded  him,  felt  the  light  come  in  upon  his  soul  in 
spite  of  the  thick  darkness,  and  knew  he  had  been 
deluded;  but  the  mighty  stone  at  the  mouth  of  the 
cave  told  no  secrets.69 

The  prominence  of  the  Plutonic  element  in  the  wor- 
ship of  Oajaca  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  Pezelao, 
whose  character  corresponded  to  that  of  the  Mexican 
Mictlantecutli,  received  high  honors.  The  other  con- 
spicuous gods,  as  enumerated  by  Brasseur  de  Bour- 
bourg,  were  Pitao-Cocobi,  god  of  abundance,  or  of  the 
harvest;  Cociyo,  the  rain-god;  Cozaana,  patron  of 
hunters  and  fishermen;  and  Pitao-Xoo,  god  of  earth- 
quakes. Other  deities  controlled  riches,  misfortunes, 
auguries,  poetic  inspiration — even  the  hens  had  their 
patron  divinity.  As  might  be  expected  of  a  people 
who  regarded  even  living  kings  and  priests  with  adora- 
tion, apotheosis  was  common.  Thus  Petela,  an  an- 
cient Zapotec  cacique,  whose  name  signified  dog,  was 
worshipped  in  the  cavern  of  Coatlan.  At  one  end  of 
this  subterranean  temple  a  yawning  abyss  received  the 
foaming  waters  of  a  mountain  torrent,  and  into  this 
slaves  and  captives,  gayly  dressed  and  adorned  with 
flowers,  were  cast  on  certain  occasions.70 

At  another  place  was  a  white  stone  shaped  like  a 
nine-pin,  supposed  to  be  the  embodiment  of  Pinopiaa, 
a  saintly  princess  of  Zapotecapan,  whose  corpse  had 

69  Escalera  and  Liana,  Mtj.  Hist.  Descrip.,  p.  330. 

79  '  Le  teuian  enterrado,  seco,  y  embalsaraado  en  su  proporcion. '  The 
cave  was  supposed  to  connect  with  the  city  of  Chiapas,  200  leagues  distant. 
Herrera,  Hint.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  xiv. 


458          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

been  miraculously  conveyed  to  heaven  and  returned 
in  this  form  for  the  benefit  of  the  devout.71 

In  Chiapas  they  worshipped  Costahuntox,  who  was 
represented  with  ram's  horns  on  his  head,  and  sat  on 
a  throne  surrounded  by  thirteen  grandees.  In  the  dis- 
trict of  Llanos,  Yabalan,  or  Yahalan,  and  Canamlum 
were  the  chief  gods.  Even  living  beings  held  the 
position  of  deities,  according  to  Diaz,  who  states  that 
a  fat  old  woman,  dressed  in  richly  decorated  robes, 
whom  the  natives  venerated  as  a  goddess,  led  them 
against  the  Spanish  invaders,  but  was  killed.72  Among 
the  Mijes,  a  green  flat  stone,  with  blood-red,  lustrous 
rays,  was  held  in  much  veneration.  Although  this  is 
the  only  reference  made  by  the  chroniclers  that  may 
be  connected  with  sun-worship — which,  by  the  way, 
could  scarcely  have  claimed  a  very  high  position  here, 
since  the  founder  of  the  Miztec  royal  family  is  stated 
to  have  been  victorious  in  a  contest  with  the  sun — it 
is  worthy  of  note  that  the  Zapotec  word  nuhu,  fire, 
also  denotes  divinity,  idol,  everything  sacred,  the  earth 
itself.73  The  household  idols  had  their  names,  history, 
and  worship  depicted  on  bark,  and  smoked  or  painted 
hides,  in  order  to  keep  them  always  before  the  people, 
and  insure  to  the  youth  a  knowledge  of  their  god. 
How  firmly  rooted  idolatry  was,  and  how  slow  the 
work  of  eradicating  it  must  have  been,  to  the  padres, 
notwithstanding  they  destroyed  every  idol  they  could 
lay  hands  on,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  among  the 
Guechecoros  a  statue  of  Cortes  served  as  an  object 
of  worship.74  Nagualism  is  one  of  the  ancient  forms 

n'Piedra  blanca,  labrada  al  modo  de  vn  acho  de  bolos vn  gruesso 

taladro.'  Burgoa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  ii.,  pt.  ii.,  fol.  332. 

72  Bernal  Diaz,  Hiti.  Coruj.,  fol.  179;  Salaz-ir  y  Olarte,  Hltf.  Conq.  Mex.,  p. 
137.  There  were  many  among  the  padres  who  held  Yabalan  to  have  been  a:i 
immediate  descendant  of  Noah's  son  Ham,  because  the  name  signified  'chief 
black  man,  or  negro.'  Pineda,  in  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  Boletin,  torn,  iii.,  p.  419. 

73 Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hint.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  17;  Ddvili  Pdilill", 
Hist.  Fvnd.  Mex.,  pp.  638-9.  In  Chiapas  are  found  a  number  of  representa- 
tions of  heavenly  bodies,  sculptured  or  drawn,  and  at  Palenque  a  sun  tem- 
ple is  supposed  to  have  existed.  Pineda,  in  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  Boletin,  torn,  iii., 
p.  419. 

74  They  '  worship  his  image  in  their  own  peculiar  way,  sometimes  by  cut- 
ting off  a  turkey's  head.'  'The  natives  are  about  as  far  advanced  in  Chris- 
tianity as  they  were  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest.'  Hutckimjs'  Gal.  Mag.,  vol. 
ii.,  p.  542. 


TREE-WORSHIP.  459 

of  worship  which  still  flourish,  and  consists  in  choos- 
ing an  animal  as  the  tutelary  divinity  of  child,  whose 
existence  will  be  so  closely  connected  with  it,  that 
the  life  of  one  depends  on  that  of  the  other.  Burgoa 
states  that  the  priest  selected  the  animal  by  divination; 
when  the  boy  grew  up  he  was  directed  to  proceed  to  a 
mountain  to  offer  sacrifice,  and  there  the  animal  would 
appear  to  him.  Others  say  that  at  the  hour  of  the 
mother's  confinement,  the  father  and  friends  drew  on 
the  floor  of  the  hut  the  outline  of  various  animals, 
effacing  each  figure  as  soon  as  they  began  the  next, 
and  the  figure  that  remained  at  the  moment  of  deliv- 
ery represented  the  guardian  of  the  infant;  or  that 
the  bird  or  beast  first  seen  by  the  watchers  after  the 
confinement  was  accepted  as  the  nagual.  The  bestowal 
of  the  sign  of  the  day  upon  the  infant  as  its  name 
may  perhaps  be  considered  as  a  species  of  nagualism, 
since  the  name  of  animals  often  formed  these  signs.75 

A  form  of  worship  particularly  marked  in  this  coun- 
try was  the  veneration  accorded  to  trees,  as  may  be 
judged  from  the  myth  which  attributes  the  origin  of 
the  Miztec,  as  well  as  a  portion  at  least  of  the  Zapo- 
tec  people,  to  two  trees.  This  cult  existed  also  in 
other  parts  of  Mexico  and  Central  America,  where 
cypresses  and  palms  growing  near  the  temples,  gener- 
ally in  groups  of  three,  were  tended  with  great  care, 
and  often  received  offerings  of  incense  and  other  gifts. 
They  do  not,  however,  seem  to  have  been  dedicated 
to  any  particular  god,  as  among  the  Romans,  where 
Pluto  claimed  the  cypress,  and  Victory  the  palm.  One 
of  the  most  sacred  of  these  relics  is  a  cypress  standing 
at  Santa  Maria  de  Tule,  the  venerable  trunk  of  which 
measures  ninety  feet  in  circumference  at  a  height  of 
six  feet  from  the  ground.76 

One  of  the  chief  offerings  of  the  Zapotecs  was  the 

75  Burgoa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  ii.,  pt.  ii.,  fol.  395;  Ferry,  Costal  L'Indien, 
pp.  ,6-7. 

76  Some  consider  it  to  be  composed  of  three  trunks  which  have  grown  to- 
gether, and  the  deep  indentations  certainly  give  it  that  appearance;  but  trees 
of  this  species  generally  present  irregular  forms.  Escalera  and  Liana,  Mej. 
Hist.  Detcrip.,  pp.  224-5;  Charnay,  Ruines  Amer.,  phot,  xviii. 


460          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

blood  of  the  to  them  sacred  turkey ;  straws  and  feath- 
ers smeared  with  blood  from  the  back  of  the  ear, 
and  from  beneath  the  tongue  of  persons,  also  consti- 
tuted a  large  portion  of  the  sacred  offerings,  and  were 
presented  in  special  grass  vessels.  Human  sacrifices 
were  not  common  with  the  Oajacan  people,  but  in 
case  of  emergency,  captives  and  slaves  were  generally 
the  victims.  The  usual  mode  of  offering  them  was  to 
tear  out  the  heart,  but  in  some  places,  as  at  Coatlan, 
they  were  cast  into  an  abyss.  Herrera  states  that 
men  were  offered  to  the  gods,  women  to  goddesses, 
and  children  to  inferior  deities,  and  that  their  bodies 
were  eaten,  but  the  latter  statement  is  doubtful.77 

77  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  xiv.;  Burgoa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  ii., 
pt.  ii.,  fol.  282;  Miifilenpfordt,  Mejico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  194.  Pontelli,  who  claims 
to  have  paid  a  visit  to  the  forbidden  retreats  of  the  mountain  Lacandones, 
a  few  years  ago,  mentions,  among  other  peculiarities,  a  stone  of  sacrifice, 
interlaced  by  serpents,  and  covered  with  hieroglyphics,  on  which  the  heart 
of  human  beings  were  torn  out.  Correo  de  Ultramar,  Paris,  1860;  Cal  Farmer, 
Nov.  7,  1862. 


CHAPTER  XI 

GODS,   SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,   AND  WORSHIP. 

MAYA  PANTHEON — ZAMNA — CUKULCAN — THE  GODS  or  YUCATAN — THE  SYM- 
BOL OP  THE  CROSS  IN  AMERICA — HUMAN  SACRIFICES  IN  YUCATAN — 
PRIESTS  OF  YUCATAN— GUATEMALAN  PANTHEON — TEPEU  AND  HURAKAN — 
AVILIX  AND  HACAVITZ — THE  HEROES  OF  THE  SACRED  BOOK — QUICHE 
GODS — WORSHIP  OF  THE  CHOLES,  MANCHES,  ITZAS,  LACANDONES,  AND 
OTHERS — TRADITION  OF  COMIZAHUAL — FASTS — PRIESTS  OF  GUATEMALA — 
GODS,  WORSHIP,  AND  PRIESTS  OF  NICARAGUA — WORSHIP  ON  THE  MOS- 
QUITO COAST — GODS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  THE  ISTHMIANS — PHALLIC  WOR- 
SHIP IN  AMERICA. 

THE  religion  of  the  Mayas  was  fundamentally  the 
same  as  that  of  the  Nahuas,  though  it  differed  some- 
what in  outward  forms.  Most  of  the  gods  were  deified 
heroes,  brought  more  or  less  prominently  to  the  front 
by  their  importance.  Occasionally  we  find  very  dis- 
tinct traces  of  an  older  sun-worship,  which  has  suc- 
cumbed to  later  forms,  introduced,  according  to  vague 
tradition,  from  Andhuac.  The  generality  of  this  cult 
is  testified  to  by  the  numerous  representations  of  sun- 
plates  and  sun-pillars  found  among  the  ruins  of  Cen- 
tral America.1 

1 '  Toda  esta  Tierra,  con  estotra, tenia  vna  misma  manera  de  religion, 

y  ritos,  y  si  en  algo  diferenciaba,  era,  en  mui  poco. '  '  Lo  mismo  fue  de  las 
Provincias  de  Quatirnala,  Nicaragua,  y  Honduras.'  Torquemada,  Monarq. 
Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  54,  191.  Tylor  thinks  that  'the  civilizations  of  Mexico 
and  Central  America  were  originally  independent,  but  that  they  came  much 
in  contact,  and  thus  modified  one  another  to  no  small  extent.'  Anahuac,  p. 
191.  'On  reconnait  facilement  que  le  culte  y  etait  partout  base  stir  le  rituel 
tolteque,  et  que  leg  formes  memes  ne  difleraient  guere  les  unes  des  autres. ' 
Brasseurde  Uourbounj,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  559. 

(461) 


462          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

In  Yucatan,  Hunab  Ku,  'the  only  god/  called  also 
Kinehahau,  *  the  mouth  or  eyes  of  the  sun/ 2  is  repre- 
sented as  the  Supreme  Being,  the  Creator,  the  Invisi- 
ble One,  whom  no  image  can  represent.3  His  spouse, 
Ixazalvoh,  was  honored  as  the  inventor  of  weaving,  and 
their  son,  Zemnd,  or  Yaxcocahmut,  one  of  the  culture- 
heroes  of  the  people,  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  in- 
ventor of  the  art  of  writing.4  The  inquiries  institute< 
by  Las  Casas  revealed  the  existence  of  a  trinity, 
first  person  of  which  was  Izona,  the  Great  Father;  th< 
second  was  the  Son  of  the  Great  Father,  Bacab,  born 
of  the  virgin  Chibirias,5  scourged  and  crucified,  he  de- 
scended into  the  realms  of  the  dead,  rose  again  th< 
third  day,  and  ascended  into  heaven;  the  third  persoi 
of  the  trinity  was  Echuah,  or  Ekchuah,  the  Hoi; 
Ghost.6  Now,  to  accuse  the  reverend  Fathers  oi 
deliberately  concocting  this  and  other  statements  of  a 
similar  character  is  to  accuse  them  of  acts  of  charla 
tanism  which  no  religious  zeal  could  justify.  On  th< 
other  hand,  that  this  mysterious  trinity  had  any  real 
existence  in  the  original  belief  of  the  natives  is,  to  put  ii 
in  its  mildest  form,  exceedingly  doubtful.  It  may  be, 
however,  that  the  natives,  when  questioned  concern- 
ing their  religion,  endeavored  to  make  it  conform  as 
nearly  as  possible  to  that  of  their  conquerors,  hoping 
by  this  means  to  gain  the  good-will  of  their  masters, 
and  to  lull  suspicions  of  lurking  idolatry. 

Bacab,  stated  above  to  mean  the  Son  of  the  Great 
Father,  was  in  reality  the  name  of  four  spirits  who 

2Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  42,  calls  him  the 
sun. 

3  Representations  of  the  sun,  with  whom  he  seems  to  bo  identified,  are 
not  impossible  to  these  peoples  if  we  may  judge  from  the  sun-plates  with 
lapping  tongues  and  other  representations  found  on  the  ruins  in  Mexico  and 
Central  America. 

4 'Porque  a  este  le  llamaban  tambien  Ytzamna.'  CogoUudo,  Hist.  Yuc., 
pp.  196,  192. 

5  The  daughter  of  Ixchel,  the  Yucatec  medicine-goddess.  Brasscur  de 
Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  43.  He  writes  the  virgin's  name  as 
Chiribias.  Ixchel  seems  to  be  the  same  as  the  Guatemalan  Xmucane",  mother 
of  the  gods.'  Id.,  Quatre  Lettres,  p.  243. 

6 Las  Casas,  Hi«t.  Apoloyetica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxiii.;  Coc/olludo,  Hint.  Yuc.,  p. 
190;  Remesal,  Hist.  Chyapa,  p.  240;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Jnd.,  torn,  iii.,  p. 
133. 


ZAMNi.  4G3 

supported  the  firmament;  while  Eshuah,  or  the  Holy 
Ghost,  was  the  patron  god  of  merchants  and  travellers. 
The  goddess  Ixcanleox  was  held  to  be  the  mother  of 
the  gods,  but  as  Cogolludo  states  that  she  had  several 
names,  she  may  possibly  be  identical  with  Ixazaluoh, 
the  wife  of  Hunab  Ku,  wrhose  name  implies  genera- 
tion.7 The  Mayas  were  not  behind  their  neighbors  in 
the  number  of  their  lesser  and  especial  divinities,  so 
that  there  was  scarcely  an  animal  or  imaginary  crea- 
ture which  they  did  not  represent  by  sacred  images. 
These  idols,  or  zemes*  as  they  were  called,  were  gener- 
ally made  of  terra-cotta,  though  sometimes  they  were 
of  stone,  gold,  or  wood.  In  the  front  rank  of  the  cir- 
cle of  gods,  known  by  the  name  of  ku,  were  the  deified 
kings  and  heroes,  whom  we  often  find  credited  with 
attributes  so  closely  connected  as  to  imply  identity,  or 
representation  of  varied  phases  of  the  same  element.9 
The  most  popular  names  were  Zamnci  and  Cukulcan, 
both  culture-heroes,  and  considered  by  some  to  be 
identical — a  very  probable  supposition,  when  we  con- 
sider that  Quetzalcoatl,  who  is  admitted  to  be  the  same 
as  Cukulcan,  had  the  attribute  of  the  strong  hand,  as 
well  as  Zamna".  The  tradition  relates  that  some  time 
after  the  fall  of  the  Quinamean  empire,  Zamna"  ap- 
peared in  Yucatan,  coming  from  the  west,  and  was 
received  with  great  respect  wherever  he  stayed.  Be- 
sides being  the  inventor  of  the  alphabet,  he  is  said  to 
have  named  all  points  and  places  in  the  country.  Over 
his  grave  rose  a  city  called  Izarnal,  or  Itzamat  Ul, 
which  soon  became  one  of  the  chief  centres  of  pilgrim- 
age in  the  peninsula,  especially  for  the  afflicted,  who 
sincerely  believed  that  their  prayers  when  accompa- 
nied by  suitable  presents  would  not  fail  to  obtain  a 
hearing.  This  class  of  devotees  generally  resorted  to 

7  '  Celle  de  1'eau  matrice  d'cmbryon,  ix-a-zal-uoh.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
MS.  Troano,  torn,  ii.,  p.  258. 

3  '  Idolo,  o  Zami. '  V iliagutierre,  Hist.  Conq.  Itza,  p.  33.  '  Zemes  which 
are  the  Images  of  their  familiar  and  domesticall  spirites.'  Peter  Martyr,  dec. 
iv.,  lib.  vi. 

' '  Les  dieux  de  1'Yucatan,  disent  Lizaiia  et  Cogullodo,  e^aient  presque 
tous  des  rdis  plus  ou  moins  bons  que  la  gratitude  ou  la  terreur  avait  fait 
placer  au  rang  des  divinites.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii., 
p.  20;  Landa,  Relation,  p.  158;  Cojolludo,  Hist.  Yuc..  p.  198. 


464          GOBS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

the  temple,  where  he  was  represented  in  the  form  of  a 
hand,  Kab  Ul,  or  working  hand,  whose  touch  was  suf- 
ficient to  restore  health.10 

Professor  Mtiller  thinks  it  very  uncertain  whether 
the  creating  or  working  hand  referred  to  the  sun,  as 
was  the  case  among  the  northern  tribes,  but  the  ac- 
count given  of  the  following  idol  seems  to  me  to  make 
this  not  improbable.  In  the  same  city  was  an  image 
of  Kinich  Kakmo,  'face  or  eye  of  the  sun/  whom 
Landa  represents  to  be  the  offspring  of  the  sun,  but 
who  subsequently  became  identified  with  that  lumi- 
nary and  received  divine  honors  in  the  very  temple  that 
he  had  erected  to  his  father.  He  is  represented  in 
the  act  of  sacrifice,  pointing  the  finger  toward  a  ray 
from  the  mid-day  sun,  as  if  to  draw  a  spark  wherewith 
to  kindle  the  sacred  fire.  To  this  idol  the  people  re- 
sorted in  times  of  calamity  and  sickness,  bringing  offer- 
ings to  induce  oracular  advice.11  There  are  many  things 
which  seem  to  me  to  identify  this  personage  with 
Zamna,  although  other  writers  hold  them  to  be  dis- 
tinct. Cogolludo,  for  instance,  implies  that  Zamnd 
was  the  only  son  of  the  sun,  or  Supreme  Being,  while 
Landa  and  others  declare  Kinich  Kakmo  to  be  the 
son  of  that  luminary ;  both  are  placed  on  or  about  the 
same  level  and  considered  as  healers,  and  the  uplifted 
hand  of  the  latter  reminds  us  strongly  of  the  Kab  Ul. 
Another  form  in  which  we  may  recognize  Zamna  is 
the  image  of  Itzamat  Ul,  or  'the  dew  of  heaven/  who 

™Lizana,  in  Landa,  Relation,  p.  356;  Cogolludo,  Hist.  Yuc.,  p.  197;  Brin- 
ton,  Myths,  p.  188,  speaks  of  '  Zamna,  or  Cukulcan,  lord  of  the  dawn  and  four 
winds, 'and  connects  him  with  Votan  also.  'II  y  a  toute  apparence  qu'il 
etait  de  la  meme  race  [as  Votan]  et  que  son  arrivee  out  eut  lieu  peu  d'annees 
apres  la  fondation  de  la  monarchic  palenqueenne. '  Brasseur  de  Bourhoury, 
Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  76  et  seq.  The  hand  in  picture-writing  signifies 
strength,  power,  mastery,  and  is  frequently  met  with  on  Central  American 
ruins,  impressed  in  red  color.  Among  the  North  American  savages  it  was 
the  symbol  of  supplication.  Their  doctors  sometimes  smeared  the  hand 
with  paint  and  daubed  it  over  the  patient.  Scluoolcraft,  in  Stephens'  Yuca- 
tan, vol.  ii.,  pp.  476-8. 

"Lizana,  in  Landa,  Relation,  p.  360,  translates  the  name  as  'Sol  con 
rostro  que  sus  rayos  eran  de  fuego.'  Coyolludo,  Hist.  Yuc.,  pp.  198,  178; 
Brasseur  de  Bourboura,  MS.  Troaiio,  p.  270;  Id.,  Hi«t.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp. 
5-6;  Midler,  Amerikaniscke  Urreliyionen,  p.  475.  In  the  syllable  mo  of  the 
hero's  name  is  found  another  reference  to  the  sun,  for  moo  is  the  Maya  term 
for  the  bird  ara,  the  symbol  of  the  sun. 


CUKULCAN.  465 

is  said  to  have  been  a  great  ruler,  the  son  of  god,  and 
who  cured  diseases,  raised  the  dead,  and  pronounced 
oracles.  When  asked  his  name,  he  replied,  ytzencaan, 
ytzenmuyal.12 

The  other  culture-hero,  Cukulcan,  appeared  in 
Yucatan  from  the  west,  with  nineteen  followers,  two 
of  whom  were  gods  of  fishes,  two  gods  of  farms,  and 
one  of  thunder,  all  wearing  full  beard,  long  robes,  and 
sandals,  but  no  head-covering.  This  event  is  supposed 
to  have  occurred  at  the  very  time  that  Quetzalcoatl 
disappeared  in  the  neighboring  province  of  Goaza- 
coalco,  a  conjecture  which,  in  addition  to  the  similarity 
of  the  names,  character,  and  work  of  the  heroes,  forms 
the  basis  for  their  almost  generally  accepted  identity. 
Cukulcan  stopped  at  several  places  in  Yucatan,  but  at 
last  settled  in  Chichen  Itza,  where  he  governed  for 
ten  years,  and  framed  laws.  At  the  expiration  of  this 
period,  he  left  without  apparent  reason  to  return  to 
the  country  whence  he  had  come.  A  grateful  people 
erected  temples  at  Mayapan  and  Chichen,  to  which 
pilgrims  resorted  from  all  quarters  to  worship  him  as 
a  god,  and  to  drink  of  the  waters  in  which  he  had 
bathed.  His  worship,  although  pretty  general  through- 
out Yucatan  at  one  time,  was  later  on  confined  chiefly 
to  the  immediate  scenes  of  his  labors.13 

2  c  El  que  recibe,  y  possee  la  gracia,  6  rozio  del  Cielo. '  '  No  conocian 
otro  Dios  Autor  de  la  vida,  sino  a  este.'  Coyolludo,  Hist.  Yuc.,  p.  179.  'Ce- 
lui  qui  demande  ou  obtient  la  rosee  ou  la  glace,  ou  rempli  de  1'eau  en  bras  de 
glace,  itz-m-a-tul.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourtj,  MS.  Troano,  torn,  ii.,  p.  257;  Landa, 
fielacion,  pp.  284-5. 

13  After  staying  a  short  time  at  Potonchan,  he  embarked,  and  nothing 
more  was  heard  of  him.  The  Codex  Chimalpopoca  states,  however,  that  he 
died  in  Tlapallan,  four  days  after  his  return.'  Brassetir  de  Bourbourg,  Hist. 
Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  18.  In  another  place  this  writer  refers  to  three  broth- 
ers, z'feaoi,  'saintly  man,'  who  were  probably  sent  by  Quetzalcoatl  to  spread 
his  doctrines,  but  who  ultimately  founded  a  monarchy.  They  also  seem  to 
throw  a  doubt  011  the  identity  of  Cukulcan  with  Quetzalcoatl.  '  II  n'y  a  pas 
it  douter,  toutefois,  que,  s'il  est  le  meme  que  Quetzalcohuatl,  la  doctrine  aura 
etc  lamoine.'  Id.,  pp.  10-11,  43.  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  52, 
states  that  the  Cocomes  were  his  descendants,  but  as  the  hero  never  married, 
his  disciples  must  rather  be  accepted  as  their  ancestors.  Landa,  Relation,  pp. 
35-9,  300-1;  Hcrrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  x.,  cap.  ii.  Veytia  connects 
him  with  St  Thomas.  Hist.  Antig.  Afej.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  195-8.  Speaking  of 
Cukulcan  and  his  companions,  Las  Casas  says:  'A  este  llamaron  Dios  de  las 
nebres  6  Calenturas ....  Los  cuales  mandaban  que  se  confesasen  las  gentes  y 
ayuuasen;  y  que  algunos  ayunaban  el  viernes  porque  habia  muerto  aquel 
VOL.  III.  30 


466          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Besides  Izamal  and  Chichen,  there  was  a  third  great 
centre  of  worship  in  Yucatan,  namely,  the  temple  of 
Ahulneb,  on  Cozumel  Island,  said  by  some  writers  to 
have  been  the  chief  sanctuary,  Chichen  being  second 
in  importance.  It  consisted  of  a  square  tower  of  con- 
siderable size,  within  which  was  the  gigantic  terra- 
cotta statue  of  Ahulneb,  dressed  as  a  warrior,  and 
holding  an  arrow  in  his  hand.  The  statue  was  hol- 
low and  set  up  close  against  an  aperture  in  the  wall; 
by  which  the  priest  entered  the  figure  to  deliver  the 
oracle;  should  the  prediction  not  be  fulfilled,  which 
was  scarcely  likely,  as  it  was  generally  so  worded  that 
it  might  mean  anything  or  nothing,  the  failure  was 
ascribed  to  insufficient  sacrifice  or  unatoned  sin.  So 
famous  did  this  oracle  become,  and  so  great  was  the 
multitude  of  pilgrims  continually  flocking  to  it,  that  it 
was  found  necessary  to  construct  roads  leading  from 
the  chief  cities  of  Yucatan,  and  even  from  Tabasco 
and  Guatemala,  to  Pole,  a  town  on  the  continent  op- 
posite the  island.  Before  embarking,  the  genius  of 
the  sea  was  always  propitiated  by  the  sacrifice  of  a 
dog,  which  was  slain  with  arrows  amid  music  and 
dancing.14 

The  Bacabs  were  four  brothers  who  supported  the 
four  corners  of  the  firmament;  they  were  also  regarded 
as  air-gods.  Cogolludo  speaks  of  them  as  Zacal  Bacab, 
Canal  Bacab,  Chacal  Bacab,  and  Ekel  Bacab,  but  they 
were  also  known  by  other  names.  Echuah  was  the  pa- 
tron-god of  merchants  and  of  roads ;  to  him  the  traveller 
erected  every  night  a  rude  altar  of  six  stones,  three 
laid  flat,  and  three  set  upright,  upon  which  he  burned 
incense  while  he  invoked  the  protection  of  the  god. 
It  was  considered  a  religious  duty  by  Yucatec  way- 

dia  Bacab;  y  tiene  por  nombre  aquel  dia  Himis.'  Hist.  Apologetica,  MS., 
cap.  cxxiii.  '  Kukuican,  vient  de  kuk,  oiseau  qui  parait  etre  le  menie  que  le 
quetzal;  son  determinatif  est  kukul  qui  uni  &  can,  serpent,  fait  exactement  le 
ineme  mot  que  Quetzal  Cohuatl,  serpent  aux  plumes  vertes,  ou  de  Quetzal.' 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  in  Landa,  Relacion,  p.  35. 

uOomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  22;  Landa,  Relation,  p.  158;  Cotjolludo,  ///•><• 
Yuc.,  p.  202;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  (hv.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  4(5-7.  '  >SG 
tenian  por  santificados  los  que  alia  auiaii  estado.'  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec. 
iv.,  lib.  x.,  cap.  iv. 


YUCATEC  DEITIES.  467 

farers,  when  passing  some  prominent  point  on  the  road 
or  spot  where  an  image  of  Echuah  stood,  to  add  a 
stone  or  two  to  the  heap  already  accumulated  there, 
an  act  of  devotion  similar  to  that  performed  by  the 
Romans  in  honor  of  Mercury.  Yuncemil  was  Lord  of 
Death,  or  perhaps  the  personification  of  death  itself; 
this  dread  deity  was  propitiated  with  offerings  of 
food.15  Acat  was  God  of  Life;  he  it  was  that  formed 
the  infant  in  the  womb.  At  Tihoo,  the  present 
Merida,  stood  the  magnificent  temple  of  Yahau  Kuna, 
in  which  Baklum  Chaam,  the  Priapus  of  the  Mayas, 
and  their  most  ancient  god,  was  worshipped.  Chac, 
or  Chaac,  a  former  king  of  Izamal,  was  honored  as  the 
god  of  fields  and  fertility,  and  the  inventor  of  agricul- 
ture. Some  distance  south-west  of  this  city  was  the 
temple  of  Hunpictok,  '  commander  of  eight  thousand 
lances,'  a  title  given  also  to  the  general  of  the  army.16 
Abchuy  Kak  was  another  apotheosized  warrior-prince, 
whose  statue,  dressed  in  royal  robes,  was  borne  in  the 
van  of  the  army  by  four  of  the  most  illustrious  cap- 
tains, and  received  an  ovation  all  along  the  route. 
Yxchebelyax  is  mentioned  as  the  inventor  of  the  art 
of  interweaving  figures  in  cloth,  and  of  painting. 
Xibalba,  'he  who  disappears/  was  the  name  of  the 
evil  spirit.  Exquemelin  relates  that  nagualism  ob- 
tained on  the  coast.  The  naked  child  was  placed  on 
a  bed  of  ashes  in  the  temple,  and  the  animal  whose 
footprint  was  noticed  in  the  ashes  was  adopted  as  the 
riagual,  and  to  it  the  child  offered  incense  as  it  grew 
up.17 

One  of  the   most  remarkable  emblems  of  Maya 

15Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  50,  calls  the  god  of 
death  Rakatku.  Baeza,  in  Registro  Yuc.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  168-9,  mentions  a  trans- 
parent stone  called  zaizun,  by  means  of  which  hidden  things  and  causes  of 
diseases  could  be  discovered. 

6  '  Cette  divinite  parait  etre  la  meme  que  le  Tilmc  des  Quiches  et  Cakchi- 
quels,  le  Tecpatl  des  Mexicains,  la  lance  ou  la  fleche. '  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
in  Landa,  Relation,  p.  363. 

17  Zee-covers,  p.  64;  Cogolludo,  Hist.  Yuc.,  pp.  178,  190-1,  196-7;  Landa, 
Relation,  pp.  206-8;  Lizana,  in  Id.,  pp.  356-64;  Ternaux-Compans,  in  N<w- 
velks  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn,  xcvii.,  pp.  40-4;  Dorneneclis  Deserts,  vol. 
i.,  pp.  17,  32;  Remesal,  Hint.  Chyapa,  pp.  245-6;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  4-10,  20,  42-50 


4GS          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

worship,  in  the  estimation  of  the  conquerors,  was  the 
cross,  which  has  -also  been  noticed  in  other  parts  of 
Central  America  and  in  Mexico,18  although  less  prom- 
inently than  here.  Among  the  many  conjectures  as 
to  its  origin,  it  is  supposed  that  it  was  received  from 
Spaniards  who  were  wrecked  on  the  coast  before  Cor- 
dova discovered  Yucatan,  as,  for  instance,  the  pious 
Aguilar,  Cortes'  interpreter;  but  this  would  not  ac- 
count for  the  crosses  that  existed  in  other  parts  of 
Central  America.  The  natives  had  a  tradition,  how- 
ever, which  placed  the  introduction  of  the  cross  a  few 
years  before  the  Conquest.  Among  the  many  proph- 
ets who  arose  at  that  time  was  one  who  predicted  the 
coming  of  a  strange  people  from  the  direction  of  the 
rising  sun,  who  would  bring  with  them  a  monotheistic 
faith  having  the  cross  for  its  emblem.  He  admon- 
ished them  to  accept  the  new  religion,  and  erected  a 
cross  as  a  token  of  his  prophecy.19  Another  tradition 
states  that  a  very  handsome  man  passed  through  the 
country  and  left  the  cross  as  a  memento,  and  this 
many  of  the  padres  readily  believed,  declaring  this 
personage  to  be  none  other  than  the  wanderer  St 
Thomas.20  The  opinion  that  it  was  introduced  by 
early  Christians  or  Old  World  pagans  is,  however, 
opposed  by  the  argument  that  other  more  practical 

18  '  Tra  le  Croci  sono  celebri  quelle  di  Jucatan,  della  Mizteca,  di  Queretaro, 
di  Tepique,  e  di  Tianquiztepec. '  Claiigero,  Storia,  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii., 
p.  14.     There  were  also  crosses  at  Palenque,  on  San  Juan  de  Ulloa,  at  Copan, 
in  Nicaragua,  and  other  places.      '  Die  Tolteken  haben  niimlich  die  Vereh- 
rung  des   Kreuzes  mit   durchaus   bewusster   Beziehung   desselben   auf   den 
Regen,  von  der  alten  Urbevolkerung  aufgenommen.  *  Mutter,  Amerikanische 
tTrrelit/ionen,  pp.  498-9;  Palatio,  Carti,  p.  88. 

19  This  and  other  prophecies,  which,  if  not   mere   fabrications,  bear  at 
least   marks   of   mutilation  and  addition,    may   be   found  in    Torqnemada, 
Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  132-3;  Remesal,  Hist.  Cliyapa,  pp.  245-G;  Cogo- 
lludo,  Hist.  Yne.,  pp.  99-100;  Brasseur  de  Bourlourrj,  II  int.  N<it.  Civ.,  torn,  ii., 
pp.  C03-6.     Brintoii  thinks  that  they  may  refer  to  'the  return  of  Zamna,  or 
Kuckulcan,  lord  of  the  dawn  and  the  four  winds,  worshipped  at  Cozumel 
....under  the  sign  of  the  cross.'  Myths,  p.  188.     The  report  circulated  by 
Aguilar,  of  his  people  and  of  the  cross,  may  have  given  the  prophets  a  clew. 

20  '  The  formation  of  such  an  opinion  by  the  Spaniards  seems  to  shew 
almost  conclusively,  that  the  aborigines  of  the  country  did  not  retain  any 
traditional  history  on  the  subject  that  would  justify  the  simple  belief,  that 
Catholic   Europeans  had   ever   possessed   influence  enough  among  them  to 
have  established  so  important  a  feature  in  their  superstitious  observances.* 
McCulloh,  Researches  in  Amer.,  p.  327.      'Afirmaban  que  por  que  habia  muer- 
to  en  ella  un  hombre  mas  replandeciente  que  el  sol. '  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apolo- 
getica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxiii.;  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  i. 


THE  SYMBOL  OF  TEE  CROSS.  469 

features  of  their  culture  would  have  left  their  mark  at 
the  same  time.  The  symbol  itself  is  so  simple,  and 
suggestive  of  so  many  ideas,  that  it  seems  to  me  most 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  natives  adopted  it  with- 
out foreign  aid.  At  all  events,  as  the  cross  was  in  use 
both  as  a  religious  emblem  and  an  instrument  of  pun- 
ishment long  before  the  Christian  era,  it  is  surely  un- 
necessary to  account  for  its  presence  in  America  by 
theories  invented  for  the  occasion,  or,  in  fact,  in  any 
way  to  connect  it  with  Christianity.  The  most  com- 
mon signification  attributed  to  the  symbol  is  fertility, 
or  generation.  A  piece  of  wood  fastened  horizontally 
to  an  upright  beam  indicated  the  height  of  the  over- 
flow of  the  Nile.  If  the  flood  reached  this  mark,  the 
crops  flourished ;  should  it  fail  to  do  so,  famine  was  the 
result;  thus,  we  are  told,  in  Egypt  the  cross  came  to 
be  worshipped  as  a  symbol  of  life  and  generation,  or 
feared  as  an  image  of  decay  and  death.  By  other 
peoples  and  for  other  reasons  it  was  closely  connected 
with  phallic  rites,  of  which  I  shall  speak  elsewhere,  or 
was  connected  with  the  worship  of  that  great  fertilizer 
and  life-giver,  the  sun.  Among  the  Chinese  the  cross 
signifies  conception.  The  cross  of  Thor  may  possibly 
be  an  exception,  and  refer  merely  to  his  hammer  or 
thunder-bolt.21 

With  the  Mexicans  the  cross  was  a  symbol  of  rain, 
the  fertilizing  element,  or  rather  of  the  four  winds, 
the  bearers  of  rain,  and  as  such  it  was  one  of  Quetzal- 
coatl's  emblems.  Chalchiuitlicue,  the  sister  of  the 
rain-gods,  bore  in  her  hands  a  cross-shaped  vessel. 
The  cross  is  to  be  found  in  Mexican  MSS.,  and  ap- 

21  Mr  Godfrey  Higgins,  in  his  Celtic  Druids,  p.  126,  says:  Tew  causes 
have  been  more  powerful  in  producing  mistakes  in  ancient  history  than  the 
i;lea,  hastily  taken  up  by  Christians  in  all  ages,  that  every  monument  ^of 
antiquity  marked  with  a  cross,  or  with  any  of  those  symbols  which  they  con- 
ceived to  be  monograms  of  Christ,  were  of  Christian  origin. . .  .The  cross  is  as 
common  in  India  as  in  Egypt  and  Europe.'  Mr  Maurice,  in  his  Indian 
Antiquities,  vol.  ii.,  p.  Sol,  writes:  'Let  not  the  piety  of  the  Catholic  Chris- 
tian be  offended  at  the  preceding  assertion  that  the  cross  was  one  of  the  most 
usual  symbols  among  the  hieroglyphics  of  Egypt  and  India. '  The  emblem  of 
universal  nature  is  equally  honored  in  the  gentile  and  Christian  world.  '  In 
the  cave  at  Elephanta,  in  India,  over  the  head  of  the  principal  figure,  again 
may  be  seen  this  figure  [the  cross],  and  a  little  in  th.3  front  the  huge  Lin- 
gam  [phallus].' 


470          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

pears  in  that  of  Fejervary  with  a  bird,  which,  as  an 
inhabitant  of  the  air,  may  be  said  to  accord  with  the 
character  of  the  symbol.  The  Mexican  name  of  the 
cross,  tonacaquahuill,  'tree  of  one  life,  or  flesh/  cer- 
tainly conveys  the  idea  of  fertility.  It  is  nevertheless 
regarded  by  some  writers  merely  as  an  astronomical 
sign.22  The  first  cross  noticed  by  the  Spaniards  stood 
within  the  turreted  court-yard  of  a  temple  on  Cozumel 
Island;  it  was  composed  of  lime  and  stone,  and  was 
ten  spans  (palmos)  in  height.  To  this  cross  the  na- 
tives prayed  for  rain,  and  in  times  of  drought  went  in 
procession  to  offer  vahomche,  as  they  called  the  sym- 
bol, quails  and  other  propitiatory  gifts.  Another  cross 
stood  within  the  precincts  of  the  Spanish  cloister  at 
Merida,  whither  the  pious  monks  had  most  likely 
brought  it  from  Cozumel ;  it  was  about  three  feet  high, 
six  inches  thick,  and  had  another  cross  sculptured  on 
its  face.23  The  sculptured  cross  at  Palenque  has  the 
latin  form ;  a  bird  is  perched  on  its  apex,  and  on  either 
side  stands  a  human  figure,  apparently  priests,  one  of 
whom  offers  it  a  child.24 

22  Constantio  holds  it  to  be  a  symbol  of  the  solstices.  MaUe-JBrun,  Precis 
de  la  Geog.,  torn,  vi.,  pp.  464-5;  Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  354-6; 
Waldeck,  Voy.  Pitt.,  p.  24;  Miiller,  Amerilcanische  UrreUgionen,  pp.  497-500; 
Torqwmada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  133,  200-6,  299;  McCulloh's  Re- 
searches, pp.  331-6;  Klemm,  Cuttur-Geschidtte,  torn,  v.,  p.  143;  Gomara,  Hist. 
Ind.,  fol.  63.  Brinton  refers  to  a  statement  that  the  Mexicans  had  cruciform 
graves,  and  supposes  that  this  referred  to  four  spirits  of  the  world  who  were 
to  carry  the  deceased  to  heaven,  but  there  seems  to  be  a  mistake  on  both  of 
these  points.  Myths,  pp.  95-8;  GouhVs  Curious  Myths,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  79  et  seq.; 
Cox's  Mytholfjy  of  Aryan  Nation?,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  3G9-72.  Some  of  the  crosses 
referred  to  lack  the  head  piece,  and  being  of  this  shape,  T>  resemble  some- 
what a  Mexican  coin. 

23 'No  solo  se  hal!6  vna  Cruz,  sino  algunas.'  Cogolludo,  Hist.  Tuc.,  pp. 
199-302;  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Conq.,  fol.  3;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  ii.,  lib. 
iii.,  cap.  i. ;  Gomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  24.  Stephens  found  across  at  the 
church  of  Mejorada,  in  Merida,  which  an  old  monk  had  dug  out  of  the  ruins 
of  a  church  on  Cozumel  Island.  'The  connecting  of  the  "Cozumel  Cross" 
with  the  ruined  church  on  the  island  completely  invalidates  the  strongest 
proof  offered  at  this  day  that  the  cross  was  ever  recognized  by  the'  Indians  as 
a  symbol  of  worship.'  Yucatan,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  377-8.  Rather  a  hasty  assertion 
when  made  in  the  face  of  so  many  old  authorities. 

a4  This  seems  to  confirm  the  idea  that  it  was  worshipped,  yet  Constantio 
regards  it  as  a  representation  of  the  birth  of  the  sun  in  the  winter  solstice, 
and  holds  the  ruin  to  which  the  cross  belongs  to  be  a  sun  temple.  Malte- 
Brun,  Precis  de  la  Geog.,  torn,  vi.,  pp.  464-5;  Miiller,  Amerikanische  UrrcU- 
gionen,  p.  498;  Stephens'  Cent.  Amer.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  345-8.  Squier,  who  denies 
that  the  Tonacaquahuitl  was  intended  to  represent  a  cross,  thinks  that  the 
Palenque  cross  merely  represents  one  of  these  trees  with  the  branches 
placed  crosswise.  Palacio,  Carla,  pp.  120-1.  Jones,  Hist.  Anc.  Amer.,  pp.  149 


HUMAN  SACRIFICES  IN  YUCATAN.  471 

The  Yucatecs  were  as  careful  as  the  Mexicans  to 
prepare  for  their  numerous  festivals  by  fasts  marked 
by  strict  chastity  and  absence  from  salt  and  pepper.25 
Scarification  could  not  be  omitted  by  the  pious  on 
these  occasions,  although  women  were  not  called  upon 
to  draw  blood.26  Yet  their  gods  were  not  by  any 
means  so  blood-thirsty  as  the  Mexican,  being  gener- 
ally appeased  by  the  blood  of  animals,  and  human 
sacrifices  were  called  for  only  on  extraordinary  occa- 
sions. Cukulcan,  like  his  prototype,  Quetzalcoatl, 
doubtless  opposed  the  shedding  of  human  blood,  but 
after  his  departure  the  practice  certainly  existed,  and 
the  pit  at  Chichen  Itza,  whose  waters  he  had  con- 
secrated with  his  person,  was  among  the  first  places 
to  be  polluted.  The  victims  here  were  generally  young- 
virgins,  who  were  charged  when  they  should  come 
into  the  presence  of  the  gods  to  entreat  them  for  the 
needed  blessings.  Medel  relates  that  on  one  occasion 
the  victim  threatened  to  invoke  the  most  terrible  evils 
upon  the  people,  instead  of  blessings,  if  they  sacrificed 
her  against  her  will;  the  perplexed  priests  thought  it 
prudent  to  let  the  girl  go,  and  select  another  and  more 
tractable  sacrifice  in  her  place.  The  victims  who  died 
under  the  knife,  or  were  tied  to  a  tree  and  shot,  were 
usually  enslaved  captives,  especially  those  of  rank,  but 
when  these  failed,  criminals  and  even  children  were 
substituted.  All  contributed  to  these  sacrifices,  either 
by  presenting  slaves  and  children,  or  by  subscribing 
to  the  purchase-money.  While  awaiting  this  doom, 
the  victims  were  well  treated,  and  conducted  from  town 
to  town  amid  great  rejoicings;  care  was  taken,  how- 
ever, that  no  sinful  act  should  detract  from  their  purity 

et  seq.,  who  identifies  almost  every  feature  of  Central  American  worship 
with  the  Phoaniciaii,  asserts  that  the  Palenque  cross  proves  the  Tyrian  origin 
of  the  aborigines. 

2d  Cogolludo  says,  however:  'Solian  ayunar  dos,  y  tres  dias,  sin  comer 
cosa  alguna.'  Hist.  Yuc.,  p.  194. 

26  These  mutilations  were  at  times  very  severe.  *  Otras  vczes  hazian  un 
suzio  y  penoso  sacrificio  anndandose  los  que  lo  hazian  en  el  templo,  donde 
puestas  en  rengla,  se  hazian  sendos  aguzeros  en  los  miembros  viriles  al  sos 
layo  por  el  lado,  y  hechos  passavan  toda  la  mas  cantidad  de  hilo  que  podian, 
quedando  assi  todos  asidos.'  Landa,  Relation,  pp.  1G2-3.  This  author  thinks 
that  the  practice  of  slitting  the  prepuce  gave  rise  to  the  idea  that  circum- 
cision existed  in  Yucatan. 


472  GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

or  value.27  Sometimes  the  body  was  eaten,  says 
Landa,  the  feet,  hands,  and  head  being  given  to  the 
priests,  the  rest  to  the  chiefs  and  others;  but  Cogo- 
lludo  and  Gomara  insist  that  cannibalism  was  not 
practised.  The  latter  statement  cannot  apply  to  the 
whole  of  the  peninsula,  however,  for  on  a  preceding 
page  Cogolludo  relates  that  Aguilar's  shipwrecked 
companions  were  sacrificed  and  eaten  by  the  natives.28 

Confession,  which  Cukulcan  is  said  to  have  intro- 
duced, was  much  resorted  to,  the  more  so  as  death 
and  disease  were  thought  to  be  direct  punishments 
for  sin  committed.  Married  priests  were  the  regular 
confessors,  but  these  were  not  always  applied  to  for 
spiritual  aid;  the  wife  would  often  confess  to  her  hus- 
band, or  a  husband  to  his  wife,  or  sometimes  a  public 
avowal  was  made.  Mental  sins,  however,  says  Landa, 
were  not  confessed.29 

The  priesthood  of  Yucatan  were  divided  into  dif- 
ferent factions,  some  of  which  regarded  Zamnd,  and 
Cukulcan  as  their  respective  founders,  while  others 
remained  true  to  more  ancient  leaders.  According  to 
Landa,  the  high-priest  was  termed  Ahkin  Mai,  or 
Ahau  Can  Mai,  and  held  in  great  veneration,  as  one 
whose  advice  was  followed  by  the  kings  and  grandees. 
The  revenues  of  the  office,  which  passed  as  an  inheri- 
tance to  the  son  or  nearest  relative,  consisted  of  pres- 
ents from  the  king  and  of  tributes  collected  by  the 
priests.  The  ordinary  priests  bore  the  title  of  ahkin™ 


lib.  vi.  l  j^l  numero  de  la  gente  sacrificada  era  mucho:  y  esta  costumbre  fue 
introduzida  en  Yucatan,  por  los  Mexicanos. '  '  Flechauaii  algunas  vezes  al 

sacrificado desollauanlos,  vcstiase  el  sacerdote  el  pellejo,  y  baylauo,  y 

enterrauan  el  cuerpo  en  el  patio  del  templo. '  Herrera,  Hi«t.  Gen.,  dec.  iv., 
lib.  x.,  cap.  iiL,  iv.  Tradition  relates  that  in  a  cave  near  Uxmal  existed  a 
well  like  that  of  Chichen,  guarded  by  an.  old  woman,  the  builder  of  the 
dwarf  palace  in  that  city,  who  Bold  the  water  for  infants,  and  these  she  cast 
before  the  snake  at  her  side.'  Stephens'  Cent.  Amer.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  425. 

28 Landa,  Relacion,  p.  1G5;  t'oyolludo,  Hist.  Yuc.,  pp.  25,  180;  Gonww, 
Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  62. 

29  Relacion,  p.  154;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  x.,  cap.  iv.  For  de- 
scription of  baptismal  rites,  see  vol.  ii. ,  pp.  682-4,  of  this  work. 

w'Que  se  deriva  de  un  verbo  kinyah,  que  significa  "sortear  6  echar 
suertes.'"  Lizana,  in  Landa,  Relacion,  p.  362. 


PRIESTS  OF  YUCATAN.  473 

and  were  divided  into  several  classes.  Some  of  them 
preached,  made  offerings,  kept  records,  and  instructed 
the  sons  of  nobles  and  those  destined  for  the  priest- 
hood in  the  various  branches  of  education.  The 
chilanes  who  construed  the  oracles  of  the  gods,  and 
accordingly  exercised  great  influence,  held  the  highest 
place  in  the  estimation  of  the  people,  before  whom 
they  appeared  in  state,  borne  in  litters.  The  sorcer- 
ers and  medicine-men  foretold  fortunes  and  cured 
diseases.  The  chacs  were  four  old  men  elected  at  every 
celebration  to  assist  the  priests,  from  which  it  would 
seem  that  the  priesthood  was  not  a  very  numerous 
body.  Nacon  was  the  title  of  the  sacrificer,  an  office 
held  for  life,  but  little  esteemed ;  this  title  was  also 
borne  by  the  general  of  the  army,  who  assisted  at  cer- 
tain festivals.  Marriage  seems  to  have  been  permit- 
ted to  all,  and  confessors  were  actually  required  to 
have  wives,  yet  there  were  doubtless  a  large  number 
who  lived  in  a  state  of  celibacy,  devoted  to  their 
sacred  duties.  Their  dress  varied  according  to  their 
rank,  the  high-priest  being  distinguished  by  a  mitre 
in  addition  to  his  peculiar  robe ;  the  most  usual  dress 
was,  however,  a  large  white  cotton  robe31  and  a  turban 
formed  by  wreathing  the  unwashed  hair  round  the 
head,  and  keeping  it  ,  pasted  in  that  position  with 
blood.  Connected  with  the  sun-worship  was  an  order 
of  vestals,  formed  by  princess  Zuhui  Kak,  '  fire  virgin/ 
the  daughter  of  Kinich  Kakmo,  superioress  of  the 
vestals.  The  members  were  all  volunteers,  who  gen- 
erally enrolled  themselves  for  a  certain  time,  at  the 
expiration  of  which  they  were  allowed  to  leave  and 
enter  the  married  state ;  some,  however,  remained  for- 
ever in  the  service  of  the  temple,  and  were  apoth- 
eosized. Their  duty  was  to  tend  to  the  sacred  fire, 
the  emblem  of  the  sun,  and  to  keep  strictly  chaste; 
those  who  broke  their  vows  were  shot  to  death  with 
arrows.32 

1  'Longues  robes  noires.'  Morelet,   Voyage,  torn,  i.,  p.  168. 
^Cogolludo,   Hist.  Yuc.,  p.  198;   Brasseur  de  JSourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ., 
torn,  ii.,  p.  (5;  Ternaux-Compans,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des   Vvy.,   1843,  torn, 
xcvii.,  pp.  39-41.     Temples  are  described  in  vol.  ii.,  pp.  791-3,  of  this  work. 


I 


474          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP.. 

The  chief  account  of  Guatemalan  worship  is  de- 
rived from  the  sacred  book  of  the  Quiches,  the  Popol 
Vuh,  to  which  I  have  already  referred  in  the  opening 
pages  of  this  volume,  but  the  description  given  in  it 
is  so  confused,  the  names  and  attributes  of  the  gods 
so  mixed,  that  no  very  reliable  conclusions  can  be 
derived  therefrom.  This  very  confusion  seems,  how- 
ever, to  indicate  that  the  imported  names  of  Hurakan, 
Gucumatz,  and  others,  were  with  their  attributes  at- 
tached to  native  heroes,  who  undergo  the  most  vary- 
ing fortunes  and  character,  amid  which  now  and  then 
a  glance  is  obtained  at  their  original  form. 

The  most  ancient  of  the  gods  are  two  persons  called 
Hun  Ahpu  Vuch  and  Hun  Ahpu  Utm,  or  Xpiyacoc 
and  Xmucane,  Creator  and  Protector,  Grandfather 
and  Grandmother  of  the  sun  and  moon,  who  are  often 
confounded  under  either  gender  and  represented  with 
big  noses,  like  tapirs,  an  animal  sacred  to  these  people. 
Brasseur  identifies  them  with  the  Mexican  Oxomoco 
and  Cipactonal,33  Tonacatlecutli  and  Tonacatepetl, 
Ometecutli  and  Omecihuatl,  the  female  also  with 
Centeotl  and  Toci,  and  places  her  in  the  Quiche  cal- 
endar as  Hun  Ahpu,  while  the  male  heads  the  list  of 
months  under  the  name  of  Imox.34  Connected  with 

33  *  Celebres  dans  toutes  les  traditions  d'origine  tolteque,  comme  les  peres 
du  soleil  et  de  la  magie.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  p. 
120. 

34  '  Hun- Ahpu-  Vuch  uii  Tireur  de  Sarbacane  au  Sarigne  et  Hun-Altpu-Utm 
un  Tireur  de  Sarbacane  au  Chacal. '  Brassenr  de  Bourl)ourg,  Popol   Vuh,  pp. 
cxviii.,  cxix.,  pp.  2-5.     They  are  also  referred  to  as  conjurers.  Id.,  Hist.  fiat. 
Civ.,  torn,  i.,  p.  54.     Ximenez  spells  the  latter  name  Hun-ahpu-uhu,  and 
states  that  they  are  held  as  oracles.  Hist.  Ind.  Guat.,  pp.  4,  15(5-8,  82.     Las 
Casas,  Hist.  Apoloyetica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxiv.,  refers  to  these  beings  as  having 
been  adored  under  the  name  of   grandfather  and  grandmother  before  the 
deluge,  but  later  on  a  woman  appeared  who  taught  them  to  call  the  gods  by- 
other  names.     This  woman,  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  holds  to  be  the  tradi- 
tional and  celebrated  queen  Atit,  from  whom  Atitlan  volcano  obtained  its 
name,  and  from  whom  the  princely  families  of  Guatemala  have  descended. 
The  natives  still  recall  her  name,  but  as  that  of  a  phantom.   Hist.  Nat.  Civ., 
torn,  ii.,  pp.  74-5.     He  further  finds  considerable  similarity  between  her  and 
Aditi  of  the  Veda.     In  his  solution  of  the  Antilles  cataclysm  he  identifies 
Xmucane  as  the  South  American  part  of  the  continent  and  Xpiyacoc  as 
North  America.  Quatre  Lettres,  pp.  223-4,  235-8.     Garcia,  Onyen  de  los  Ind., 
pp.  329-30,  calls  these  first  beings  Xchmel  and  Xtmana,  and  gives  them  three 
sons,  who  create  all  things.     In  the  younger  of  these  we  recognize  the  two 
legitimate  sons  of  Hunhun  Ahpu,  who  will  be  described  later  on  as  the  patrons 
of  the  fine  arts. 


TEPEU  AXD  HURAKAN.  475 

them  stands  Tepeu,  termed  by  the  sacred  book  Dom- 
inator,  He  who  Begets,  and  whose  name  means  grand, 
majestic.  Ximenez,  by  translating  his  name  as  bu- 
boes, or  syphilis,  connects  him  with  Nanahuatzin,  the 
Nahua  hero  who  threw  himself  into  the  fire  and  rose 
as  the  sun.35  Tepeu  is  more  generally  known  under 
the  name  of  Gucumatz,  i feathered  snake/  which  is 
universally  identified  with  Quetzalcoatl,  the  Nahua 
air-god.  In  this  character  he  is  said  to  transform 
himself  every  seven  days  into  four  forms,  snake,  eagle, 
tiger,  a  mass  of  coagulated  blood,  one  after  the  other, 
and  every  seven  days  he  visits  heaven  and  hell  alter- 
nately. He  is  also  held  to  be  the  introducer  of  culture 
in  Guatemala,  though  more  as  one  who  directs  man  in 
his  search  for  improvement  than  as  a  culture-hero.36 
These  two  gods  blending  into  one  often  form  a  trinity 
with  Hun  Ahpu  Vuch  and  Hun  Ahpu  Utiu,  under 
the  one  name  of  Gucumatz,  the  Heart  of  Heaven. 
The  assumption  by  this  god  of  four  forms  may  have 
reference  to  the  divine  quartette,  and  in  the  expression 
"they  are  enveloped  in  a  mist  of  green  and  azure" 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  sees  a  reference  to  the  sacred 
bundle  containing  the  four  first  men  and  sacrifices, 
transformed  into  gods.37 

Hurakan,38  although  connected  with,  the  above  quar- 
tette in  the  enumeration  of  titles  of  the  supreme  deity, 
keeps  aloof  from  the  lower  sphere  in  which  these  move 
at  times,  and  is  even  invoked  by  Gucumatz,  who  calls 

33  To  be  afflicted  with  buboes  implied  the  possession  of  many  women,  and 
consequently  wealth  and  grandeur.  H'izt.  Ind.  Guat.,  p.  157;  see  this  vol.,  p. 
60;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  3. 

3j  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  315,  does  not  understand  why 
Xineiiez,  Hist.  Ind.  Guat.,  p.  125,  translates  heaven  and  Xibalba  as  heaven 
and  hell,  but  as  both  terms  doubtless  refer  to  provinces,  or  towns,  it  is  better 
to  retain  the  figurative  name.  Xibalba  is,  besides,  derived  from  the  same 
source  as  the  Xibilba  'demon'  of  the  Yucatecs.  Brasseur  translates:  'Cha- 
que  sept  (jours)  il  montait  au  ciel  et  eu  sept  (jours)  il  faisait  le  chemin  pour 
dascendre  a  Xibalba;'  while  Ximenez  with  more  apparent  correctness  render.:;: 
'Siete  dias  se  subia  al  ciclo  y  siete  dias  se  iba  al  infierno.'  In  Quatre  Let- 
trcs,  p.  228,  the  abbe  explains  Xibalba  as  hell.  See  also  vol.  ii.,  pp.  715-17, 
of  this  work. 

37 Popol  Vuh,  p.  cxvii.-cxx.,  7,  9;  see  this  vol.,  pp.  48-54.  The  occur- 
rence of  the  number  4  in  mythical  and  historical  accounts  of  Mexico  and 
Central  America  is  very  frequent. 

8 '  Parait  venir  des  Antilles,  ou  il  designait  la  tempete  et  le  grondement 
de  1'orage. '  Brasteur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  8. 


476          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

him,  among  other  names,  Creator,  he  who  begets  and 
gives  being.  That  he  was  held  to  be  distinct,  and  wor- 
shipped as  such  by  the  Quiches,  may  be  seen  from  the 
fact  that  they  had  one  high-priest  for  Gucumatz,  and 
another  for  Tohil,  another  name  of  Hurakan,  who  seems 
to  have  ranked  a  degree  above  the  former.39  He  repre- 
sented the  thunder  and  lightning,  and  his  particular  title 
seems  to  have  been  Heart  of  Heaven,  under  which  were 
included  the  three  phases  of  his  attribute,  the  thunder, 
the  lightning,  and  the  thunder-bolt,  or,  as  stated  in  an- 
other place,  the  flash,  the  track  of  the  lightning,  and 
the  thunder-bolt,40  another  conception  of  a  trinity.  He 
is  also  called  Centre  of  the  Earth,  and  is  represented 
with  thunder  in  his  hand.  The  bird  Voc  was  his  mes- 
senger. Mliller  considers  him  a  sun-god,  probably  be- 
cause of  his  title, '  Heart  of  Heaven,'  which  determines 
nothing,  while  others  hold  him  to  be  identical  with 
the  Tlalocs,  the  Mexican  rain-gods.  He  is  doubtless 
the  same  as  Tohil,  the  leader  of  the  Quiche  gods,  who 
is  represented  by  the  sign  of  water,  but  whose  name  sig- 
nifies rumble,  clash.41  In  him  are  also  found  united  the 
three  symbols  of  Quiche  trinity,  as  will  be  seen  shortly, 
and  his  priests  address  him:  "Hail,  Beauty  of  the 
Day,  Hurakan,  Heart  of  Heaven  and  of  Earth !  Thou 
who  givest  glory,  riches,  and  children !  Thou  Tohil, 
Avilix,  Gagavitz,  Bowels  of  Heaven,  Bowels  of  Earth ! 
Thou  who  dost  constitute  the  four  ends  of  Heaven  I"* 
He  was  also  god  of  fire,  and  as  such  gave  his  people 
fire  by  shaking  his  sandals.43  According  to  the  version 

39  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  496. 

40Garcilaso  says:  '  C'est  encore  1'iclee  du  Tonnerre,  de  1'Eclair  et  de  la 
Foudre,  contenus  dans  un  seul  Hurakan,  le  centre,  le  coeur  du  ciol,  la  tern- 
pete,  le  vent,  le  souffle.'  Comentarios  Reales,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  xxiii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap. 
xxi.,  lib.  iii.;  Brasneur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  ccxxxv.,  9;  Id.,  Hixi. 
Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  p.  51. 

41  'Ximenez  dit  qu'il  signifie  Pluie,  Averse:  mais  il  confond  ici  le  nom  du 

dieu  avcc  le  signe.  Toh, est  rendu  par  le  mot  paya,  paie,  payar,  payer. 

Mais  le  MS.  Cakehiquel dit  quo  les  Quiches  re9urent  celui  de  ToJiohil,  qui 

signiiie  grondemeut,  bruit,"  etc.  Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  214. 
He  seems  identical  with  the  Maya  Hunpictok. 

^Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  553,  torn,  i.,  p.  128. 

43Brinton,  Myths,  pp.  156-7,  who  holds  Hurakan  to  be  the  Tlaloc,  con- 
nects Tohil  with  Quetzalcoatl — ideas  taken  most  likely  from  Brasseur  de 
Bourbourg — states  that  he  was  represented  by  a  flint.  This  must  refer 
to  his  traditional  transformation  into  a  stone,  for  the  abbe  declares  that  no 


IIAVALITZ  AND  HACAVITZ.  477 

of  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  his  temple  at  Utatlan,  where 
he  seems  to  have  taken  the  place  of  an  ancient  god,  was 
a  truncated  pyramid  with  extremely  steep  steps  in  the 
facade.  On  its  summit  was  a  temple  of  great  height, 
built  of  cut  stone,  and  with  a  roof  of  precious  woods ; 
the  walls  within  and  without  were  covered  with  fine 
brilliant  stucco  of  extreme  hardness.  In  the  midst  of 
the  most  splendid  surroundings  sat  the  idol,  on  a  throne 
set  with  precious  stones.  His  priests  perpetually 
prayed  and  burned  precious  incense  before  him,  reliev- 
ing each  other  in  bands  of  thirteen,  so  that  while  some 
attended  to  his  service,  the  others  fasted  to  prepare  for 
it.  The  chief  men  of  the  kingdom  also  attended  in  bands 
of  eighteen,  to  invoke  his  blessing  for  them  and  their 
provinces,  nine  fasting,  while  nine  offered  incense.44 
Tohil,  and  the  other  members  of  the  trinity,  Avilix  and 
Hacavitz,  or  Gagavitz,  who  also  represent  the  thunder, 
the  lightning,  and  the  thunder-bolt,  were  the  family 
gods  given  by  the  Creator  to  the  founders  of  the. 
Quiche  race,  and  though  they  afterward  became  stone, 
they  could  still  assume  other  shapes  in  conformity  with 
the  supreme  will.  As  family  gods,  they  had  special 
temples  in  the  palace  of  these  princes,  where  their  reg- 
ular service  was  conducted,  and  three  mountain  peaks 
bearing  their  names  served  to  keep  them  before  the 
people.45  The  flint  with  which  Brinton  identifies  Tohil 
may,  perhaps,  be  the  black  stone  brought  from  the  far 
east,  and  venerated  in  the  temple  of  Kahba,  i  house  of 

description  of  his  idol  is  given  by  the  chroniclers.  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii., 
p.  552.  Now,  although  the  abbe  declares  Tohil  to  be  the  same  as  Quetzal- 
coatl,  in  the  Popol  Vuk,  p.  214,  and  other  places,  he  acknowledges  that  the 
tradition  positively  identifies  hi:n  wiuh  Hurakan,  and  confirms  this  by  ex- 
plaining on  p.  cclxvii.  that  Tohil,  sometimes  in  himself,  sometimes  in  con- 
nection with  the  two  other  members  of  the  trinity,  combines  the  attribiites 
of  thunder,  flash,  and  thunder-bolt;  further,  he  gives  a  prayer  by  the  Tohil 
priests  in  which  this  god  is  addressed  as  Hurajtan.  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii., 
p.  553.  Gucumatz,  the  acknowledged  representative  of  Quetzalcoatl,  is,  be- 
sides, shown  to  be  distinct  from  Tohil.  Every  point,  therefore,  tradition, 
name,  attributes,  connects  Tohil  and  Hurakan,  and  identifies  them  with 
Tlaloc. 

^Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  552-3. 

^Brasseur_  de  Bourbourg  Popol  Vnh,  p.  cclxvii.,  235;  Id.,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ., 
torn.  ii. ,  p.  554.  The  turning  into  stone  '  veut  dire  que  les  trois  principaux 
volcans  s'eteignireiit  ou  cesserent  de  lancer  leurs  feux.'  Id.,  Quatre  Lettrcs, 
p.  331. 


478          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

sacrifice/  at  Utatlan,  but  there  is  no  confirmation  by  the 
chroniclers.  It  is,  besides,  stated  that  the  worship  of 
Kahba  had  greatly  declined,  but  was  again  restored  to 
something  like  its  former  glory  by  Gucumatz ;  Tohil, 
on  the  other  hand,  always  stood  high,  and  his  high- 
priest  belonged  to  a  different  family.46  A  similar  stone 
existed  in  a  temple  situated  in  a  deep  ravine  near 
Iximche,  in  whose  polished  face  the  gods  made  known 
their  will.  This  stone  was  often  used  to  determine  the 
fate  of  those  accused  of  crime ;  if  the  judges  perceived 
no  change  in  the  stone,  the  prisoner  went  free.47 

We  now  come  to  the  heroes  with  whose  adventures 
the  Popol  Vuh  is  chiefly  occupied.  From  the  union 
of  the  Grandfather  and  Grandmother,  who  head  the 
list  of  Quiche  deities,  proceeded  two  sons,  Hunhun 
Ahpu  and  Yukub  Hun  Ahpu.48  They  incur  the  sus- 
picion and  hatred  of  the  princes  of  Xibalba,  who  plan 
their  downfall,  and  for  this  purpose  invite  them  to 
their  court,  under  the  pretence  of  playing  a  game  of 
ball  with  them.  On  their  arrival  they  are  subjected 
to  various  indignities  and  finally  condemned  to  lose 
their  heads.  The  head  of  Hunhun  Ahpu  is  placed 
between  the  withered  branches  of  a  calabash-tree ;  but 
lo !  a  miracle  takes  place;  the  tree  immediately  becomes 
laden  with  fruit,  and  the  head  turns  into  a  calabash. 
Henceforth  the  tree  is  held  sacred,  and  the  king  com- 
mands that  none  shall  touch  it.  Xquiq,  however,  a 
royal  princess,  Eve-like,  disregards  the  injunction,  and 
approaches  to  pluck  the  fruit.  As  she  stretches  forth 
her  arm,  Hunhun  Ahpu  spits  into  her  hand,  and  Xquiq 
finds  herself  pregnant.  Her  father  soon  perceives  her 
condition,  and  in  a  fury  condemns  her  to  death,  telling 
the  executioners  to  bring  him  the  heart  of  his  daughter 
to  prove  that  they  have  done  their  duty.  While  be- 
ing led  to  the  wood,  Xquiq  pleads  earnestly  for  her 

^Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  497,  75;  Id.,  Popol 
Vuh,  p.  cclxii. ;  see  note  7. 

47 Id.,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  521;  Juarros,  Hist.  Guat.,  p.  384. 

48  l  Hunhun- Ahpu  signifie  Chaque  Tireur  de  Sarbacane;  Vulcub-Hun-Ahpu, 
Sept  un  Tireur  de  Sarbacane. '  Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  cxxxv. 
Their  chief  name,  Ahpu,  'designe  la  puissance  volcanique. '  Id.,  Quatre  Let- 
tres,  p.  225. 


ADVENTURES  OF  XQUIQ,  HUN  AHPU,  AND  XBALANQUE.    479 

life,  and  finally  prevails  upon  her  executioners  to 
deceive  her-  father  by  substituting  for  her  heart  the 
jelly-like  resin  of  a  tree  which  she  procures.  Xquiq 
proceeds  to  Utatlan,  to  the  Grandmother,  Xmucane, 
and  gives  birth  to  the  twins  Hun  Ahpu  and  Xbalan- 
que,49  who  develop  rapidly ;  their  superior  talents  soon 
make  their  elder  brothers  jealous,  and  they  attempt 
their  destruction,  but  the  twins  anticipate  their  designs, 
and  transform  them  into  apes.  These  brothers,  Hun 
Batz  and  Hun  Chouen,  were  the  sons  of  Hunhun 
Ahpu  by  Xbakiyalo,  and  were  invoked  as  the  patrons 
of  the  fine  arts.50  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  explains 
this  myth  by  saying  that  Hunhun  Ahpu  denotes  the 
Nahua  immigrants,  who,  by  their  superiority,  gain  the 
women  of  the  country,  and  whose  children  carry  on  a 
successful  struggle  with  the  aboriginal  race.  The 
continuance  of  the  contest  and  the  triumph  of  the 
Nahuas  is  described  in  the  adventures  of  Hun  Ahpu 
and  Xbalanque.  A. rat  reveals  to  them  their  origin, 
and  the  place  where  the  ball-game  implements  of  their 
father  are  hidden.  They  play  a  match  with  the  Xi- 
balba  princes  who  had  challenged  their  father,  and  are 
successful  in  this  as  well  as  several  herculean  tasks 
assigned  to  them,  but  are  nevertheless  burned.51  The 
ashes,  thrown  into  the  water,  are  transformed  into  two 
handsome  young  men,  and  then  into  man-fishes,  a  ref- 
erence, perhaps,  to  the  arrival  by  sea  of  allies  to  help 
them.  Again  they  make  their  appearance  in  Xibalba, 
this  time  as  conjurers,  and  lay  their  plans  so  skilfully 
as  to  overthrow  the  prince  Vukub  Cakix  with  his  ad- 


49  Hun  Ahpu,  a  sarbacan  shooter.  '  Xbalenque,  de  balam,  tigre,  jaguar;  le 
ue  final  est  un  signe  pluriel,  et  le  x  qui  precede,  prononcez  sh  (anglais),  est 
alternativement  un  diminutif  ou  un  signe  feminin.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
Popol  Vuh,  p.  cxxxv.  Ximenez,  Hist.  Ind.  Guat.,  pp.  148-7,  156,  remarks  the 
similarity  of  these  personages  to  the  God,  son,  and  virgin  of  the  Christians. 

*' Hun-Bate,  Un  Singe  (ou  un  Fileur);  Hun-Chouen,  un  qui  se  blanchit, 
ou  s  embellit.'  They  seem  to  correspond  to  the  Mexican  Ozomatli  and  Pilt- 
zmtecutli.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,  pp.  cxxxv.,  69,  117,  The  bain 
imn-Batz  refers  to  something  underground,  or  deep  down,  and  Hun-Chouen 
"Une  Souris  cachee  "  ou  "  un  lac  en  sentinelle. " '  Both  names  indicate 
the  disordered  condition  and  movement  of  a  region  (the  Antilles).  Id  , 
Quatre  Lettres,  pp.  227-9. 

t1  'Les  deux  freres,  s'etant  embraces,  s'elancent  dans  lea  flammes.'  Bras- 
r  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  ton.,  i.,  p.  137. 


480         GODS,  SUPEISTATUHAL  BEINGS,  A1TD  WORSHIP. 

herents,  and  obtain  the  apotheosis  of  their  father  and 
Lis  adherents  as  sun,  moon,  and  stars.  Vukub  Cakix, 
who  represents  the  sun,  may  be  taken  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  an  older  sun-worship  replaced  by  the 
newer  cult  introduced  by  Hun  Akpu.C2  The  burning 
of  this  hero  agrees  with  that  of  the  Mexican  Nana- 
huatzin,  who  by  this  act  became  a  sun.  In  fact, 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  considers  the  whole  as  a  ver- 
sion of  the  Nahua  myth.  From  another  point  of  view, 
Hun  Ahpu,  whose  name,  signifying  'sarbacan-blower, 
or  air-shooter/  suits  the  attribute  of  the  air-god,  may 
be  considered  as  the  morning  wind  dispersing  the 
clouds  and  disclosing  the  splendors  of  the  sun.53 

In  the  Quartres  Lettres,  the  abbd  takes  another  view 
of  the  myth,  and  sees  in  it  but  a  version  of  the  con- 
vulsions that  take  place  in  the  Antilles,  the  Seven 
Grottos  of  the  Mexican  myth,  of  which  I  have  spoken 
in  a  preceding  chapter.  Hunhun  Ahpu,  Yukub  Hun 
Ahpu,  and  the  two  legitimate  sons  of  the  former  are 
volcanoes,  and  their  plays,  death,  and  transformation, 
are  earthquakes,  extinction,  and  upheavals.  The  burn- 
ing of  Hun  Ahpu  and  Xbalanque  and  the  scattering  of 
their  ashes  upon  the  waters  is  the  final  catastrophe, 
the  sinking  of  the  Atlantides,  or  the  seven  islands; 
and  as  the  brothers  rise  again  in  the  form  of  beautiful 
young  men,  so  do  new  islands  take  the  place  of  those 
destroyed.  The  confirmation  of  this  he  finds  in  a 
tradition  current  on  the  islands,  which  speaks  of  cer- 
tain upheavals  similar  to  the  above.54 

52  Vukub  Cakix.   '  seven  aras, '  a  type  of  the  sun,  although  declared  in 
one  place  to  have  usurped  the  solar  attribute,  seems  to  have  been  worshipped 
as   the   sun;   his  two  sons,  Zipacna  and  Cabrakan,  represent  respectively 
the  creator  of   the  earth  and  the  earthquake,  which  confirms  their  father's 
high  position.  Brassexr  de  Bourbourrj,  Popol  Vnh,  pp.  31-9,  cciv.,  ccliii. 

53  The  allegorical  account  of  these  events  is  related  on  pp.  31  to  192  of 
jPopol  Vuk,  and  Brasseur's  remarks  are  given  on  pages  cxxxiv.  to  cxl.     Juar- 
ros,  Hist.  Guat,,  p.  164,  states   that   Hun  Ahpu  discovered  the  use  of  cacao 
and  cotton,  which   is  but  another  indication  of  the  introduction   of   cul- 
ture.    According    to   Las   Casas,    Xbalanque   descends   into   hell,    Xibalba, 
where  he  captures   Satan  and  his  chief   men,  and  when  the  devil  implores 
the  hero  not  to  bring  him  to  the  light,  he  kicks  him  back  with   the  curse 
that  all  things  rotten  and  abhorrent  may  cling  to  him.     When  he  returns,  his 
people  do  not  receive  him  with  due  honor,  and  he  accordingly  leaves  for 
other  parts.  Hist.  Apoloyetica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxiv.;  Torqitemada,  Monary.  Iwl-, 
to:n.  ii.,  pp.  53-4. 

'°*Quatre  Lettres,  pp.  225-53;  see  this  vol.,  p.  281-4. 


QUICHE  GODS.  481 

The  Quiches  had  a  multitude  of  other  gods  and 
genii,  who  controlled  the  elements  and  exercised  their 
influence  upon  the  destinies  of  man.  The  places  where 
they  most  loved  to  linger  were  dark  quiet  spots,  in  the 
undisturbed  silence  of  the  grotto,  at  the  foot  of  some 
steep  precipice,  beneath  the  shade  of  mighty  trees, 
especially  where  a  spring  trickled  forth  between  its 
roots,  and  on  the  summit  of  the  mountains;  and  here 
the  simple  native  came  to  pour  out  his  sorrow,  and  to 
offer  his  sacrifice.  In  some  places  this  idea  of  seclu- 
sion was  carried  to  such  an  extent  that  idols  were  kept 
hidden  in  subterranean  chapels,  that  they  might  not 
be  disturbed  or  the  people  become  too  familiar  with 
them;  another  reason,  however,  was  to  prevent  their 
being  stolen  by  other  villagers.  The  god  of  the  road 
had  sanctuaries,  called  mumah,  all  along  the  highways, 
especially  at  the  junctions,  and  the  traveller  in  passing 
never  failed  to  rub  his  legs  with  a  handful  of  grass, 
upon  which  he  afterwards  spat  with  great  respect,  and 
deposited  it  upon  the  altar,  together  with  a  small  stone, 
believing  that  this  act  of  piety  would  give  him  re- 
newed strength.  He  also  left  a  small  tribute  from  his 
stock  of  food  or  merchandise,  which  remained  to  decay 
before  the  idol,  for  none  dared  to  remove  it.  This 
custom  was  also  observed  in  Nicaragua. 

The  household  gods  were  termed  chahalha,  'guardian 
of  the  house,'  and  to  them  incense  was  burned  and 
sacrifice  made  during  the  erection  of  a  building ;  when 
finished,  a  corner  in  the  interior  was  consecrated  to 
their  use.  They  seem  to  have  been  identified  with 
the  spirit  of  departed  friends,  for  occasionally  a  corpse 
was  buried  beneath  the  house  to  insure  their  presence.55 

Among  the  more  superstitious  highland ers,  the  an- 
cient worship  has  retained  its  hold  upon  the  population 
to  a  great  extent,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  padres. 
Scherzer  tells  us  that  the  people  of  Istlavacan  rever- 
enced gods  of  reason,  health,  sowing,  and  others,  under 

55  On  one  occasion  the  people  'egorgerent  chacun  tin  de  leurs  fils,  dont 
ils  mirent  les  cadavres  dana  lea  f ondations. '  Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  Hist.  Nat. 
Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  561-4. 
VOL.  III.    31 


482          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

the  names  of  Noj,  Ajmak,  Kami,  and  Ik,  who  were 
.generally  embodied  in  natural  features,  as  mountains 
or  big  trees.  They  recognized  an  Ormuzd  and  an 
Ahriman  in  Kij,  the  god  of  light  and  good  principle, 
opposed  by  Juiup,  the  god  of  earth  and  evil  principle, 
who  was  represented  by  a  rock,  three  feet  high  and 
one  foot  thick,  supposed  to  be  a  distorted,  human  face. 
The  native  priests  generally  took  the  horoscope,  and 
appointed  a  nagual,  or  guardian  spirit,  for  their  children, 
before  the  padres  were  allowed  to  baptize  them.  They 
are  said  to  have  sacrificed  infants,  scattering  their 
heart's  blood  upon  a  stone  before  the  idol,  and  burying 
the  body  in  the  woods  to  avoid  detection.56 

The  Choles  and  Manches  of  Vera  Paz,  impressed 
with  the  wild  features  of  their  country,  venerated  the 
mountains,  and  on  one  called  Escurruchan,  which  stood 
at  the  junction  of  several  branches  of  their  principal 
river,  they  kept  up  a  perpetual  fire  to  which  passers-by 
added  fuel,  at  which  sacrifices  were  offered.  At  an- 
other place  the  padres  found  a  rough  altar  of  stone  and 
clay  surrounded  by  a  fence,  where  they  burned  torches 
of  black  wax  and  resinous  wood,  and  offered  fowls,  and 
blood  from  their  bodies,  to  mountains,  cross-roads,  and 
pools  in  the  river,  whence  came  all  means  of  exist- 
ence and  all  increase.57 

The  chief  idol  of  the  Itzas  was  Hubo,  who  was 
represented  by  a  hollow  metal  figure  with  an  opening 
between  the  shoulders,  through  which  human  beings 
were  passed,  charged  to  implore  the  favors  of  the  gods. 
A  fire  was  then  lighted  beneath  the  figure,  and  while 
the  victims  were  roasting  alive,  their  friends  joined  in 
a  dance  around  it,  drowning  the  cries  of  the  victims 
with  shouts  and  rattling  of  drums.  No  women  were 
allowed  to  join  in  the  temple  ceremonies.  On  the 
chief  island  in  the  lake  of  Peten,  the  conquerors  found 

™Indianer  von  Istldvacan,  pp.  11-13.  The  natives  believed  that  thev 
would  have  to  share  all  the  sufferings  and  emotions  of  their  naguals.  Gage  8 
New  Survey,  p.  334;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  viii.,  cap.  iv.,  also  re- 
fers to  naguals,  and  states  that  the  Honduras  protege  made  his  compact  with 
it  in  the  mountains  by  offerings  and  blood-letting. 

57  Espinosa,  Chron.  Apost.,  pp.  344-5  j  JRemesal,  Hist.  Chyapa,  p.  726; 
Villagutierre,  Hist.  Conq.  Itm,  pp.  151-3. 


WORSHIP  OF  A  HORSE.  483 

twenty-one  stone  temples  with  stone  roofs,  the  chief 
of  which  formed  a  kind  of  pyramid  of  nine  steps.  In 
this  was  found  a  large  chalchiuite,  representing  one  of 
their  two  battle-gods,  Pakoc  and  Hunchunchan,  who 
gave  oracles,  and  were  supposed  to  join  the  people 
in  their  dances.  This  familiarity  evidently  bred  con- 
tempt, however,  for  it  is  related  that  when  a  predic- 
tion of  the  oracle  was  not  fulfilled,  the  priest  without 
hesitation  castigated  the  idol.  In  the  same  temple 
stood  a  gypsum  image  in  the  form  of  the  sun,  adorned 
with  rays,  inlaid  with  nacar,  and  having  a  gaping 
mouth  set  with  human  teeth.  The  bones  of  a  horse, 
which  hung  from  the  rafters,  were  adored  as  sacred 
relics.  These  were  the  remains  of  a  wounded  horse 
left  by  Cortes  among  the  natives  when  on  his  way  to 
Honduras.  Having  seen  the  Spaniards  fire  from  its 
back,  they  believed  that  the  animal  produced  the  flash 
and  report,  and  hence  adored  it  as  Tziminchac,  god  of 
thunder,  and  brought  it  flowers,  flesh,  and  incense; 
but  such  offerings  did  not  sustain  life,  and  it  was  not 
long  before  the  bones  of  the  apotheosized  charger 
were  all  that  remained  to  his  worshippers.  In  another 
place  was  a  stone  and  lime  imitation  of  this  horse, 
seated  on  the  floor  on  its  'haunches,  which  the  natives 
adored  in  the  same  manner.  This  animal-worship 
was  the  more  readily  admitted,  since  their  gods  were 
supposed  to  assume  such  forms.58 

Their  idols  were  so  numerous,  say  the  conquerors, 
that  it  took  over  a  hundred  men  a  whole  day  to  destroy 
those  existing  on  the  chief  island  alone;  Cogolludo 
affirms  that  the  priests  had  charge  of  all  the  idols.69 
The  chief  god  of  the  Cakchiquels,  Chamalcan  or  Chi- 
malacan,60  had  many  of  the  attributes  of  Tohil,  but 
took  the  form  of  a  bat,  the  symbol  of  the  royal  house 
of  Zotzil.  Every  seventh  and  thirteenth  day  of  the 

58<Tenian  por  sus  Bioses  a  los  Venados.'  Villagutierre,  Hist.  Conq.  Itza, 
p.  43. 

69  Hist.  Yuc.,  pp.  699,  489-93,  509;  Villagutlerre,  Hist.  Conq.  Itza.,  pp. 
100-2,  182,  500-2;  Morelet,  Voyage,  torn,  ii.,  p.  32;  McCulloh's  Researches  in 
Amer.,  p.  318. 

60  '  Cha-malcan  serait  done  Flfeche  ou  Dard  frotte  d'ocre  jaune,'  etc.  Bras- 
aeur  de  Bourboury,  Popol  Vuh,  pp.  248-9. 


484          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

month  the  priests  placed  before  him  blood-stained 
thorns,  fresh  white  resin,  bark  and  branches  of  pine, 
and  a  cat,  the  emblem  of  night,  which  were  burned  in 
his  honor.61 

The  purest  form  of  sun-worship  appears  among  the 
Lacandones,  who  adored  the  luminary  without  the 
intervention  of  an  image,  and  sacrificed  before  it  in 
the  Mexican  fashion.  They  had  temples,  however,  the 
walls  of  which  were  decorated  with  hieroglyphs  of  the 
sun  and  moon,  and  with  a  figure  in  the  act  of  praying 
to  the  sun.62  The  Nahua  tribe  of  the  Pipiles  also 
worshipped  the  sun,  before  which  they  prostrated 
themselves  while  offering  incense  and  muttering  invo- 
cations. Quetzalcoatl  and  the  goddess  Itzqueye  were 
honored  in  the  sacrifice,63  which  generally  consisted  of 
a  deer.  The  relative  importance  of  Quetzalcoatl  and 
Itzqueye  may  be  seen  from  the  statement  that  the 
festival  held  in  honor  of  the  former  on  certain  occasions 
lasted  fifteen  days,  while  that  in  honor  of  the  latter 
was  but  of  five  days'  duration.  The  chief  centre  of 
worship  was  at  Mictlan,  near  Huixa  Lake,  where  now 
is  the  village  of  Santa  Maria  Mita,  founded,  according 
to  tradition,  by  an  old  man,  who  in  company  with  an 
exceedingly  beautiful  girl  issued  from  the  lake,  both 
dressed  in  long  blue  robes,  the  man  also  wearing  a 
mitre.  He  seated  himself  upon  a  stone  on  the  hill, 
while  the  girl  pursued  her  way  and  disappeared,  and 
here,  by  his  order,  was  built  the  temple  of  Mictlan, 
round  which  stately  palaces  afterward  arose ;  he  also 
organized  the  government  of  the  place.64 

Among  the  vestiges  of  older  worship,  we  find  the 

61  Id.,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  173. 

62  Mutter,  Amerilcanische  Urreligionen,  p.  475.     In  their  want  of  idols  they 
contrasted  strongly  with  their  neighbors.    Villagutierre,  Hist.  Conq.  /tea,  p. 
74;  Morelet,  Voyage,  torn,  ii.,  j).  79. 

63  '  C'est  a  eux  qu'elles  offraient  presque  tons  leurs  sacrifices.'  Brasseur  de 
Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  556;  Palacio,  Carta,  pp.  66-70. 

64 '  L'epoque  que  les  evenements  paraissent  assignor  a  cette  legende 
coincide  avec  la  periode  de  la  grande  emigration  tolteque  et  la  fondation 
des  divers  royaumes  guatemaliens. '  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ., 
torn,  ii.,  p.  81;  Id.,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  cxxviii.  Near  the  village  of  Coatan  was  a 
small  lake  which  they  regarded  as  oracular,  into  which  none  dared  to  peer 
lest  he  should  be  smitten  with  dumbness  and  death.  Palacio,  Carta,  p.  50. 


TRADITION  OF  COMIZAHUAL.  485 

natives  of  Cerquin  in  Honduras,65  venerating  and 
praying  for  health  to  two  idols,  called  respectively 
Great  Father  and  Great  Mother,  which  probably 
refer  to  the  Grandfather  and  Grandmother  of  the 
Quiches.  A  faint  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being,  says  Tor- 
quemada,  was  mixed  up  with  the  worship  of  the  sun 
and  stars,  to  which  sacrifices  were  made.  Their  cul- 
ture-tradition speaks  of  a  beautiful  white  woman,  called 
Comizahual,  or  '  flying  tigress/  a  reputed  sorceress,  as 
the  introducer  of  civilization  hi  Cerquin.  She  is  said 
to  have  descended  from  heaven,  and  to  have  been 
transported  by  an  invisible  hand  to  the  city  of  Ceal- 
coquin,  where  she  built  a  palace  adorned  with  mon- 
strous figures  of  men  and  animals,  and  placed  in  the 
chief  temple  a  stone  having  on  each  of  its  three  sides 
three  faces  of  strange  and  hideous  aspect;  by  aid  of 
this  stone  she  conquered  her  enemies.  She  remained 
a  virgin,  yet  three  sons  were  born  to  her,66  among 
whom  she  divided  the  kingdom  when  she  grew  old. 
After  arranging  her  affairs,  she  commanded  her  attend- 
ants to  carry  her  on  her  bed  to  the  highest  part  of  the 
palace,  whence  she  suddenly  disappeared  amid  thun- 
der and  lightning,  doubtless  to  resume  her  place  among 
the  gods ;  directly  afterward  a  beautiful  bird  was  seen 
to  fly  upward  and  disappear.  The  people  erected  a 
temple  in  her  honor,  where  the  priest  delivered  her 
oracles,  and  celebrated  every  year  the  anniversary  of 
her  disappearance  with  great  feasts.  Palacio  refers 
to  a  stone,  like  the  one  with  three  faces,  named  Ice- 
laca,  in  Cezori,  which  disclosed  things  past,  present, 
and  future,  and  before  which  the  people  sacrificed 
fowls,  rabbits,  and  various  kinds  of  food,  and  smeared 
the  face  with  blood  drawn  from  the  generative  organs.67 

65  'AujourdTmi  de  Gracias H  y  a  encore  aujourdTiui  un  village  du 

m£me  nom,  paroisse  a  12 1.  de  Comayagua.'  Brasseur  de  Baurbaurg,  Hist.  Nat. 
Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  106. 

66  'Aunque  otros  dicen.  que  eran  sus  Hermanos. '  Torqitemadcu  Monarq. 
Ind.,  torn,  i,  p.  336. 

67  Carta,  pp.  82-4.     As  an  instance  of  the  respect  entertained  for  the  idols, 
Las  Casas  relates  that  on  the  Spaniards  once  profaning  them  with  their  touch, 
the  natives  brought  censers  with  which  they  incensed  them,  and  then  carried 
them  back  to  their  altar  with  great  respect,  shedding  their  blood  upon  the 


486          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

The  religious  fervor  of  the  people  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  whatever  work  they  undertook  they  com- 
menced by  sanctifying  it  with  prayers  and  offerings, 
and  by  incensing  their  implements  that  they  might 
acquire   more   efficacy;    thus,  before   commencing   to 
sow,  the  laborers  killed  a  turkey,  whose  blood  they 
scattered  over  the  field,  and  performed  other  ceremo- 
nies.68    Simple  in  their  mode   of  life,  they  did   not 
importune  the  gods  for  vain  luxuries:  their  prayers 
were  for  long  life,  health,  children,  and  the  necessaries 
of  life.     The  first  they  hoped  to  obtain  by  scarifica- 
tions and  penances;  to  guard  against  disease,  they  sent 
the  priest  a  bird,  generally  a  quail,  to  sacrifice.     When 
actually  attacked  by  sickness,  confession  was  resorted 
to  as  a  powerful  means  of  propitiation,  as  was  also  the 
case  on  all  important  occasions  to  secure  divine  bless- 
ings and  avert  immediate  danger.     It  is  related  by  an 
old  chronicler  that  when  a  party  of  travellers  met  a 
jaguar  or  puma,   each  one  immediately  commended 
himself  to  the  gods,  and  confessed  in  a  loud  voice  the 
sins  he  had  committed,  imploring   pardon.      If  the 
object  of  their  terror  still  advanced  upon  them,  they 
cried,  "We  have  committed  as  many  more  sins,  do  not 
kill  us!"  and  sat  down,  saying  one  to  another,  "One 
of  us  has  done  some  grievous  deed  and  him  the  wild 
beast  will  kill!"69 

In  their  scarifications,  those  who  drew  the  most 
blood,  especially  from  the  secret  organs,  were  held  to 
be  the  most  pious.  Among  the  Pipiles  the  women 
joined  in  drawing  blood  from  the  ears  and  tongue,  and 
smearing  it  on  cotton,  offered  it  to  Quetzalcoatl,  and 
then  to  Itzcueye.70  On  extraordinary  occasions,  as  in 
the  event  of  a  public  calamity,  the  priests  and  chief 
men  held  a  council  to  determine  the  Dropitiatory  pen- 
road  traversed  by  the  idols.  Hist.  Apologeticct,  MS.,  cap.  clxxx.;  Torquemada, 
Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  326;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  viii.,  cap.  iv. 

68  See  vol.  ii.,  of  this  work,  pp.  719-20. 

69  Roman,  Hepublica  de  los  Indios,  in  Ximenez,  Hist.  Ind.  Guat.,  pp.  176-81; 
Brasseur  de  B&urbaurg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  564-6;  Las  Casas,  Hist. 
Apolofjetica,  MS.,  cap.  clxxix.;  Juarros,  Hist.  Guat.,  p.  196. 

70  The  ancient  Quiches  '  recueillirent  leur  sang  avec  des  eponges. '  Bras- 
seur de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  259. 


SPECIAL  FASTS.  487 

ance  to  be  imposed  on  the  people,  and  the  kind  of  sac- 
rifice to  be  offered;  the  Ahgih  were  called  upon  to 
trace  magic  circles  and  figures,  and  to  cast  grains,  so 
as  to  determine  the  time  when  it  should  be  made. 
The  esteemed  task  of  collecting  the  fuel  for  this  cele- 
bration devolved  upon  a  royal  prince,  who  formed  the 
boys  of  the  district  into  bands  to  forage  for  the  wood. 
The  efforts  of  the  people  alone  were  not  considered 
sufficient  at  such  times  to  propitiate  the  gods;  it  re- 
quired the  sanctified  presence  and  powerful  influence 
of  the  high-priest  to  secure  remission  of  sins.  This 
personage,  whether  king  or  pontiff,  subjected  himself 
to  a  very  severe  fast  and  penance  during  the  twenty 
or  even  hundred  days  determined  upon.  He  removed 
to  an  arbor  near  the  hidden  sanctuary  of  the  idols, 
and  lived  in  entire  solitude,  subsisting  on  grains  and 
fruit,  touching  no  food  prepared  by  fire,  sacrificing  the 
offerings  brought  him  during  the  day,  and  drawing 
blood.  The  fast  over,  with  its  attendant  separation 
of  man  and  wife,  bathing,  painting  in  red,  and  other 
acts  of  penance,  the  nobles  went  in  a  body  to  the  re- 
treat of  the  idols,  and  having  adorned  them  in  the 
most  splendid  manner,  conducted  them  in  procession 
to  the  town,  attended  by  the  high-priest  and  victims. 
In  places  where  the  idols  were  kept  in  the  temples  of 
the  town,  they  marched  with  them  round  the  city. 
The  various  rites  closed  with  games  of  ball,  played 
under  the  supervision  of  the  idols,  and  with  feasting 
and  revelling.71 

The  Popol  Vuh  ascribes  the  introduction  of  human 
sacrifices  to  Tohil,  who  exacted  this  offering  from  the 
first  four  men  in  return  for  the  fire  given  to  the  Qui- 
ches, while  Las  Casas  states  that  Xbalanque  initiated 
them.  Their  knives  of  sacrifice,  he  says,  had  fallen 
from  heaven,  and  were  accordingly  adored  as  'hands 
of  God/  and  set  in  rich  handles  of  gold  or  silver, 
ornamented  with  turquoises  and  emeralds.  The  or- 
dinary sacrifices  occurred  several  times  a  month,  and 

71  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  559-63;  Las  Casasy 
Hist.  Apoloyetica,  MS.,  cap.  clxxvii. ;  vol.  ii.  of  this  work,  pp.  688. 


488          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

among  the  Pipiles,  the  number  and  quality  were  in- 
dicated by  the  calendar,  and  consisted  chiefly  of 
bastard  boys  from  six  to  twelve  years  of  age.  Their 
most  solemn  offerings  were  made  at  the  commence- 
ment and  end  of  the  rains,  and  were  attended  by  the 
chief  men  only.  Juarros  states  that  human  sacrifices 
were  not  offered  by  the  Pipiles,  and  that  the  attempt 
of  caciques  to  introduce  them  resulted  in  an  insurrec- 
tion; and  although  this  will  scarcely  apply  to  later 
times,  it  seems  that  formerly  the  sacrifices  were  very 
few  in  number.  The  Cakchiquels  are,  however,  said 
to  have  abstained  from  the  rite.  Cortes  relates  that 
at  Acald  the  fairest  girls  to  be  found  were  selected  by 
the  priests  and  brought  up,  in  strict  chastity,  to  be 
sacrificed,  at  the  proper  time,  to  the  goddess  of  the 
place.  The  Itzas,  who,  when  captives  failed,  took  the 
fattest  of  their  young  men  for  victims,  had  several 
modes  of  immolation,  as  roasting  the  victims  alive  in 
the  metal  image;  despatching  them  with  the  knife  on 
the  stone  of  sacrifice,  a  large  one  of  which  was  found 
at  Taysal ;  impalement,  followed  by  extraction  of  the 
heart,  as  at  Prospero;  and  in  earlier  times  shooting, 
as  was  done  by  their  Yucatec  ancestors.  According 
to  Cogolludo,  three  persons  assisted  at  the  sacrifices, 
the  adkulel,  master  of  ceremonies,  the  adkayom,  and  a 
virgin  who  must  be  the  daughter  of  one  of  these ;  but 
Villagutierre  mentions  that  the  stone  of  sacrifice  at 
the  chief  temple  at  Taysal  was  surrounded  by  twelve 
seats  for  the  attendant  priests;  and  assistants  to  hold 
the  victims  were  certainly  required.  Cannibalism 
seems  to  have  attended  all  these  sacrifices,  the  flesh 
being  boiled  and  seasoned,  and  the  choice  bits  reserved 
for  the  high-priests  and  chiefs.72 

72  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,  pp.  226-7;  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apolo- 
gdtica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxiv.,  clxxvii. ;  Juarros,  Hist,  Guat.,  p.  225;  Torqucmada, 
Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  54;  Palacio,  Carta,  p.  66;  Squier,  in  Id.,  pp.  116-17; 
Cortes,  Cartas,  pp.  417-18;  Cogolludo,  Hist.  Yuc.,  p.  699;  Villayutierre,  Hist. 
Conq.  Itza,  pp.  392,  502;  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  268;  Waldeck,  Voy.  Pitt., 
p.  40;  see  also  this  vol.,  pp.  688-9,  706-10,  735;  Stephens'  Cent^Amer.,  vol. 
ii.,  pp.  184-5.  Ximenez,  Hist.  Ind.  Guat.,  p.  210,  states  that  in  case  of  a 
severe  illness  a  father  would  not  hesitate  to  sacrifice  his  son  to  obtain  relief. 
The  very  fact  of  such  a  tale  passing  current  shows  how  little  human  life  was 
valued. 


THE  PRIESTS  OF  GUATEMALA.  489 

Each  of  the  numerous  tribes  of  Guatemala  had  a 
distinct  and  separate  body  of  priests,  who  by  means 
of  their  oracles  exercised  a  decided  influence  on  the 
state,  and  some,  the  Quiches,  for  instance,  were  spiritu- 
ally governed  by  independent  pontiffs.  The  high 
priests  of  Tohil  and  Gucumatz,  Ahau  Ah  Tohil  and 
Ahau  Ah  Gucumatz,  belonged  to  the  royal  house  of 
Cawek,  and  held  the  fourth  and  fifth  rank  respectively 
among  the  grandees  of  the  empire;  Ahau-Avilix,  the 
high-priest  of  Avilix,  was  a  member  of  the  Nihaib 
family;  Ahau  Gagavitz  came  of  the  Ahau  Quiche 
house :  and  the  two  high-priests  of  the  Kahba  temple  in 
Utatlan  were  of  the  Zakik  house,  and  each  had  a  prov- 
ince allotted  him  for  his  support.  The  Tohil  priests 
were  vowed  to  perpetual  continence  and  austere  peni- 
tence, and  were  not  permitted  to  taste  meat  or  bread.73 
The  pontiff  at  Mictlan,  in  Salvador,  who  stood  on 
nearly  the  same  level  as  the  king,  bore  the  title  of 
Teoti,  *  divine,'74  and  was  distinguished  by  a  long  blue 
robe,  a  diadem,  and  a  baton  like  an  episcopal  cross;  on 
solemn  occasions  he  substituted  a  mitre  of  beautiful 
feathers  for  the  diadem.  Next  to  him  came  an  eccle- 
siastical council  composed  of  the  Tehuamatlini,  chief 
of  the  astrologers  and  learned  priests,  who  acted  as 
lieutenant  of  the  high-priest,  and  superintended  the 
writings  and  divinations,  and  four  other  priests,  teo- 
pixqui,  who  dressed  in  different  colors.  These  ruled 
the  rest  of  the  priesthood,  composed  of  keepers  of 
properties,  sacrificers,  watchers,  and  the  ordinary 
priests,  termed  teupas,  who  were  all  appointed  by 
the  high-priests  from  the  sons  of  the  ministers. 
When  the  high-priest  died,  the  body  was  embalmed 
and  placed  in  a  crypt  beneath  the  palace.  After  fif- 
teen days  of  mourning,  attended  by  fasts,  the  king 
and  Tehuamatlini  drew  lots  for  his  successor  from 
among  the  four  teopixqui,  the  vacancy  in  their  ranks 

f~  73<Ils  n'avaient  pour  toute  nourriture  que  des  fruites.'  MS.,  Quiclit  de 
Chichicastenango,  in  Brasseur  de  Bourbaurg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  552- 
3,  496-7;  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apologetica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxxiii. 

*  Ternaux-Compans  renders  it  tuti.  Recueil  de  Doc.,  p.  29;  while  Squier 
gives  it  as  tecti.  Palacio,  Carta,  p.  62.  But  as  an  Aztec  word,  it  ought  to  be 
written  teotf 


490          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

being  filled  by  a  son  of  the  pontiff,  or  one  of  their  own 
sons.  The  elected  purified  himself  for  the  office  by 
blood-letting  and  other  observances,  while  the  people 
celebrated  his  accession  with  feasting  and  dancing. 
In  Vera  Paz,  the  chief  priest  was  elected  according  to 
merit  from  a  certain  family  by  the  people,  and  ranked 
next  to  the  king.75  As  an  instance  of  the  lasting  in- 
fluence possessed  by  the  priesthood  over  the  people, 
Scherzer  relates  that  at  Istlavacan  there  were  a  few 
years  ago  as  many  as  sixty  priests,  diviners,  and  medi- 
cine-men, Ahgih,  Ahqixb,  Ahqahb,  as  they  used  to  be 
termed,  who  exercised  their  offices  among  them.  At 
Coban,  says  Yillagutierre,  a  priest  was  so  highly  re- 
spected that  the  person  who  presumed  to  touch  him 
was  expected  to  fall  dead  immediately.76 

The  Nahua  impress,  noticeable  in  the  languages  and 
customs  of  Nicaragua,  is  still  more  strongly  marked  in 
the  mythology  of  that  country.77  Instead  of  obliterat- 
ing the  older  forms  of  worship,  however,  as  it  seems  to 
have  done  in  the  northern  part  of  Central  America,  it 
has  here  and  there  passed  by  many  of  the  distinct  be- 
liefs held  by  different  tribes,  and  blended  with  the 
chief  element  of  a  system  which  is  traced  to  the 
Muyscas  in  South  America.  The  inquiries  instituted 
by  a  Spanish  friar  among  different  classes  of  people 
in  the  Nagrando  district  go  to  prove  that  Tama- 
gostat78  and  Cipattonal,  male  and  female  deities  who 
inhabit  the  regions  of  the  rising  sun,  were  the  supreme 
beings.  They  created  all  things,  stars  as  well  as  mor- 
tals, and  re-created  what  had  been  destroyed  by  the 
flood,  in  which  work  they  were  aided  by  Ecalchot, 
surnamed  Huehue,  the  'aged,'  and  Ciagat,  'the  little/ 

™Palacio,  Carta,  pp.  62-6;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  viii.,  cap.  x.; 
Ximenez,  Hist.  Ind.  Guat.,  pp.  200-1;  Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ., 
torn,  ii.,  pp.  105,  555-6;  Salazar  y  Olarte,  Hist.  Conq.  Mex.,  pp.  315-16. 

i6  Hist.  Conq.  Itza,  p.  61;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vtdi,  pp.  cxviii., 
cclxvi. ;  Scherzer,  Indianer  von  Istlavacan,  p.  10. 

77  Gomara  says  with  regard  to  this:  '  Religion  de  Nicaragua  que  casi  es  la 
inesma  Mexicana.'  Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  63. 

78  The  similarity  of  the  name  of  lamachaz  and  tamagast,  names  given  to 
angels  and  priests,  is  striking.     The  ending  tat  might  also  be  regarded  as  a 
contraction  of  the  Aztec  tatli,  father.  Buschmann,  Ortsnamen,  pp.  164-5. 


GODS  OF  THE  NICARAGUA^.  491 

In  Tamagostat,  Mtiller  at  once  recognizes  Fomagata, 
the  ancient  sun-god  of  the  Muyscas,  who  after  his  de- 
thronement by  a  newer  solar  deity  became  more  par- 
ticularly the  fire-god  of  that  people,  but  retained  more 
of  his  original  preeminence  in  the  countries  to  which 
his  worship  spread,  as  in  Nicaragua.  This  view  is 
supported  by  the  statement  that  he  inhabited  the 
heavens  above,  or  rather  the  region  of  sunrise.  His 
consort,  Cipattonal,  Mtiller,  judging  from  their  rela- 
tionship, holds  to  be  the  moon;  her  name  seems,  how- 
ever, to  be  derived  from  a  Mexican  source,  probably 
from  xipalli,  'dark  blue  color/  and  tonalli,  'sun,'79 
which  may  be  construed  as  referring  to  the  sun  in  its 
blue  element,  or,  as  the  fainter  sun,  to  the  moon.  In 
either  case,  the  connection  of  the  two  is  perfectly  legiti- 
mate. Ecalchot,  who  is  represented  as  a  young  man, 
yet  is  surnamed  'the  aged,'  seems  to  be  the  same  as 
the  Mexican  Ehecatl,  'wind,  air,'  an  element  ever 
young,  yet  ever  old,  and  Ciagat  may  mean  'mois- 
ture;'80 both  forming  with  the  sun  the  fertilizing 
forces  that  create.81  Oviedo  gives  the  names  of  these 
deities  as  Tamagostat  or  Tamagostad,  Zipattoval  or 
Zipattonal,  Calchithuehue,  and  Chicoziagat,82  'father/ 
He  further  names  Chiquinaut  and  Hecat  as  gods  of 
the  winds,  which  seems  to  be  merely  another  version 
of  Chicoziagat  and  Ehecatl.83 

The  Guatemalan  trinity  reappears  in  the  character 
of  Omeyateite  and  Omeyatezigoat84 — easily  recogniza- 

79  Buschmann,  Ortsnamen,  p.  163. 

80  '  Ich  bringe  es  in  Verbindung  mit  dem  Stammworte  ciahua  oder  dydhua 
bef euchten,  bewassern. '  Ib.     It  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  Aztec  h  frequently 
changes  into  g  in  these  countries. 

81  Mutter,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  pp.  435-8,  503;  Squier's  Nicaragua 
(ed.   1856),  vol.  ii.,  pp.  349-60;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  112;  this  author  identifies  Tamagostat  and  Cipaltona  with  the  solar 
deities,  Oxomoc  and  Cipactonal,  of  the  Toltecs,  but  places  them  in  rather  an. 
inferior  position. 

82  Oxomogo  is  also  introduced,  which  tends  to  throw  doubt  on  Brasseur's 
identification  of  Jamagostad  with  this  personage. 

83 'Ehecatl  oder  verkurzt  Ecatl ist  die  Berichtigung  flir  Oviedo's 

Hecat.'  Buschmann,  Ortsnamen,  p.  163;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  iv..  pp. 
40-5,  52. 

84 In  Ternaux-Compans,  Voy.,  serie  ii.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  40,  they  are  written 
Homey-Ateli'te  and  Homey-Ateciguat,  but  the  above  spelling  corresponds 
better  with  other  similar  Aztec  names  in  Nicaragua.  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen*y  torn, 
iv.,  p.  46. 


492          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

ble  in  the  Mexican  Ometecutli  and  Omecihuatl — and 
their  son  Ruiatcot,  the  rain-god,85  who  sends  forth 
thunder,  lightning,  and  rain.  They  are  also  supposed 
to  live  where  the  sun  rises,  doubtless  because  that 
seems  the  abode  of  bliss,  and  as  fertilizing  forces  they 
are  regarded  as  creators,  but  not  connected  with  the 
two  before  mentioned.  Quiateot  was  the  most  promi- 
nent, if  not  the  supreme,  member  of  the  trinity,  for 
the  other  two,  as  representing  the  thunder  and  light- 
ning, the  forerunners,  or  parents,  of  the  showers,  do 
not  seem  to  have  been  invoked  when  rain  was  wanted, 
or  to  have  participated  in  the  sacrifices  of  young  boys 
and  girls  offered  on  such  occasions.86 

The  Nicaraguans  had  other  deities  presiding  over 
the  elements,  seasons,  and  necessaries  of  life.  Thus, 
Macat  and  Toste,  also  written  Mazat  and  Teotost,87 
the  deer  and  rabbit,  were  gods  of  the  chase.  When  a 
deer  was  killed,  the  hunter  placed  the  head  in  a  basket 
in  his  house,  and  regarded  it  as  the  representation  of 
the  god.88  Mixcoa  was  the  god  invoked  by  the  traders, 
and  those  about  to  make  purchases;  Cacaguat  was  the 
patron  of  cacao-culture;  Miquetanteot,  god  of  hades, 
was  evidently  the  same  as  Mictlantecutli  of  Mexico; 
there  were,  besides,  others  whose  names  have  been 
given  to  the  days  of  the  month.  In  Martiari,  the 
chief  deity  was  called  Tipotani.  In  Nicaragua  proper, 
they  adored  Tomaoteot,  'the  great  god/  whose  son 
Teotbilche  was  sent  down  to  mankind.  This  looks 
like  another  Christ-myth,  especially  when  we  read  of 
attendant  angels,  who  had  wings  and  flew  about  in 
heaven.  The  names  of  the  two  chief  angels  were 
Taraacazcati  and  Tamacaztobal.89  The  Dirans  revered 

85  '  Von  quiahui  oder  qtiiyahui  regnen:  mit  teotl  Gott  verbunden. '  Buscli- 
mann,  Ortsnamen,  p.  167. 

**  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  p.  46. 

™  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  113.  The  latter 
seems  to  be  the  same  as  the  Mexican  Teotochtli,  '  rabbit-god.' 

68  *Y  esso  tenemos  por  el  dios  de  los  venados.'  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn. 
iv.,  p.  55. 

69  All  probably  derived  from  tlamacazqui,  priest.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.   112-14.     This  author,  following  Oviedo,  Hist. 
Nic.,  spells  the  names  somewhat  differently.  Buschrnann,  Ortsnamen,  pp.  165- 
8;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  48,  52,  101. 


THE  GODDESS  OF  THE  VOLCANO.  493 

in  particular  the  goddess  of  the  volcano,  Masaya;  for 
her  they  placed  food  on  the  brink  of  the  crater,  into 
which  they  cast  human  beings,  especially  when  she 
manifested  her  anger  by  earthquakes.  On  such  occa- 
sions the  chiefs  and  priests,  who  alone  were  permitted  to 
look  into  the  seething  abyss,  went  to  the  summit  and 
called  upon  the  genius,  who  issued  from  the  lake  of  fire 
in  the  form  of  an  old  woman,  and  instructed  them  what 
to  do.  She  is  described  as  a  naked,  dark-skinned  hag, 
with  hanging  breasts,  scanty  hair,  long  sharp  teeth, 
and  sunken  glaring  eyeballs.  The  gods  were  invested 
with  all  the  peculiarities  of  humanity,  formed  of  flesh 
and  blood,  and  lived  on  the  food  provided  for  man, 
besides  blood  and  incense.  They  also  appeared  on 
earth  dressed  like  the  natives,  but  since  the  death  of 
the  cacique  Xostoval  these  visits  ceased.90  They  were 
personified  by  idols  of  stone,  clay,  or  wood,  called 
teobat,91  whose  forms  their  forefathers  had  transmitted ; 
to  them  were  brought  offerings  of  food  and  other 
things,  which  were  taken  in  at  the  door  of  the  temple 
by  boys  serving  there,  for  none  except  the  consecrated 
were  allowed  to  enter  the  sanctuary.92  To  encourage 
the  piety  that  prompted  these  offerings,  the  priests 
never  failed  to  remind  the  people  of  the  punishment 
inflicted  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  ancient  capital  of 
Nagrando,  who,  having  given  themselves  up  to  the 
pursuit  of  pleasure,  and  neglected  the  gods,  were  one 
night  swallowed  up,  not  a  vestige  of  their  city  being 
left.93  The  most  acceptable  offering  was,  of  course, 
human  blood.  At  certain  times  the  favorite  idol  was 
set  on  a  spear  and  planted  in  an  open  place  amid  gor- 
geously adorned  attendants  holding  banners  and  flow- 
ers. Here  the  priests  gashed  their  tongues,  and  other 
parts,  smearing  the  face  of  the  image  with  the  blood 

90  These  remarks  appear  inconsistent  with  the  statement  that  the  spirit 
only  of  men  ascended  to  heaven.  Id.,  pp.  41-2. 

91  '  Teobat  vient  problement  de  Teohuatl,  etre  divine.'  Brasseur  de  Bour- 
bourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  113. 

92  *  En  toda  la  pla£a,  ni  en  el  templo  donde  estan,  entran  alii  hombre  ni 
muger  en  tanto  que  alii  estan,  sino  solamente  los  inuchachos  pequeiios  que 
les  llevan  6  dan  de  comer.'  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv,,  p,  47. 

93  Torquemada,    Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  p.  330. 


494          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

that  flowed,  while  the  devout  approached  to  whisper 
their  desires  into  the  ear  of  the  idol.  Songs,  dances, 
and  games  attended  these  ceremonies. 

Before  each  temple  was  a  conic  or  pyramidal  mound 
of  adobe,  called  tescuit,  or  tezarit,  ascended  by  an  in- 
terior staircase.94  From  its  summit,  upon  which  there 
was  room  for  about  ten  men  to  stand,  the  priest  pro- 
claimed the  nature  of  the  approaching  festival,  and 
the  kind  of*  sacrifice  to  be  made,  and  here,  upon  a  stone 
block,  the  victims,  generally  captives  and  slaves,  had 
their  hearts  cut  out,  after  which  they  were  decapitated, 
the  body  to  be  cut  up  and  prepared  for  the  grand  ban- 
quets, while  the  head,  if  that  of  a  captive,  was  hung 
on  a  tree  near  the  temple,  a  particular  tree  being  re- 
served for  each  tribe  from  whom  the  victims  were 
captured.  The  most  prized  victims  were  young  boys 
and  girls,  who  were  brought  up  by  the  chiefs  for  the 
purpose,  and  treated  with  great  care  and  respect 
wherever  they  went,  for  they  were  supposed  to  become 
deified  after  death,  and  to  exercise  great  influence  over 
the  affairs  of  life.  Women,  who  were  held  to  be  un- 
worthy to  perform  any  duty  in  connection  with  the 
temples,  were  immolated  outside  the  temple  ground  of 
the  large  sanctuaries,  and  even  their  flesh  was  unclean 
food  for  the  high-priest,  who  accordingly  ate  only  of 
the  flesh  of  males.95 

Fasts  and  baptismal  rites,  so  prominent  hitherto,  do 
not  appear  to  have  been  practised  in  Nicaragua.  A 
kind  of  sacrament  was  administered,  however,  by 
means  of  maize  sprinkled  with  blood  drawn  from  the 
generative  organs,  and  confession  was  a  recognized 
institution.  The  confessor  was  chosen  from  among  the 
most  aged  and  respected  citizens ;  a  calabash  suspended 
from  the  neck  was  his  badge  of  office.  He  was  re- 
quired to  be  a  man  of  blameless  life,  unmarried,  and 

94 Peter  Martyr  describes  this  edifice  as  follows:  'Within  the  viewe  of 
their  Temples  there  are  diuers  Bases  or  Pillers  like  the  Pulpittes, ....  which 
Bases  consist  of  eight  steppes  or  stayres,  in  some  places  twelue,  and  in  another 
fifteene.'  Dec.  vi.,  lib.  vi. 

^Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  46-7,  53,  50,  93-4,  98,  101;  Peter  Mar- 
tyr, dec.  vi.,  lib.  vii.;  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  265-6;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen., 
dec.  iii.,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  vii.;  vol.  ii.,  pp.  708-10,  715,  of  this  work. 


PRIESTS   OF  NICARAGUA.  495 

not  connected  with  the  temple.  Those  who  wished  to 
confess  went  to  his  house,  and  there  standing  with 
humility  before  him,  unburdened  their  conscience. 
The  confessor  was  forbidden  to  reveal  any  secret  con- 
fided to  him  in  his  official  capacity,  under  pain  of  pun- 
ishment. The  penance  he  imposed  was  generally 
some  kind  of  labor  to  be  performed  for  the  benefit  of 
the  temple.  Boys  did  not  confess,  but  seem  to  have 
reserved  the  avowal  of  their  peccadillos  for  maturer 
age.96 

The  office  of  high-priest  was  held  by  the  caciques, 
who  each  in  his  turn  left  home  and  occupation  and 
removed  to  the  chief  temple,  there  to  remain  for  a 
year  attending  to  religious  matters  and  praying  for 
the  people.  At  the  expiration  of  the  term  he  received 
the  honorable  distinction  of  having  his  nose  perforated. 
Subordinate  duties  were  performed  by  boys.  In  the 
inferior  temples  other  classes  entered  for  a  year's  pen- 
ance, living  like  the  chief  in  strict  seclusion,  except  at 
festivals  perhaps,  seeing  none  but  the  boys  who 
brought  food  from  their  homes.  The  ordinary  priests 
were  called  tamagast 97  and  lived  on  the  offerings  made 
to  the  idols,  and  perhaps  by  their  own  exertions,  for 
the  temples  had  no  fixed  revenues.98  They  had  sor- 
cerers, texoxes,  who  sometimes  caused  the  death  of 
children  by  merely  looking  at  them,  and  who  could 
assume  animal  forms,  for  which  reasons  they  were 
much  feared  by  the  people.  To  strengthen  this  belief, 

^Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  55-6;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib. 
iv.,  cap.  vii.,  lib.  v.,  cap.  xii.;  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  256. 

97Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  says:  '  Tamagoz,  c'est  encore  une  autre  corrup- 
tion du  mot  tlamacazfj/ui.'  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  114. 

9&0viedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  46-7,  53;  Andagoya,  in  Navarrete,  Col. 
de  Viages,  torn,  iii.,  p.  414;  vol.  ii.,  p.  728,  of  this  work.  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind., 
fol.  265,  states  that  the  priests  were  all  married;  while  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen., 
dec.  iii.,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  yii.,  asserts  the  contrary.  The  latter  view  seems  more 
correct  when  we  consider  that  women  were  not  permitted  to  enter  the  tem- 
ples, and  that  the  high-priest  and  devotees  were  obliged  to  leave  their  wives 
when  they  passed  into  the  sanctuary.  It  is  even  probable  that  there  was  no 
distinct  priesthood,  since  the  temples  had  no  revenues,  and  the  temple  ser- 
vice was  performed  in  part  at  least  by  volunteers;  to  this  must  be  added  the 
fact,  that  although  the  confessor  might  not  be  connected  with  the  temple,  yet 
he  ordered  penance  for  its  benefit.  It  must  be  considered,  however,  that 
without  regular  ministers  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  keep  up  the  routine 
of  feasts  and  ceremonies,  write  the  books  of  records,  teach  the  children,  and 
maintain  discipline. 


496          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND   WORSHIP. 

they  at  times  disguised  themselves  in  skins  of  beasts." 
In  Honduras,  the  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being  and  Crea- 
tor was  connected  with  a  worship  of  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars,  to  which  the  people  made  sacrifices.100 
Near  Truxillo  were  three  chief  temples,101  in  one  of 
which  was  a  chalchiuite  in  the  form  of  a  woman,  to 
which  the  people  prayed,  and  which  answered  them 
through  the  priests.  Preparatory  to  any  important 
undertaking,  cocks,  dogs,  or  even  men  were  sacrificed 
to  secure  the  favor  of  the  gods.  In  each  of  the  sanc- 
tuaries presided  a  papa,  or  chief  priest,  to  whom  the 
education  of  the  sons  of  the  nobles  was  intrusted. 
These  were  unmarried  men,  distinguished  by  long  hair 
reaching  to  the  waist,  though  in  some  places  they 
wound  it  round  the  head  in  plaits.  Their  sanctity  and 
superior  knowledge  gave  them  great  influence,  and 
their  advice  was  sought  on  all  affairs  of  importance  by 
the  principal  men,  for  none  else  dared  to  approach 
them.  There  were  also  sorcerers  who  could  assume 
animal  forms,  in  which  guise  they  went  about  devour- 
ing men  and  spreading  diseases.102 

Among  the  barbarians  of  the  Mosquito  Coast,  we 
find,  of  course,  a  much  lower  order  of  belief,  and  one 
which  calls  to  mind  the  ghouls  and  ghosts  of  Califor- 
nian  mythology.  The  natives  acknowledged  a  good 
spirit  or  principle,  to  which  they  gave  no  definite 
name103  and  rendered  no  homage,  for  there  was  no 
necessity,  they  said,  to  pray  to  one  who  always  did 
good;  as  for  thanking  him  for  mercies  received,  such 
an  idea  seems  never  to  have  occurred  to  them.  In 
fact,  they  had  neither  temples  nor  idols,  and  the  only 
ceremonies  that  partook  of  a  religious  character  were 

"Arricivita,  Crtinica  Serafica,  p.  57;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  101, 
107.  *  Sous  le  nom  de  "Texoxe  ou  designait  les  naguals,  les  genies  mau- 
vais  de  toute  esp6ce,  ainsi  que  les  sorciers. '  Brasseur  de  Bvurbourg,  Hist.  Nat. 
Civ.,  torn.  ri.,  p.  113. 

80  Torque  mada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  63. 

101  At  Cape  Honduras  they  consisted  of  long,  narrow  houses,  raised  above 
the  ground,  containing  idols  with  heads  of  animals.  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec. 
iv.,  lib.  viii.,  cap.  v. 

182 Id.,  and  dec.  iv.,  lib.  i.,  cap.  vi.;  see  vol.  i.,  p.  740,  of"  this  work. 

103  'Es  istdafur  das  Wort  God  aus  dem  Englischen  aufgenommen.'  Mos- 
quitoland,  Bericht,  p.  142. 


THE  MOSQUITO  PANTHEON.  497 

the  conjurations  of  their  sukias,  or  sorceresses,  who 
were  constantly  engaged  in  breaking  the  spells  of  evil 
spirits,  with  which  the  people's  fancy,  excited  by  grew- 
some  stories  told  round  the  camp  fire,  had  filled  every 
dark  and  dismal  place,  every  stream  and  mountain 
top.  These  gnomes  were  known  by  the  name  of  Wu- 
lasha,104  and  were  supposed  to  issue  from  their  hiding- 
places,  especially  at  night,  to  do  all  manner  of  evil; 
they  were  especially  addicted  to  carrying  off  solitary 
wanderers;  it  was,  therefore,  say  the  chroniclers, 
almost  impossible  to  induce  a  native  to  go  out  alone 
after  dark. 

Amid  the  underwood  and  fallen  trees  about  the 
sources  of  rivers,  big  snakes  were  thought  to  dwell. 
These  monsters  were  assisted  by  a  resistless  upward 
current  and  a  strong  wind  which  swept  the  unwary 
boatman  within  the  reach  of  the  red  jaws  and  slimy 
folds.  Patook,  among  other  rivers,  had  this  bad  repu- 
tation, and  a  white  man  who  despite  the  warnings  of 
the  natives  started  to  explore  its  mysteries,  returned 
in  a  few  days  with  the  story  that  his  progress  had 
been  opposed  by  a  big  white  cock.  Leewa105  was  the 
name  of  the  water-spirit,  who  sucked  the  bather  into 
pools  and  eddies,  and  sent  forth  devastating  water- 
spouts and  hurricanes.  Wihwin,  a  spirit  having  the 
appearance  of  a  horse,106  with  tremendous  teeth  to 
favour  human  prey,  haunted  the  hills  during  the 
summer,  but  retired  with  the  winter  to  the  sea,  whence 
he  originally  issued.  In  mountain  caves,  guarded  by 
fierce  white  boars,  lived  the  patron  deity  of  the 
warrees,  the  wild  pigs  of  the  country,  of  childish  form 
but  immense  strength,  who  directed  the  movements 
of  the  droves.  There  were,  besides,  certain  venom- 
ous lizards,  who  after  biting  a  man  ran  immediately 
to  the  nearest  water;  if  the  wounded  person  did  the 

104  Bard's  Waikna,  p.  243.  *  Devils,  the  chief  of  whom  they  call  the 
Woolsaw,  or  evil  principle,  witchcraft.'  Strangeways1  Mosquito  SJtore,  p.  331. 
Young  writes  Oulasser.  Narrative,  p.  72. 

^Bell,  in  Land.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xxxii.,  p.  254. 

106  A  shape  which  assigns  the  story  a  comparatively  recent  date,  unless  a 
deer  was  originally  meant. 
VOL.  III.    32 


498          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

same  and  succeeded  in  reaching  the  water  first,  he 
was  saved,  and  the  lizard  died;  otherwise  the  man 
was  doomed.107  The  Sukias,  who  were  called  upon  to 
exorcise  these  malignant  beings  on  every  occasion  of 
sickness  or  misfortune,  were  generally  old  hags,  sup- 
posed to  have  a  compact  with  the  evil  one,  in  whose 
name  they  exacted  half  their  fee  before  commencing 
their  enchantments.  The  Caribs  held  regular  meet- 
ings or  festivals  to  propitiate  these  spirits,  and  the 
Wool  was,  who  seem  to  have  had  manv  religious  forms 
in  common  with  the  Nicaraguans,  had  "dances  with 
the  gods.7'108 

Among  the  Isthmians  several  forms  of  worship 
appear,  that  in  the  vicinity  of  Panaind  resembling 
the  system  prevalent  in  Hayti  and  Cuba,  says  Go- 
mara,10€  The  heavenly  bodies  seem  to  have  been  very 
generally  adored,  especially  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  Isthmus,  where  all  good  things  were  thought  to 
come  from  the  sun  and  moon,  which  were  considered 
as  man  and  wife;  but  no  accounts  are  given  of  temples, 
or  forms  of  worship,  except  that  prayers  were  ad- 
dressed to  the  sun.110 

The  most  prominent  personage  in  the  Isthmian 
pantheon  was  Dabaiba,  a  goddess  who  controlled  the 
thunder  and  lightning,  and  with  their  aid  devastated 
the  lands  of  those  who  displeased  her.  In  South 
America,  thunder  and  lightning  were  held  to  be  the 
instruments  used  by  the  sun  to  inflict  punishment 
upon  its  enemies,  which  makes  it  probable  that  Da- 
baiba was  a  transformed  sun-goddess.  Pilgrims  re- 
sorted from  afar  to  her  temple  at  Uraba,  bringing 
costly  presents  and  human  victims,  who  were  first 
killed  and  then  burned,  that  the  savory  odors  of  roast- 
ing flesh  might  be  grateful  in  the  delicate  nostrils  of 
the  goddess.  Some  describe  her  as  a  native  princess, 

107  Bell,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xxxii.,  pp.  253-4;  Young's  Narra- 
tive, p.  79. 

^Froehefs  Cent.  Amer.,  p.  137;  see  also  vol.  i.,  pp.  740-1,  of  this  work. 

109  Hist.  lad.,  fol.  255. 

119  Id.,  fol.  89;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  20,  125. 


GODS  OF  THE  ISTHMIANS.  499 

whose  reign  was  marked  by  great  wisdom  and  many 
miracles,  and  who  was  apotheosized  after  death.  She 
was  also  honored  as  the  mother  of  the  Creator,  the 
maker  of  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  all  invisible  things, 
and  the  sender  of  blessings,  who  seems  to  have  acted 
as  mediator  between  the  people  and  his  mother,  for 
their  prayers  for  rain  were  addressed  to  him,  although 
she  is  described  as  controlling  the  showers,  and  once, 
when  her  worship  was  neglected,  she  inflicted  a  severe 
drought  upon  the  country. 

When  the  needs  of  the  people  were  very  urgent,  the 
chiefs  and  priests  remained  in  the  temple  fasting  and 
praying  with  uplifted  hands;  the  people  meanwhile 
observed  a  four  days'  fast,  lacerating  their  bodies  and 
washing  their  faces,  which  were  at  other  times  covered 
with  paint.  So  strict  was  this  fast  that  no  meat  or 
drink  was  to  be  touched  until  the  fourth  day,  and  then 
only  a  soup  made  from  maize  flour.  The  priests  them- 
selves were  sworn  to  perpetual  chastity  and  abstinence, 
and  those  who  went  astray  in  these  matters  were 
burned  or  stoned  to  death.  Their  temples  were  en- 
compassed with  walls  and  kept  scrupulously  clean; 
golden  trumpets,  and  bells  with  bone  clappers,  sum- 
moned the  people  to  worship.111 

In  the  province  of  Pocorosa  the  existence  of  a  rain- 
god  called  Chipiripe  was  recognized,  who  inhabited  the 
heaven  above,  whence  he  regulated  celestial  move- 
ments ;  with  him  lived  a  beautiful  woman  with  one 
child.  Nothing  else  was  known  respecting  this  divine 
family.  This  ignorance  of  the  deity  was  further 
manifested  by  the  absence  of  any  form  of  worship ; 
the  moral  laws  were  well  defined,  however,  so  that 
adultery  and  even  lying  were  regarded  as  sinful.11' 
Las  Casas  states  that  Chicune,  'the  beginning  of  all/ 
who  lived  in  heaven,  was  the  one  being  to  whom  the 
people  of  Darien  addressed  their  invocations  and  sac- 
rifices, though  a  certain  sect,  or  tribe,  among  them 

111  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  vii.,  lib.  x.;  Irving' s  Columbus,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  173-4; 
Miiller,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  p.  421. 

ll*Andar/oya,  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn,  iii.,  p.  401;  Herrera,  Hist. 
Gen.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  i.,  cap.  xi.,  dec.  ii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  v. 


500          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

worshipped  the  water.  In  another  chapter  he  declares 
that  the  Isthmians  had  little  or  no  religion,  for  they 
had  no  temples  and  few  or  no  gods  or  idols.112  Accord- 
ing to  Peter  Martyr,  the  embalmed  and  bejewelled 
bodies  of  ancestors  were  worshipped  in  Comagre,  and 
in  Veragua  gold  was  invested  with  divine  qualities,  so 
that  the  gathering  of  it  was  attended  with  fasting  and 
penance.114  Tuira,  whom  the  Spanish  writers  declared 
to  have  been  the  devil  himself,  was  a  widely  known 
being  who  communed  with  his  servants,  tequina, 
1  masters/115  in  roofless  huts  kept  for  this  purpose. 
Here  the  tequinas  entered  at  night,  and  spoke  in  dif- 
ferent voices,  to  induce  the  belief  that  the  spirits  were 
actually  answering  their  questions ;  the  result  of  the 
interview  was  communicated  to  their  patrons.  At 
times  the  evil  one  appeared  in  the  guise  of  a  hand- 
some boy  without  hands116  and  with  three-toed  feet, 
and  accompanied  the  sorcerers  upon  their  expeditions 
to  work  mischief,  and  supplied  them  with  a  protecting 
ointment.  Among  the  evil  deeds  imputed  to  these 
sorcerers  was  that  of  sucking  the  navel  of  sleeping 
people  .until  they  died.117  These  men  naturally  took 
care  to  foster  ideas  that  tended  to  sustain  or  increase 
their  influence,  and  circulated,  besides,  most  extrava- 
gant stories  of  supernatural  events  and  beings.  Once 
a  terrible  hurricane,  blowing  from  the  east,  devastated 
the  country  and  brought  with  it  two  birds  with  maiden 
faces,  one  of  which  was  of  a  size  so  great  that  it  seized 

rn  men  and  carried  them  off  to  its  mountain  nest, 
tree  could  support  it,  and  where  it  alighted  upon 
the  rocks,  the  imprint  of  its  talons  were  left.     The 
other  bird  was  smaller  and  supposed  to  be  the  offspring 
of  the  first.     After  trying  several  plans  to  kill  these 

113 Hist.  Apotogttica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxiv.,  ccxlii.;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind., 
torn,  ii.,  p.  63. 

114 Dec.  iii.,  lib.  iv.,  dec.  ii.,  lib.  iii. 

110  A  name  applied  in  Cueba  to  all  who  excelled  in  an  art.  Oviedo,  Hist. 
Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  126-7. 

116  'Lasmanosno  selasvian.'  Andagoya,  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn, 
iii.,  p.  400. 

117  For  further  account  of  sorcerers,  see  vol.  i.,  pp.  779-80.     Gomara  writes: 
'Tauira,  que  es  el  Diablo.'  Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  255;  Fferrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  ii.t 
lib.  ii.,  cap.  x.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  v.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  i.,  cap.  x. 


PHALLIC  WORSHIP.  501 

man-eating  harpies,  they  hit  upon  the  device  of  fixing 
a  large  beam  in  the  ground,  near  the  place  where  they 
usually  alighted,  leaving  only  one  end  exposed,  on 
which  was  carved  the  image  of  a  man.  With  the 
dawn  of  day  the  larger  bird  came  swooping  dofan  upon 
the  decoy  and  imbedded  its  claws  so  firmly  in  the  beam 
that  it  could  not  withdraw  them,  and  thus  the  people 
were  enabled  to  kill  it.11* 

The  knowledge  that  the  human  mind,  no  matter 
how  low  its  condition,  can  be  capable  of  such  puerile 
conceptions,  must  bring  with  it  a  sense  of  humiliation 
to  the  thinking  man ;  and  well  were  it  for  him  could 
he  comfort  himself  with  the  belief  that  such  debasing 
superstitions  were  at  least  confined  to  humanity  in  its 
first  and  lowest  stages;  but  this  he  cannot  do.  It  is 
true  that  the  belief  of  the  civilized  Aztec  was  far  higher 
and  nobler  than  that  of  the  uncivilized  Carib;  but  can 
he  who  has  read  the  evidence  upon  which  old  women 
and  young  maidens  were  convicted  of  riding  upon 
broomsticks  to  witches'  sabbaths,  by  the  most  learned 
judges  of  the  most  learned  law-courts  of  modern 
Europe,  deny  that  the  coarsest  superstition  and  the 
highest  civilization  have  hitherto  gone  hand  in  hand? 

Before  leaving  this  division,  it  will  be  well  to  say  a 
few  words  concerning  the  existence  of  Phallic  Wor- 
ship in  America. 

One  of  the  first  problems  of  the  primitive  man  is 
creation.  If  analogies  lead  him  to  conceive  it  as  allied 
to  a  birth,  and  the  joint  result  of  some  unknown  male 
and  female  energy,  then  the  symbolization  of  this 
power  is  liable  to  take  the  gross  form  of  phallic  worship. 
Thus  it  is  that  among  the  earliest  nations  of  which 
we  possess  any  knowledge,  the  life-giving  and  vivify- 
ing principle  of  nature  has  been  always  symbolized  by 
the  human  organs  of  generation.  The  Lingam  of 
India,  the  Phallus  of  Greece,  the  Priapus  of  Rome, 
the  Baal-Peor  of  the  Hebrew  records,  and  the  Peor- 
Apis  of  Egypt,  all  have  plainly  the  same  significance. 

118  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  vii.,  lib.  x. 


502          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

In  most  mythologies,  the  sun,  the  principle  of  fire,  the 
moony  and  the  earth,  were  connected  with  this  belief; 
the  sun  and  moon  as  the  celestial  emblems  of  the 
generative  and  productive  powers  of  nature,  fire  and 
the  earth  as  the  terrestrial  emblems.  These  were  the 
Father  and  the  Mother,  and  their  most  obvious  sym- 
bols, as  already  stated,  wTere  the  phallus  and  kteis,  or 
the  lingam  and  yoni  of  Hindostan. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  multiply  quotations  respecting 
the  basal  though  often  veiled  idea  of  One,  underlying 
the  polytheistic  systems.  The  difficulty  to  the  human 
mind  of  considering  anything  in  another  than  human 
aspect,  and  our  natural  delight  in  analogies,  leads,  how- 
ever, in  many  cases  to  the  consideration  in  certain  as- 
pects of  this  deity  as  a  duality  or  joint  essence  of  the 
masculine  and  the  feminine.  Take  the  learned  Cory's 
summary  of  ancient  mythology:  "It  recognizes,  as 
the  primary  elements  of  all  things,  two  independent 
principles,  of  the  nature  of  male  and  female ;  and  these, 
in  mystic  union,  as  the  soul  and  body,  constitute  the 
Great  Hermaphrodite  Deity,  The  One,  the  universe 
itself,  consisting  still  of  the  two  separate  elements  of 
its  composition,  modified  though  combined  in  one  in- 
dividual. ...  If  we  investigate  the  Pantheons  of  the  an- 
cient nations,  we  shall  find  that  each,  notwithstanding 
the  variety  of  names,  acknowledged  the  same  deities 
and  the  same  system  of  Theology ;  and,  however  hum- 
ble any  of  the  deities  may  appear,  each  who  has  any 
claim  to  antiquity  will  be  found  ultimately,  if  not  im- 
mediately, resolvable  into  one  or  other  of  the  Prime- 
val Principles,  the  Great  God  and  Goddess  of  the 
Gentiles."119 

119  Ancient  Fragments,  introduction,  p.  34.  M.  Pictet  says  of  the  primitive 
Celtic  religion:  'From  a  primitive  duality,  constituting  the  fundamental 
forces  of  the  universe,  there  arises  a  double  progression  of  cosmical  powers, 
which  after  having  crossed  each  other  by  a  mutual  transition,  at  last  pro- 
ceed to  blend  in  One  Supreme  Unity,  as  in  their  essential  principles. '  Says 
Sir  William  Jones:  '  We  must  not  be  surprised  at  finding,  on  a  close  exami- 
nation, that  the  characters  of  all  the  Pagan  deities,  male  and  female,  melt 
into  each  other,  and  at  last  into  one  or  two,  for  it  seems  a  well-founded 
opinion  that  the  whole  crowd  of  gods  and  goddesses  in  ancient  Rome  and 
modern  Varanes,  mean  only  the  Powers  of  Nature,  and  principally  those  of 
the  Sun,  expressed  in  a  variety  of  ways,  and  by  a  multitude  of  fanciful 
names. '  On  the  Gods  of  Greece,  Italy,  and  India,  p.  273. 


RATIONALE  OF  PHALLIC  WORSHIP.  503 

To  the  moral  ideal  of  the  present  age,  an  ideal  de- 
rived from  acquired  habit,  not  from  nature,  phallic 
worship  will  doubtless  appear  repulsive  and  indelicate 
in  the  extreme.  It  was,  nevertheless,  the  most  nat- 
ural form  of  worship  that  the  primitive  man  could 
adopt;  for  him  the  symbol  had  no  impure  meaning, 
and  was  associated  with  none  of  the  disgusting  excesses 
by  means  of  which,  as  he  became  more  sophisticated, 
he  converted  his  reverence  of  Nature  into  a  worship 
of  Lust. 

What  could  be  more  natural  than  that  he  should 
symbolize  the  fecundating  principle,  the  creative  power, 
by  the  immediate  cause  of  reproduction,  or,  as  he 
doubtless  took  it,  of  creation,  the  phallus.  He  recog- 
nized no  impurity  or  licentiousness  in  the  moderate 
and  regular  gratification  of  any  natural  appetite;  nor 
did  it  seem  to  him  that  the  organs  of  one  species  of 
enjoyment  were  naturally  to  be  considered  as  subjects 
of  shame  and  concealment  more  than  those  of  another. 
As  Payne  Knight  remarks  of  the  ancient  nations  of 
the  Old  World :  "In  an  age,  therefore,  when  no  preju- 
dices of  artificial  decency  existed,  what  more  just  and 
natural  image  could  they  find  by  which  to  express 
their  idea  of  the  beneficent  power  of  the  great  Creator 
than  that  organ  which  endowed  them  with  the  power 
of  procreation,  and  made  them  partakers,  not  only  of 
the  felicity  of  the  Deity,  but  of  his  great  characteristic 
attribute,  that  of  multiplying  his  own  image,  communi- 
cating his  blessings,  and  extending  them  to  the  gener- 
ations yet  unborn."  Nothing  natural  was  to  them 
offensively  obscene.  When  the  Egyptian  matrons 
touched  the  phallus,  they  did  so  with  the  pure  wish  of 
obtaining  offspring.  The  gold  lingam  on  the  neck  of 
the  Hindoo  wives  was  not  an  object  of  shame  to  them. 

That  the  worship  of  the  reciprocal  principles  of  na- 
ture was  recognized  and  practised  in  America,  there  is 
in  my  mind  no  doubt.  The  almost  universal  preva- 
lence of  sun-worship,  which  is,  as  I  have  already  inti- 
mated, closely  connected  with  phallic  rites,  would  alone 
go  far  to  prove  this,  but  an  account  of  certain  material 


504          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

relics  and  well-known  customs  is  still  more  satisfactory 
evidence. 

In  Yucatan,  according  to  Stephens,  "the  ornaments 
upon  the  external  cornice  of  several  large  buildings 
actually  consisted  of  membra  conjuncta  in  coitu,  too 
plainly  sculptured  to  be  misunderstood.  And  if  this 
were  not  sufficient  testimony,  more  was  found  in  the 
isolated  and  scattered  representations  of  the  membrum 
virile,  so  accurate  that  even  the  Indians  recognized  the 
object,  and  invited  the  attention  of  Mr  Catherwood  to 
the  originals  of  some  of  his  drawings  as  yet  unpub- 
lished." 

The  sculptured  pillars  to  be  seen  at  Copan  and  other 
ruins  in  Central  America,  which  are  acknowledged  to 
be  connected  with  sun-worship,  are  very  similar  to  the 
sculptured  phallus-pillars  of  the  East.12i  Mr  Squier 

120  <  This  suggestion  was  first  publicly  made  in  a  communication  read, '  says 
Squier,  Serpent  Symbol, '  p.  49,  '  before  the  American  Ethnological  Society, 
by  a  distinguished  member  of  that  body;  from  which  the  following  passages 
are  extracted.  After  noticing  several  facts  tending  to  show  the  former  ex- 
istence of  phallic  worship  in  America,  the  author  of  the  paper  proceeds 
as  follows:  "We  come  now  to  Central  America.  Upon  a  perusal  of 
the  first  journey  of  our  fellow-members,  Messrs  Stephens  and  Catherwood, 
into  Guatemala  and  the  central  territories  of  the  continent,  I  was  forcibly 
struck  with  the  monolithic  idols  of  Copan.  We  knew  nothing  before,  save 
of  Mexican,  Palenque,  and  Uxmal  remains;  and  those  of  Copan  appeared 
to  me  to  be  unlike  them  all,  and  probably  of  an  older  date.  My  reading 
furnishes  me  with  but  one  parallel  to  those  singular  monolithic  sculptures, 
and  that  was  seen  in  Ceylon,  in  1796,  by  Captain  Colin  McKenzie,  and 
described  in  the  6th  volume  of  the  Asiatic  Researches.  As  the  description 
is  short,  I  transcribe  it:  'The  figure  is  cut  out  of  stone,  in  relievo;  but 
the  whole  is  sunk  in  a  hollow,  scooped  out,  so  that  it  is  defended  from 
injury  on  the  sides.  It  may  be  about  fourteen  feet  high,  the  countenance 
wild,  a  full,  roimd  visage,  the  eyes  large,  the  nose  round  and  long;  it  has 
no  beard;  nor  the  usual  distinguishing  marks  of  the  Gentoo  casts.  He 
holds  up  both  his  hands,  with  the  forefingers  and  thumbs  bent;  the  head- 
dress is  high,  and  seems  ornamented  with  jewels;  on  the  little  finger  of  the 
left  hand  is  a  ring;  on  the  arms  bracelets;  a  belt  high  about  the  waist;  the 
lower  dress  or  drapery  fixed  with  a  girdle  much  lower  than  the  Gentoo  dress, 
from  which  something  like  tassels  depend;  a  collar  and  ornaments  on  the 
neck  and  shoulders;  and  rings  seem  to  hang  low  from  the  ears.  No  ap- 
pearance of  any  arms  or  weapons. '  This  was  the  nearest  approximation  I 
could  make  to  the  Copan  idols;  for  idols  I  took  them  to  be,  from  the  fact 
that  an  altar  was  invariably  placed  before  them.  From  a  close  inspection  of 
Mr  Catherwood's  drawings,  I  found  that  though  no  single  figure  presented 
all  the  foregoing  characteristics,  yet  in  the  various  figures  I  could  find  every 
particular  enumerated  in  the  Ceylon  sculpture.  It  then  occurred  to  me  that 
one  of  the  most  usual  symbols  of  the  Phallus  was  an  erect  stone,  often  in  ita 
rough  state,  sometimes  sculptured,  and  that  no  other  object  of  heathen  wor- 
ship was  so  often  shadowed  forth  by  a  single  stone  placed  on  end  as  the 
Phallus.  That  the  worship  of  the  Priapus  [lyingam]  existed  in  Ceylon  has  long 
.since  been  satisfactorily  established;  and  hence  I  was  led  to  suspect  that  these 


KELICS   OF  PHALLIC  WORSHIP.  505 

is  of  the  opinion  that  they  may  be  considered  as  such, 
and  the  Abbe  Brasseur  takes  the  same  view  in  mak- 
ing the  plain  cylindrical  pillar  found  in  so  many  places 
the  representation  of  the  volcano,  the  goddess  of  love, 
and  whence  it  issues  as  the  symbol  of  new  life.  On 
another  page  he  terms  the  phallus  the  Crescent,  the 
land  whence  the  Nahuas  originated,  and  the  continent 
of  America  the  body.1'21  Some  of  the  pillars  appear 
without  ornament,  as  the  picote  at  Uxmal,  a  round 
stone  of  irregular  form,  which  stood  in  front  of  one  of 
the  ruins,  but  the  worshippers  of  Priapus  at  Thespia 
and  other  places  were  content  with  a  rude  stone  for  an 
image  in  early  times.  In  Mexico,  according  to  Gama, 
the  presiding  god  of  spring,  Xopancalehuey  Tlalloc, 
was  often  represented  without  a  human  body,  having 
instead  a  pilaster  or  square  column,  upon  a  pedestal 
covered  with  various  sculptured  designs.122  In  Pdnuco, 
images  of  the  generative  organs  were  kept  in  the  tem- 
ples as  objects  of  worship,  and  statues  representing 
men  and  women  performing  the  sexual  act  in  various 
postures  stood  in  the  temple-courts.12'  Near  Laguna 
de  Terminos,  on  the  coast  of  Yucatan,  Grijalva  found 
images  of  men  committing  acts  of  indescribable  beast- 
liness, while  close  by  lay  the  bodies  of  victims  recently 
sacrificed  in  their  honor.124  The  united  symbols  of  the 
sexual  organs  were  publicly  worshipped  in  Tlascala, 

monuments  at  Copan  might  be  vestiges  of  a  similar  idolatry.  A  further  in- 
spection confirmed  my  suspicions;  for,  as  I  supposed,  I  found  sculptured  on 
the  American  ruins  the  organs  of  generation,  and  on  the  back  of  one  of  the 
emblems  relative  to  uterine  existence,  parturition,  etc.  I  should,  however, 
have  wanted  entire  confidence  in  the  correctness  of  my  suspicions  had  the 
matter  rested  here.  On  the  return  of  Messrs  Stephens  and  Catherwood  from 
their  second  expedition,  every  doubt  of  the  existence  of  Phallic  worship,  es- 
pecially in  Yucatan,  was  removed. " ' 

121  Quatre  Lettres,  pp.  290,  301 ;  Squiers  Serpent  Symbol,  pp.  47-50. 

122  Leon  y  Gama,  Dos  Piedras,  part  i.,  p.  40. 

123  jn  Panuco  and  other  provinces,  '  adorano  il  membro  che  portano  gli 
huomini  fra  le  gambe,  &  lo  tengono  nella  meschita,  &  posto  similmeiite  sopra 
la  piazza  insieme  con  le  imagini  de  rilieuo  di  tutti  modi  di  piacere  che  possono 
essere  fra  1'huomo  &  la  donna,  &  gli  hanno  di  ritratto  con  le  gambe  di  alzate 
in  diuersi  modi.'  Relationefattapervngentil'huomo  del  Signor  Fernando  Cortese, 
in  Hamusio,  Navigation},  torn.  iii. ,  f ol.  307. 

m  '  Hallaron  entre  vnos  arboles  vn  iJolillo  de  oro  y  muchos  de  barro,  doa 
hombres  de  palo,  caualgando  vno  sobre  otro,  a  fuer  Sodoma,  y  otro  de  tierra 
cozida  con  ambas  manos  alo  suyo,  quo  lo  tenia  retajado,  como  son  casi  todos 
los  Indies  de  Yucatan.'  Gomara,  Hwt.  I  ml,  fol.  58. 


506          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

and  in  the  month  of  Quecholli  a  grand  festival  was 
held  in  honor  of  Xochiquetzal,  Xochitecatl,  and  Tla- 
zolteotl,  goddesses  of  sensual  delights,  when  the  pros- 
titute's and  young  men  addicted  to  sodomy  were  allowed 
to  solicit  custom  on  the  public  streets.125  On  Zapatero 
Island,  around  Lake  Nicaragua,  and  in  Costa  Rica,  a 
number  of  idols  have  been  found  of  which  the  dispro- 
portionately large  membrum  generationis  virile  in  erec- 
tione  was  the  most  prominent  feature.  Palacio  relates 
that  at  Cezori,  in  Honduras,  the  natives  offered  blood 
drawn  from  the  organs  of  generation,  and  circumcised 
boys  before  an  idol  called  Icelaca,  which  was  simply  a 
round  stone,126  with  two  faces  and  a  number  of  eyes, 
and  was  supposed  to  know  all  things,  past,  present, 
and  future.127  The  frequent  occurrence  of  the  cross, 
which  has  served  in  so  many  and  such  widely  separated 
parts  of  the  earth  as  the  symbol  of  the  life-giving,  cre- 
ative, and  fertilizing  principle  in  nature,  is,  perhaps,  one 
of  the  most  striking  evidences  of  the  former  recogni- 
tion of  the  reciprocal  principles  of  nature  by  the  Amer- 
icans ;  especially  when  we  remember  that  the  Mexican 
name  for  the  emblem,  tonacaquahuitl,  signifies  'tree  of 
one  life,  or  flesh.' 128  Of  two  terra-cotta  relics  found  at 
Ococingo,  in  the  state  of  Chiapas,  one  would  certainly 
attract  the  attention  of  any  one  who  had  investigated 
the  subject  of  phallic  worship,  or  had  seen  the  phallic 
amulets  and  ornaments  of  the  Old  World. 12£  In  the 
Museum  at  Mexico  are  two  small  images  which  were 
evidently  used  as  ornaments.  Each  of  these  represents 
a  human  figure  in  a  crouching  posture,  clasping  with 
both  hands  an  enormous  phallus.  Colonel  Brantz 
Mayer  kindly  showed  me  drawings  of  these  made  by 
himself.  One  of  these  figures  is  reproduced  in  another 
volume  of  this  work. 

The  Pipiles  abstained  from  their  wives  for  four  days 

125  See  vol.  ii.,  pp.  336-7,  concerning  this  festival. 

126  <  un  iJolo  cie  piedra  redondo, '  which  may  mean  a  '  cylindrical  stone, ' 
as  the  translator  of  Palacio's  Carta  has  rendered  it. 

127  Palacio,  Carta,  p.  84. 

128  Concerning  the  cross  in  America,  see  this  vol.,  p.  4G8. 

129 1  refer  to  the  left-hand  figure  in  the  cut  on  p.  348,  vol.  iv.,  of  thia 


PHALLIC  KITES.  507 

previous  to  sowing,  in  order  to  indulge  in  the  marital 
act  to  the  fullest  extent  on  the  eve  of  that  day,  evi- 
dently with  a  view  to  initiate  or  urge  the  fecundating 
powers  of  nature.  It  is  even  said  that  certain  persons 
were  appointed  to  perform  the  sexual  act  at  the  mo- 
ment of  planting  the  first  seed.  During  the  bitter 
cold  nights  of  the  Hyperborean  winter,  the  Aleuts, 
both  men  and  women,  joined  hands  in  the  open  air  and 
whirled  perfectly  naked  round  certain  idols,  lighted 
only  by  the  pale  moon.  The  spirit  was  supposed  to 
hallow  the  dance  with  his  presence.  There  certainly 
could  have  been  no  licentious  element  in  this  ceremony, 
for  setting  aside  the  discomfort  of  dancing  naked  with 
the  thermometer  at  zero,  we  read  that  the  dancers 
were  blindfolded,  and  that  decorum  was  strictly  en- 
forced. In  Nicaragua,  maize  sprinkled  with  blood 
drawn  from  the  genitals  was  regarded  as  sacred  food.13C 
The  custom  of  drawing  blood  from  this  part  of  the 
body  was  observed  as  a  religious  rite  by  almost  every 
tribe  from  Mexico  to  Panama",  though  this,  of  course, 
does  not  prove  that  it  was  in  all  cases  connected  with 
phallic  worship.  Circumcision  is  regarded  by  Squier 
as  a  phallic  rite,  but  there  is  not  sufficient  testimony 
to  support  this  view.  Tezcatlipoca,  the  chief  god  of 
the  Nahuas,  who  has  been  frequently  identified  with 
the  sun,  was  adored  as  a  love-god,  according  to  Botu- 
rini,  who  adds  that  the  Nahua  Lotharios  held  dis- 
orderly festivals  in  his  honor,  to  induce  him  to  favor 
their  designs.131  Orgies,  characterized  by  the  grossest 
licentiousness  are  met  with  at  different  places  along 
the  coast,  as  among  the  Nootkas,  the  Upper  and 
Lower  Californians,  in  Sinaloa,  Nicaragua,  and  espe- 
cially in  Yucatan,  where  every  festival  ended  in  a 
debauch.  During  a  certain  annual  festival  held  in 
Nicaragua,  women,  of  whatever  condition,  could  aban- 

work.  For  examples  of  the  amulets  mentioned^  see  illustrations  in  Payne 
Knight's  Worship  of  Priapus. 

1JOSee  vol.  i.  of  this  work,  p.  93;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  p.  48.  See 
vol.  ii.,  of  this  work,  pp.  719-20. 

131  Boturini,  Idea,  p.  13;  see  also  this  volume,  pp.  243-4. 


508          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

don  themselves  to  the   embrace  of  whomever  they 
pleased,  without  incurring  any  disgrace.132 

The  feast  of  the  Mexican  month  Xocotlhuetzin, 
'fall,  or  maturity  of  fruit/  is  to  me  a  most  striking 
evidence  of  the  former  existence  of  phallic  worship, 
or  at  least  recognition  of  the  fecundating  principle  in 
nature.  I  will,  however,  leave  the  reader  to  draw  his 
own  conclusions.  This  feast  of  the  *  maturity  of  fruit' 
was  dedicated  to  Xiuhtecutli,  god  of  fire,  and  therefore 
of  fertility,  or  fecundity.  The  principal  feature  of  the 
feast  was  a  tall,  straight  tree,  which  was  stripped  of 
all  its  branches  except  those  close  to  the  top,  and  set 
up  in  the  court  of  the  temple.  Within  a  few  feet  of 

132  See  vol.  i.  of  this  work,  pp.  200,  414,  566-7;  vol.  ii.,  p.  676,  and  ac- 
count of  Yucatec  feasts  in  chap.  xxii.  In  citing  these  brutish  orgies,  I  do  not 
presume,  or  wish  to  assert,  that  they  were  in  any  way  connected  with  phallus 
worship,  or  indeed,  that  there  was  anything  of  a  religious  nature  in  them. 
Still,  as  they  certainly  were  indulged  in  during  or  immediately  after  the 
great  religious  festivals,  and  as  we  know  how  the  phallic  cult  degenerated 
irom  its  original  purity  into  just  such  bestiality  in  Greece  and  Rome,  I  have 
thought  it  well  to  mention  them.  There  is  much  truth  in  the  following  re- 
marks on  this  point  by  Mr  Brinton,  though  with  his  statement  that  the 
proofs  of  a  recognition  of  the  fecundating  principle  in  nature  by  the  Ameri- 
cans are  ' altogether  wanting,'  I  cannot  agree.  He  says:  'There is  110 ground 
whatever  to  invest  these  debauches  with  any  recondite  meaning.  They  are 
simply  indications  of  the  thorough  and  utter  immorality  which  prevailed 
throughout  the  race.  And  a  still  more  disgusting  proof  of  it  is  seen  in  the 
frequent  appearance  among  diverse  tribes  of  men  dressed  as  women  and 
yielding  themselves  to  indescribable  vices.  There  was  at  first  nothing  of  a 
religious  nature  in  such  exhibitions.  Lascivious  priests  chose  at  times  to 
invest  them  with  some  such  meaning. .  .The  pretended  phallic  worship  of  the 
Natchez  and  of  Culhuacan,  cited  by  the  Abbe  Brasseur,  rests  on  no  good 
authority,  and  if  true,  is  like  that  of  the  Huastecs  of  Panuco,  nothing  but 
an  unrestrained  and  boundless  profligacy,  which  it  were  an  absurdity  to  call 
a  religion.  That  which  Mr  Stephens  attempts  to  show  existed  once  in  Yuca- 
tan rests  entirely  by  his  own  statement  on  a  fancied  resemblance  of  no  value 
whatever,  and  the  arguments  of  Lafitau  to  the  same  effect  are  quite  insufficient. 
There  is  a  decided  indecency  in  the  remains  of  ancient  American  art,  espe- 
cially in  Peru  (Meyen),  and  great  lubricity  in  many  ceremonies,  but  the  proof 
is  altogether  wanting  to  bind  these  with  the  recognition  of  fecundating  prin- 
ciple throughout  nature,  or,  indeed,  to  suppose  for  them  any  other  origin  than 
the  promptings  of  an  impure  fancy.  I  even  doubt  whether  they  often  referred 
to  fire  as  the  deity  of  sexual  love.  By  a  flight  of  fancy  inspired  by  a  study 
of  oriental  mythology,  the  worship  of  the  reciprocal  principle  in  America  has 
been  connected  with  that  of  the  sun  and  moon,  as  the  primitive  pair  from 
whose  fecund  union  all  creatures  proceeded.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  if  such  a 
myth  exists  among  the  Indians — which  is  questionable — it  justifies  no  such 
deduction;  that  the  moon  is  often  mentioned  in  their  languages  merely  as  the 
"night  sun;"  and  that  in  such  important  stocks  as  the  Iroquois,  Athapascas, 
Cherokees,  and  Tupis,  the  sun  is  said  to  be  a  feminine  noun;  while  the  myths 
represent  them  more  frequently  as  brother  and  sister  than  as  man  and  wife; 
nor  did  at  least  the  northern  tribes  regard  the  sun  as  the  cause  of  fecundity  in 
nature  at  all,  but  solely  as  giving  light  and  warmth.'  Alytlis,  pp.  149-50; 
Sc/toolcra/t's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  416-17. 


PHALLIC  RITES.  509 

its  top  a  cross-yard  thirty  feet  long  was  fastened;  thus 
a  perfect  cross  was  formed.  Above  all,  a  dough  image 
of  the  god  of  fire  curiously  dressed  was  fixed.  After 
certain  horrible  sacrifices  had  been  made  to  the  deity 
of  the  day,  the  people  assembled  about  the  pole,  and 
the  youth  scrambled  up  for  the  image,  which  they 
broke  in  pieces  and  scattered  upon  the  ground.133  A 
great  number  of  similar  analogies  may  be  detected  in 
the  rites  and  customs  of  the  people,  and  it  is  almost 
reluctantly  that  I  refrain  from  giving  my  views  in  full. 
I  have  made  it  my  aim,  however,  to  deal  with  facts, 
and  leave  speculation  to  others.  Those  who  wish  to 
thoroughly  investigate  this  most  interesting  subject 
cannot  do  better  than  study  Mr  Squier's  learned  and 
exhaustive  treatise  on  the  Serpent  Symbol. 

133  For  a  full  account  of  thii  feast,  see  vol.  ii.  of  this  work,  pp.  329-30. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

FUTURE  STATE. 

ABORIGINAL  IDEAS  or  FUTURE— GENERAL  CONCEPTIONS  OF  SOUL— FUTURE 
STATE  or  THE  ALEUTS,  CHEPEWYANS,  NATIVES  AT  MILLBANK  SOUND,  AND 
OKANAGANS — HAPPY  LAND  or  THE  SALISH  AND  CHINOOKS — CONCEPTIONS 
OF  HEAVEN  AND  HELL  OF  THE  NEZ  PERCES,  FLATHEADS,  AND  HAIDAHS — 
THE  REALMS  OF  QUAWTEAHT  AND  CHAYHER — BELIEFS  OF  THE  SONG  HIES, 
CLALLAMS,  AND  PEND  D'OREILLES — THE  FUTURE  STATE  OF  THE  CALIFOR- 
NIAN  AND  NEVADA  TRIBES,  COMANCHES,  PUEBLOS,  NAVAJOS,  APACHES, 
MOQUIS,  MARICOPAS,  YUMAS,  AND  OTHERS — THE  SUN-HOUSE  OF  THE 
MEXICANS — TLALOCAN  AND  MICTLAN — CONDITION  OF  THE  DEAD— JOUR- 
NEY OF  THE  DEAD — FUTURE  OF  THE  TLASCALTECS  AND  OTHER  NATIONS. 

THE  hope,  or  at  least  the  expectation,  of  immortality 
is  universal  among  men.  The  mind  instinctively 
shrinks  from  the  thought  of  utter  annihilation,  and 
ever  clings  to  the  hope  of  a  future  which  shall  be  bet- 
ter than  the  present.  But  as  man's  ideal  of  supreme 
happiness  depends  upon  his  culture,  tastes,  and  con- 
dition in  this  life,  we  find  among  different  people 
widely  different  conceptions  of  a  future.  The  intel- 
lectual Greek  looked  forward  to  the  enjoyment  of  less 
gross  and  more  varied  pleasures  in  his  Elysian  Fields, 
than  the  sensual  Mussulman,  whose  paradise  was 
merely  a  place  where  bright-eyed  houris  could  admin- 
ister to  his  every  want,  or  the  fierce  Viking,  whose 
Valhalla  was  a  scene  of  continual  gluttony  and  strife, 
of  alternate  hewing  in  pieces  and  swilling  of  mead. 

It  has  been  supposed  by  some  that  the  idea  of  future 
punishment  and  reward  was  unknown  to  the  Ameri- 
cans.1 This  is  certainly  an  error,  for  some  of  the 

1 '  The  preconceived  opinions, '  says  Brinton,  '  that  saw  in  the  meteorologi- 
cal myths  of  the  Indian  a  conflict  between  the  Spirit  of  Good  and  the  Spirit 

(510) 


IDEAS  OF  FUTURE.  511 

Pacific  coast  tribes  had  very  definite  ideas  of  future 
retribution,  and  almost  all,  in  supposing  that  the 
manner  of  death  influenced  the  future  state  of  the 
deceased,  implied  a  belief  in  future  reward,  at  least. 
The  slave,  too,  who  was  sacrificed  on  the  grave  of  his 
master,  was  thought  to  earn  by  his  devotion,  enforced 
though  it  might  be,  a  passport  to  the  realms  of  eter- 
nal joy;  had  there  been  no  less  blissful  bourne,  this 
prospective  reward  for  fidelity  would  have  been  mani- 
festly superfluous. 

The  future  life  of  these  people  was  sharply  defined, 
and  was  of  the  earth,  earthy.  In  its  most  common 
forms,  it  was  merely  earth-life,  more  or  less  free  from 
mortal  ills.  The  soul  was  subject  to  the  same  wants 
as  the  body,  and  must  be  supplied  by  the  same  means. 
In  fact,  the  pagan's  conception  of  heaven  was  much 
more  clearly  defined  than  the  Christian's,  and  the 
former  must  have  anticipated  a  removal  thither  with 
a  far  less  wondering  arid  troubled  mind  than  the  latter. 

In  the  Mexican  heaven  there  were  various  degrees 
of  happiness,  and  each  was  appointed  to  his  place  ac- 
cording to  his  rank  and  deserts  in  this  life.  The  high- 
born warrior  who  fell  gloriously  in  battle  did  not  meet 
on  equal  terms  the  base-born  rustic  who  died  in  his 
bed.  Even  in  the  House  of  the  Sun,  the  most  bliss- 
ful abode  of  the  brave,  the  ordinary  vocations  of  life 
were  not  entirely  dispensed  with,  and  after  their  sing- 
ing and  dancing,  the  man  took  up  his  bow  again,  and 
the  woman  her  spindle.  The  lower  heavens  possessed 
a  less  degree  of  splendor  and  happiness  until  the  abode 
of  the  great  mass  of  those  who  had  lived  an  obscure 
life  and  died  a  natural  death  was  reached.  These 
pursued  their  vocations  by  twilight,  or  passed  their 
time  in  a  dreamy  condition,  or  state  of  torpor.  As 
slaves  were  often  sacrificed  over  their  master's  grave 

of  Evil,  have  with  like  unconscious  error  falsified  his  doctrine  of  a  future  life, 
and  almost  without  an  exception  drawn  it  more  or  less  in  the  likeness  of  a 
Christian  heaven,  hell,  and  purgatory. . .  .Nowhere  was  any  well-defined  doc- 
trine that  moral  turpitude  was  judged  and  punished  in  the  next  world.  No 
contrast  is  discoverable  between  a  place  of  torments  and  a  realm  of  joy;  at 
the  worst,  but  a  negative  castigation  awaited  the  liar,  the  coward,  or  the 
niggard.'  Mytlis,  p.  242. 


512  FUTURE  STATE. 

that  they  might  serve  in  the  next  world,  we  must  sup- 
pose that  differences  of  rank  were  maintained  there. 
The  Tlascaltecs  supposed  that  the  common  people  were 
after  death  transformed  into  beetles  and  disgusting 
objects,  while  the  nobler  became  stars  and  beautiful 
birds.  But  this  condition  was  also  influenced  by  the 
acts  and  conduct  of  friends  of  the  deceased. 

Sir  John  Lubbock2  does  not  believe  with  Wilson 
and  other  archaeologists  that  the  burial  of  implements 
with  the  dead  was  because  of  any  belief  that  they 
would  be  of  use  to  the  deceased  in  a  future  state ;  but 
solely  as  a  tribute  of  affection,  an  outburst  of  that 
spirit  of  sacrifice  and  offering  so  noticeable  in  all,  from 
the  most  savage  to  the  most  civilized,  in  the  presence 
of  lost  brotherhood,  friendship,  or  love.  In  the  first 
place,  the  outfit  in  a  great  majority  of  cases  is  wholly 
unfit  and  inadequate,  viewed  in  any  rational  scale  of 
utility;  they  are  not  such  as  the  dead  warrior  would 
procure,  if  by  any  means  he  were  again  restored  to 
earth  and  to  his  friends.  In  the  second  place,  it  was 
and  is  usual  to  so  effectually  mutilate  the  devoted 
arms  and  utensils,  as  to  render  them  a  mere  mockery 
if  they  are  intended  for  the  future  use  of  the  dead. 
It  is  easy  to  classify  this  phenomenon  in  the  same 
category  with  the  deserting  or  destroying  of  the  house 
of  the  deceased,  the  refusal  to  mention  his  name,  and 
all  the  other  rude  contrivances  by  which  the  memory 
of  their  sorrow  may  be  buried  out  of  their  sight. 

This  subject  may  be  viewed  in  another  light,  how- 
ever, by  considering  that  these  Indians  sometimes 
impute  spirits  even  to  inanimate  objects,  and  when 
the  wife  or  the  slave  is  slain,  their  spirits  meet  the 
chief  in  the  future  land.  Do  they  not  also  break  the 
bow  and  the  spear  that  the  ghostly  weapons  may  seek 
above  the  hands  of  their  sometime  owner,  not  leaving 
him  defenceless  among  the  awful  shades.  The  muti- 
lation of  the  articles  may  perhaps  be  regarded  as  a 
symbolic  killing,  to  release  the  soul  of  the  object;  the 

2  Prehistoric  Times,  p.  139. 


THE  ROAD  TO  HEAVEN.  513 

inadequacy  of  the  supply  may  indicate  that  they  were 
to  be  used  only  during  the  journey,  or  preparatory 
state,  more  perfect  articles  being  given  to  the  soul,  or 
prepared  by  it  on  entering  the  heaven  proper. 

The  slaves  sacrificed  at  the  grave  by  the  Aztecs  and 
Tarascos  were  selected  from  various  trades  and  profes- 
sions, and  took  with  them  the  most  cherished  articles  of 
the  master,  and  the  implements  of  their  trade,  where- 
with to  supply  his  wants.  Passports  were  given  for 
the  different  points  along  the  road,  and  a  dog  as  guide. 
Thus  the  souls  of  animals  are  shown  to  have  entered 
heaven  with  man,  and  this  is  also  implied  by  the  belief 
that  men  were  there  transformed  into  birds  and  insects, 
and  that  they  followed  the  chase.  Another  instance 
which  seems  to  indicate  that  the  souls  of  these  earthly 
objects  were  used  merely  during  the  preparatory  state 
was  the  yearly  feast  given  to  departed  souls  during  the 
period  that  this  condition  endured.  After  that,  they 
were  left  to  oblivion.  The  Miztecs  had  the  custom  of 
inviting  the  spirits  to  enter  and  partake  of  the  repast 
spread  for  them,  and  this  food,  the  essence  of  which 
had  been  consumed  by  the  unseen  visitors,  was  re- 
garded as  sacred.3 

The  road  to  paradise  was  represented  to  be  full  of 
dangers — an  idea  probably  suggested  to  them  by  the 
awful  mystery  of  death.  In  the  idea  of  this  perilous 
journey,  this  road  beset  with  many  dangers — storms, 
monsters,  deep  waters,  and  whirlpools — we  may  trace 
a  belief  in  future  retribution,  for  though  the  majority 
of  travellers  manage  to  reach  their  destination  having 
only  suffered  more  or  less  maltreatment  by  the  way, 
yet  many  a  solitary,  ill-provided  wanderer  is  over- 
whelmed and  prevented  from  doing  so.  In  exceptional 
cases,  the  perils  of  this  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death 
are  avoided  by  the  intervention  of  a  friendly  deity,  who, 
Hermes-like,  bears  the  weary  soul  straight  to  its  rest. 
Among  the  Mexicans,  Teoyaomique,  the  consort  of 

3  See  vol.  ii.,  pp.  618,  628. 
VOL.  in.    33 


514  FUTURE  STATE. 

the  war-god,  performed  this  good  office  for  the  fallen 
warrior. 

With  the  alternative  of  this  not  very  attractive  future 
before  them,  it  is  natural  that  the  theory  of  metempsy- 
chosis should  have  found  wide  and  ready  acceptance,  for 
with  these  people  it  did  not  mean  purification  from  sin, 
as  among  the  Brahmans ;  it  was  simply  the  return  of  the 
soul  to  the  world,  to  live  once  more  the  old  life,  although 
at  times  in  a  different  and  superior  sphere.  The  human 
form  was,  therefore,  assumed  more  often  than  that  of 
animals.  The  soul  generally  entered  the  body  of  a  fe- 
male relative  to  form  the  soul  of  the  unborn  infant;  the 
likeness  of  the  child  to  a  deceased  friend  in  features  or 
peculiarities  lent  great  weight  to  this  belief.  This  reem- 
bodiment  was  not  limited  to  individuals;  the  Nootkas, 
for  instance,  accounted  for  the  existence  of  a  distant 
tribe,  speaking  the  same  language  as  themselves,  by  de- 
claring them  to  be  the  incarnated  spirits  of  their  dead. 
The  preservation  of  the  bones  of  the  dead  seems  in  some 
cases  to  be  connected  with  a  belief  in  a  resurrection  of 
the  body.  The  opinion  underlying  the  various  customs 
of  preservation  of  remains,  says  Brinton,  "was  that  a 
part  of  the  soul,  or  one  of  the  souls,  dwelt  in  the  bones; 
that  these  were  the  seeds  which,  planted  in  the  earth, 
or  preserved  unbroken  in  safe  places,  would,  in  time, 
put  on  once  again  a  garb  of  flesh,  and  germinate  into 
living  human  beings."4  Indeed,  a  Mexican  creation- 
myth  relates  that  man  sprang  from  dead  bones,5  and  in 
Goatzacoalco  the  bones  were  actually  deposited  in  a 
convenient  place,  that  the  soul  might  resume  them. 

The  most  general  idea  of  a  soul  seems  to  have  been 
that  of  a  double  self,  possessing  all  the  essence  and  attri- 
butes of  the  individual,  except  the  carnal  embodiment, 
and  independent  of  the  body  in  so  far  as  it  was  able  to 
leave  it,  and  revel  in  other  scenes  or  spheres.  It  would 
accordingly  appear  to  another  person,  by  day  or  night,  as 
a  phantom,  with  recognizable  form  and  features,  and 
leave  the  impression  of  its  visits  in  ideas,  remembrances, 

'Myths,  p.  257. 

5  See  p.  59,  this  volume. 


IDEAS  OF  SOUL.  515 

or  dreams.  Every  misty  outline,  every  rustle,  was  liable 
to  be  regarded  by  the  undiscriminating  aborigine  as  a 
soul  on  its  wanderings,  arid  the  ideas  of  air,  wind,  breath, 
shadow,  soul,  were  often  represented  by  the  same  word. 
The  Eskimo  word  silla  signifies  air,  wind,  and  conveys 
the  idea  of  world,  mind;  tamak,  means  soul,  shadow. 
The  Yakima  word  for  wind  and  life  contains  the  same 
root;  the  Aztec  ehecatl  signifies  wind,  air,  life,  soul, 
shadow ;  in  Quiche,  the  soul  bears  the  name  of  natub, 
shadow;  the  Nicaraguans  think  that  it  is  yuMa,  the 
breath,  which  goes  to  heaven.8  Some  hold  that  man 
has  several  souls,  one  of  which  goes  to  heaven,  the 
others  remain  with  the  body,  and  hover  about  their 
former  home.  The  Mexicans  and  Quiches  received  a 
soul  after  death  from  a  stone  placed  between  the  lips 
for  that  purpose,  which  also  served  for  heart,  the  seat 
of  the  soul;7  this  was  buried  with  the  remains.  The 
custom  of  eating  the  flesh  of  brave  enemies  in  order 
to  inherit  their  virtues  points  to  a  belief  in  the  exist- 
ence of  another  soul  or  vital  quality  in  the  corpse. 
Some  Oregon  tribes  gave  a  soul  to  every  member  of 
the  body.  A  plurality  of  souls  is  also  implied  by  the 
belief  in  soul- wandering  during  sleep;  for  is  not  the 
body  animate  though  the  soul  be  separated  from  it? 
Yet  the  soul  proper  could  not  remain  away  from  the 
body  beyond  a  certain  time,  lest  the  weaker  soul  that 
remained  should  fail  to  sustain  life. 

With  the  many  contradictions  and  vague  statements 
before  us,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  phrase  "im- 
mortality of  the  soul"  is  often  misleading.  Tylor  even 
considers  it  doubtful  "  how  far  the  lower  psychology 
entertains  at  all  an  absolute  conception  of  immortality, 
for  past  and  future  fade  soon  into  utter  vagueness  as 
the  savage  mind  quits  the  present  to  explore  them."8 

Some  tribes  among  the  Hyperboreans  actually  dis- 
believed in  a  future  existence,  while  others  held  the 

*0viedo,  Hist.  Nic.,  in  Ternaux-C&mpans,  Voy.,  serie  ii.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  36; 
Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  74;  Id.,  Ortsnamen,  p.  159;  Brasseurde 
Bourbourg,  Gram.  QuickC  p.  196;  Brinton's  Myths,  pp.  49-52,  235. 

7  Vol.  ii.,  pp.  606,  799,  of  this  work. 

sPrim.  Cult.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  22. 


516  FUTURE  STATE. 

doctrine  of  a  future  reward  and  punishment.  The 
conceptions  of  a  soul  were  well  defined,  however ;  the 
Thlinkeets  supposed  it  to  enter  the  spirit- world,  among 
the  yeks,  on  being  released  from  the  body.  The  braves 
who  had  fallen  in  battle,  or  had  been  murdered,  be- 
came keeyeks,  'upper  ones,'  and  went  to  dwell  in  the 
'north,  where  the  aurora  borealis,  omen  of  war,  flashes 
in  reflection  from  the  lights  which  illuminate  their 
dances;  so  at  least  the  Eskimos  regard  it.9  Those 
who  died  a  natural  death  became  tdkeeyeks,  land-spirits, 
and  tekeeyeks,  sea-spirits,  and  dwelt  in  takankon,  doubt- 
less situated  in  the  centre  of  the  earth,10  the  road  to 
which  was  watered,  and  made  smooth  by  the  tears  of 
relatives,  but  if  too  much  crying  was  indulged  in,  it 
became  swampy  and  difficult  to  travel.  The  takeeyeks 
and  tekeeyeks  appear  to  have  attached  themselves  as 
guardian  spirits  to  the  living,  and  were  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  shamdns,  before  whom  they  came  in  the 
form  of  land  and  sea  animals,  to  do  their  bidding 
and  reveal  the  past  and  future.11  The  keeyeks  were 
evidently  above  the  conjuration  of  the  sorcerers.  The 
comforts  of  heaven,  like  the  road  to  it,  depended  on 
earthly  conditions;  thus  the  body  was  burned  in  order 
that  it  might  be  warm  in  its  new  home.  Slaves,  how- 
ever, who  were  buried,  were  condemned  to  freeze ;  but 
the  shamdns,  whose  bodies  were  also  left  to  moulder, 
had  doubtless  power  to  avoid  such  misery.  All  lived 
in  heaven  as  on  earth,  earning  their  living  in  the 
same  manner,  to  which  end  the  implements  and  other 
articles  burned  with  them  were  brought  into  use; 
wealthy  people  appointed  two  slaves  to  be  sacrificed 
at  the  pyre,  upon  whom  devolved  the  duty  of  attend- 
ing to  their  wants.  The  slaves  carried  their  long- 

*DaWs  Alaska,  pp.  145,  422. 

10 Barrett-Lennard  says,  however:   'Those  that  die  a  natural  death  are 


quilacion  del  hombre  con  la  muerte.'   Sutil  y  Mexiwno,  Viage,  p. 

is  doubtful  whether  the  latter  class  is  composed  of  the  spirits  of  men,  or 

merely  of  marine  animals.     See  this  vol.,  p.  148. 

11  The  Tinnehs  do  not  regard  these  as  the  spirits  of  men.    DalVs  Alaska, 
p.  88. 


METEMPSYCHOSIS.  517 

pending  doom  very  philosophically,  it  is  said.12  It 
appears,  however,  that  the  soul  had  the  option  of  re- 
turning to  this  life,  and,  as  I  have  said,  generally 
entered  the  body  of  a  female  relative  to  form  the  soul 
of  a  coming  infant.  If  the  child  resembled  a  deceased 
friend  or  relation,  this  reembodiment  was  at  once  rec- 
ognized, and  the  name  of  the  dead  person  was  given 
to  it.  Metempsychosis  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
restricted  to  relatives  only,  for  the  Thlinkeets  were 
often  heard  to  express  a  desire  to  be  born  again  into 
families  distinguished  for  wealth  and  position,  and  even 
to  wish  to  die  soon  in  order  to  attain  this  bliss  the 
earlier.13  This  belief  in  the  transmigration  of  souls 
was  widely  spread,  and  accounts  to  some  extent  for 
the  fearlessness  with  which  the  Hyperboreans  con- 
templated death.14  The  Tacullies  and  Sicannis  asked 
the  deceased  whether  he  would  return  to  life  or  not, 
and  the  shamdn  who  put  the  question  decided  the 
matter  by  looking  at  the  naked  breast  of  the  body 
through  his  fingers;  he  then  raised  his  hand  toward 
heaven,  and  blew  the  soul,  which  had  apparently 
entered  his  fingers,  into  the  air,  that  it  might  seek  a 
body  to  take  possession  of;  or  the  shaman  placed  his 
hands  upon  the  head  of  one  of  the  mourners  and  sent 
the  spirit  into  him,  to  be  embodied  in  his  next  off- 
spring. The  relative  thus  favored  added  the  name  of 
the  deceased  to  his  own.  If  these  things  were  not 
done,  the  deceased  was  supposed  to  depart  to  the  cen- 
tre of  the  earth  to  enjoy  happiness  according  to  their 
estimate  of  it.  The  Kenai  supposed  that  a  soft  twi- 
light reigned  perpetually  in  this  place,  and  that  its 
inhabitants  pursued  their  vocations;  while  the  living 
slept,  they  worked.  The  soul  did  not,  however,  attain 
perfect  rest  until  a  feast  had  been  given  in  its  honor, 
attended  by  a  distribution  of  skins.15 

12  Kotzebue's  New  Voy.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  54.  'They  have  a  confused  notion  of 
immortality.'  Id.,  p.  58.  The  Koniagas  also  used  to  kill  a  slave  on  the  grave 
of  wealthy  men.  Doll's  Alaska,  p.  403. 

™DalVs  Alaska,  pp.  422-3;  Holmberg,  Ethno.  Sldz.,  pp.  63-5. 

14  The  Chepewyans  also  held  this  theory,  though  they  believed  in  a  heaven 
of  bliss  and  a  state  of  punishment.  Mackenzie's  Voy.,  p.  cxix. 

^Richardson's  Jour.,  vcl.  i.,  pp.  409-10;  Boer,  Stat.  u.  Ethno.,  pp.  107-8, 


518  FUTURE  STATE. 

Dall,  in  speaking  of  the  Tinnehs,  to  which  family 
the  Tacullies  and  Kenai  belong,  states  that  he  found 
few  who  believed  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and 
none  in  future  reward  and  punishment;  any  contrary 
assertion  he  characterizes  as  proceeding  from  ignorance 
or  exaggeration.  Other  authors,  however,  in  treating 
of  tribes  situated  both  in  the  extreme  north,  and  in 
the  centre  of  this  family,  as  the  Loucheux  and  Che- 
pewyans,  declare  that  good  and  wicked  were  treated 
according  to  their  deserts,  the  poor  and  rich  often 
changing  lots  in  the  other  life.  Terrible  punishment 
was  sometimes  inflicted  upon  the  wicked  in  this  world ; 
thus,  in  Stickeen  River  stand  several  stone  pillars, 
which  are  said  to  be  the  remains  of  an  evil-doing  chief 
and  his  family,  whom  divine  anger  placed  there  as  a 
warning  to  others.  According  to  Kennicott,  the  soul, 
whether  good  or  bad,  was  received  by  Chutsain,  the 
spirit  of  death,  who  was,  for  this  reason  probably, 
called  the  bad  spirit.16  The  Eskimos  seem  to  have 
believed  in  a  future  state,  for  Richardson  relates  that 
a  dying  man  whom  he  saw  at  Cumberland  Inlet  de- 
clared his  joy  at  the  prospect  of  meeting  his  children 
in  the  other  world  and  there  living  in  bliss.  It  is  also 
a  suggestive  fact  that  implements  and  clothes  were 
buried  with  the  body,  care  being  taken  that  nothing 
should  press  heavily  upon  it.  The  large  destruction 
of  property  practised  by  some  Rocky  Mountain  tribes 
was  for  the  purpose  of  obliterating  the  memory  of  the 
deceased.17  The  Aleuts  believed  that  the  spirits  of 
their  relatives  attended  them  as  good  genii,  and  in- 
voked them  on  all  trying  occasions,  especially  in  cases 
of  vendetta.™  The  Chepewyan  story  relates  that  the 

111;  Harmon's  Jour.,  pp.  299-300;   Wittsea'  Nar.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  iv., 
p.  482. 

16  Whymper's  Alaska,  p.  345;  Mackenzie's   Voy.,  p.  cxxviii.;  Hardisty,  in 
Smithsonian  Rept.,  1866,  p.  318.     'Naeh  dem  Tode  wurde  nach  ihren  (Koiiia- 
gas)  Begriffen  jeder  Mensch  ein  Teufel;  bisweilen  zeigte  er  sich  den  Ver- 
wandten,  und  dass  hatte  Gliick  zu  bedeuten.'  Holmbery,  Ethno.  Skiz.,  p.  122; 
Macfie's  Vane.  Isl,  pp.  457-8. 

17  Vol.  i.,  pp.  126-7,  of  this  work;  Dunns  Oregon,  p.  83;  Sillimans  Jour., 
vol.  xvi.,  p.  147;  Seemans  Voy.  Herald,  vol.  ii.,  p.  67;  Richardson  s  Pol.  Reg., 
p.  322.     The  Eskimos  had  no  idea  of  '  future  reward  and  punishment. '  DalVs 
Alaska,  p.  145. 

i8D'Orbigny's  Voy.,  p.  50. 


FUTURE  OF  THE  COLUMBIAN  TRIBES.  519 

soul  arrives  after  death  at  a  river  upon  which,  floats  a 
stone  canoe.  In  this  it  embarks  and  is  borne  by  the 
gentle  current  to  an  extensive  lake,  in  the  midst  of 
which  is  an  enchanted  island.  While  the  soul  is  drift- 
ing toward  it,  the  actions  of  its  life  are  examined,  and 
if  the  good  predominate,  the  canoe  lands  it  on  the  shore, 
where  the  senses  revel  in  never-ending  pleasures.  But 
if  the  evil  of  its  past  life  outweigh  the  good,  the  stone 
canoe  sinks,  leaving  the  spirit  occupant  immersed  up 
to  the  chin,  there  eternally  to  float  and  struggle,  ever 
beholding  but  never  realizing  the  happiness  of  the 
good.19  This  pronounced  belief  in  a  future  reward  and 
punishment  obtained  among  several  of  the  Columbian 
tribes.  The  natives  of  Millbank  Sound  picture  it  as 
two  rivers  guarded  by  huge  gates,  and  flowing  out  of 
a  dark  lake — the  gloom  of  death.  The  good  enter  the 
stream  to  the  right,  which  sparkles  in  constant  sun- 
shine, and  supplies  them  with  an  abundance  of  salmon 
and  berries;  the  wicked  pass  in  to  the  left,  and  suffer 
cold  and  starvation  on  its  bleak,  snow-clad  banks.20 
The  Okanagans  call  paradise,  or  the  abode  of  the  good 
spirit,  elemehumkillanwaist,  and  hell,  where  those  who 
kill  and  steal  go,  kishtsamah.  The  torments  of  the 
latter  place  are  increased  by  an  evil  spirit  in  human 
form,  but  with  tail  and  ears  like  a  horse,  who  jumps 
about  from  tree  to  tree  with  a  stick  in  his  hand  and 
belabors  the  condemned.21 

Some  among  the  Salish  and  Chinooks  describe  the 
happy  state  as  a  bright  land,  called  tamath  by  the  lat- 
ter, evidently  situated  in  the  direction  of  the  sunny 
south,  and  abounding  in  all  good  things.  Here  the 
soul  can  revel  in  enjoyments,  which,  however,  depend 
on  its  own  exertions;  the  wealthy,  therefore,  take 
slaves  with  them  to  perform  the  menial  duties.  The 
wicked,  on  the  other  hand,  are  consigned  to  a  desolate 
region,  under  the  control  of  an  evil  spirit,  known  as 
the  Black  Chief,  there  to  be  constantly  tantalized  by 

19  Mackenzie's  Voy.,  p.  cxix.;  Dunn  s  Oregon,  p.  104. 

20 Dunns  Oregon,  pp.  272-3. 

21  Boss'  Adven.,  p.  288;  Coxs  Adven.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  1^8. 


520  FUTURE  STATE. 

the  sight  of  game,  water,  and  fire,  which  they  can 
never  reach.  Some  held  that  tamath  was  gained  by 
a  difficult  road  called  otuihuti,  which  lay  along  the 
Milky  Way,  while  others  believed  that  a  canoe  took 
the  soul  across  the  water  that  was  supposed  to  sepa- 
rate it  from  the  land  of  the  living.22 

The  Nez  Perces,  Flatheads.,  and  some  of  the  Hai- 
dah  tribes  believed  that  the  wicked,  after  expiating 
their  crimes  by  a  longer  or  shorter  sojourn  in  the  land 
of  desolation,  were  admitted  to  the  abode  of  bliss. 
The  Haidahs  called  the  latter  place  Jceewuck,  '  above,' 
within  which  seems  to  have  been  a  still  brighter  spot 
termed  Jceewuckkow,  'life  above/  the  abode  of  peren- 
nial youth,  whither  the  spirit  of  the  fallen  brave  took 
its  flight.  Those  who  died  a  natural  death  were  con- 
signed with  the  wicked  to  seewuklcow,  the  purgatorial 
department,  situated  in  the  forest,  there  to  be  purified 
before  entering  the  happy  keewuck.23  The  Queen 
Charlotte  Islanders  termed  paradise  'the  happy  hunt- 
ing-ground/ a  rather  strange  idea  when  we  consider 
that  their  almost  sole  vocation  was  fishing.24  The 
Nez  Perces  believed  also  in  a  purgatory  for  the  living, 
and  that  the  beavers  were  men  condemned  to  atone 
their  sins  before  they  could  resume  the  human  form.25 
It  seems  to  have  been  undecided  whether  the  wives 
and  young  children  shared  the  fate  of  the  head  of  the 
family;  the  Flatheads  expressed  a  belief  in  reunion, 
but  that  may  have  been  after  one  or  all  had  been  puri- 
fied in  the  intermediate  state.  Those  who  sacrificed 
slaves  on  the  grave  sent  them  alike  with  the  master 
that  died  gloriously  on  the  battle-field,  or  obscurely  in 
his  bed. 

The  Ahts  hold  that  the  soul  inhabits  at  once  the 

22  Parker's  Explor.  Tour,  pp.  235,  246-7;  Witices'  Nar.,  in  U.  8.  Ex.  Ex., 
vol.  v.,  p.  124;  Dunns  Oregon,  p.  120.  The  Salish  and  Pend  d'Oreilles  be- 
lieved that  the  brave  went  to  the  sun,  while  the  bad  remained  near  earth  to 
trouble  the  living,  or  ceased  to  exist.  Lord's  Nat.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  239-40.  But 
this  is  contradicted  by  other  accounts. 

23Macfie's  description  leaves  a  doubt  whether  the  keewuck  and  keewuck- 
kow  are  names  for  the  same  heaven,  or  separate.  Vane.  IsL,  p.  457. 

^Pook's  Q.  Char.  Islt  p.  320. 

25 Cox's  Adven.t  vol.  i.,  p.  252;  Dunn,  Oregon,  p.  318,  says  'beavers  are  a 
fallen  race  of  Indians.' 


QUAWTEAHT  AND  CHAYHER.  521 

heart  and  the  head  of  man.  Some  say  that  after  death 
'it  will  return  to  the  animal  form  from  which  its  owner 
can  trace  his  descent;  others,  that,  according  to  rank, 
disembodied  souls  will  go  to  live  with  Quawteaht  or 
with  Chayher.  Quawteaht  inhabits  a  beautiful  coun- 
try somewhere  up  in  the  heavens,  though  not  directly 
over  the  earth ;  a  goodly  land  flowing  with  all  manner 
of  Indian  milk  and  honey;  no  storms  there,  no  snow 
nor  frost  to  bind  the  rivers,  but  only  warmth  and  sun- 
shine and  abundant  game  and  fish.  Here  the  chiefs 
live  in  the  very  mansion  of  Quawteaht,  and  the  slain 
in  the  battle  live  in  a  neighboring  lodge,  enjoying  also 
in  their  degree  all  the  amenities  of  the  place.  And 
these  are  the  only  doors  to  this  Valhalla  of  the  Ahts ; 
only  lofty  birth  or  a  glorious  death  in  battle  can  con- 
fer the  right  of  entry  here.  The  souls  of  those  that 
die  a  woman's  death,  in  their  bed,  go  down  to  the 
land  of  Chayher.  Chayher  is  a  figure  of  flesh  with- 
out bones — thus  reversing  our  pictorial  idea  of  the 
grisly  king  of  terrors — who  is  in  the  form  of  an  old 
gray-bearded  man.  He  wanders  about  in  the  night 
stealing  men's  souls,  when,  unless  the  doctors  can  re- 
cover the  soul,  the  man  dies.  The  country  of  Chay- 
her is  also  called  chayher.  It  resembles  a  subterranean 
earth,  but  is  in  every  way  an  inferior  country :  there  are 
no  salmon  there,  and  the  deer  are  wretchedly  small, 
while  the  blankets  are  so  thin  and  narrow  as  to  be 
almost  useless  for  either  warmth  or  decoration.  This 
is  why  people  burn  blankets  when  burying  their 
friends;  they  cannot  bear  that  their  friend  be  sent 
shivering  to  the  world  below.  The  dead  Aht  seems 
to  have  been  allowed  in  some  cases  to  roam  about  on 
earth  in  the  form  of  a  person  or  animal,  doing  both 
good  and  evil,  a  belief  which  induced  many  to  make 
conciliatory  offerings  of  food  to  the  deceased.  Some 
Chinook  tribes  were  afraid  to  pronounce  the  names  of 
their  dead,  lest  they  should  be  attracted  and  carry  off 
souls.  This  was  especially  feared  at  the  sick-bed,  and 
the  medicine-man  had  to  be  constantly  on  guard  with 


522  FUTURE  STATE. 

his  familiars  to  frustrate  such  attempts.26  The  Aht 
sorcerer  even  sent  his  own  soul  down  to  chayher  to 
recover  the  truant,  in  which  he  generally  succeeded, 
unless  the  spirit  of  the  sick  man  had  entered  a  house.27 
Some  among  the  tribes  believed  that  the  soul  issued 
from  animals,  especially  sea-gulls  and  partridges,  and 
would  return  to  its  original  form.  The  Songhies  said 
the  hunter  was  transformed  into  a  deer,  the  fisherman 
into  a  fish;  and  the  Nootkas,  that  the  spirit  could  re- 
assume  a  human  form  if  the  celestial  abode  were  not 
to  its  taste.28 

In  striking  contrast  to  the  preceding  beliefs  in  fu- 
turity, and  to  that  of  the  Clallams,  who  with  univer- 
salistic  feeling  believe  that  the  good  spirit  will  receive 
all,  without  exception,  in  his  happy  hunting-ground, 
we  are  told  that  the  Pend  d'Oreilles  had  no  conceptions 
whatever  of  soul  or  immortality,  so  that  the  mission- 
aries found  it  difficult  to  explain  these  matters  to 
them.  It  is  certainly  strange  that  a  tribe  surrounded 
by  and  in  constant  contact  with  others  who  held  these 
ideas  should  have  remained  uninfluenced  by  them, 
especially  as  they  were  extremely  superstitious  and 
believed  in  guardian  spirits  and  dreams.29  Disbelief 
in  a  future  state  is  assigned  to  many  tribes,  which 
upon  closer  examination  are  shown  to  possess  ideas  of 
a  life  after  this;  such  statements  must,  therefore,  be 
accepted  with  caution.  Among  the  Calif ornians  who 
are  said  to  identify  death  with  annihilation,  are  the 
Meewocs  and  the  tribes  of  the  Sacramento  Valley,  yet 
the  latter  are  afraid  to  pronounce  the  name  of  a  de- 
ceased person,  lest  he  should  rise  from  dark  oblivion.30 
But  these  may  be  regarded  as  exceptions;  the  remain - 

Z68choolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  619;  vol.  i.,  p.  248,  of  this  work. 

27  The  sorcerer  is  stated  by  one  native  to  have  brought  the  soul  on  a  small 
stick  and  thrown  it  back  into  the  head  of  its  body.  Sproat's  Scenes,  p.  214. 
*  The  natives  often  imagine  that  a  bad  spirit,  which  loves  to  vex  and  torment, 
takes  the  place  of  the  truant  soul  during  its  absence.'  Id.,  pp.  173-^i;  Hutch- 
ings  Gal.  Mag.,  vol.  v.,  p.  225. 

28 Mayne's  B.  C.,  p.  181;  Sutil  y  Mexicana,  Viage,  p.  136;  Meares'  Voy.,  p. 
270;  Macfa's  Vane.,  hi,  p.  457;  Sproat's  Scenes,  pp.  .212-13. 

29  Stevens,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Kept.,  1854,  p.  212;  Brintons  Myths,  pp.  233-4;  see 
note  2. 

3&  Johnston,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  225. 


FUTURE  OF  THE  CAUFORNIANS.  523 

der  had  pretty  definite  ideas  of  futurity,  heaven  being 
generally  placed  in  the  west,  whither  the  glorious  sun 
speeds   to  rest.     The  northern    Californian  regarded 
it  as  a  great  camping-ground,  under  the  charge  of  the 
good  spirit,  where  all  meet  after  death,  to  enjoy  a  life 
free  from  want.     But  there  were  dangers  upon  the 
road  which  led  to  this  bliss ;  for  Omaha",  the  evil  spirit, 
hovered  near  the   dying   man,  ready  to   snatch  and 
carry  off  the  soul  as  soon  as  it  should  leave  its  earthly 
tenement.     To  prevent  such  a  calamity,  the  friends 
who  attended  the  burning  of  the  body  shouted  and 
gesticulated  to  distract  the  Evil  One's  attention  and 
enable  the  heart,  in  which  the  soul  resided,  to  leap 
out  of  the  flames  and  escape  to  heaven.     If  the  body 
was  interred,  they  thought  the  devil  would  have  more 
chance  of  capturing  the  heart,  which  would  then  be 
sent  back  to  earth  to  annoy  the  living.31     The  natives 
near  the  mouth  of  Russian  River  burned  their  dead 
to  prevent  their  becoming  grizzlies,  while  those  about 
Clear  Lake  -supposed  that  the  wicked  alone  were  thus 
metamorphosed,  or  condemned  to  wander  as  spirits.82 
Others,  however,  who  adhered  to  interment,  sought  to 
complete  the  ceremony  before  night,  when  the  coyote, 
in  which  form  the  evil  spirit  probably  appeared,  begins 
to  howl,  and  for  three  days  they  kept  up  noisy  demon- 
strations and  fires  at  the  graves;  after  that  the  fate  of 
the  soul  was  no  longer  doubtful.     If  captured,  the 
good  spirit  could  redeem  it  with  a  big  knife.     It  was 
the  belief  in  some  parts  that  the  deceased  remained 
in  the  grave  during  the  three  days,  and  then  pro- 
ceeded to  heaven,  where  earth  and  sky  meet,  to  be- 
come stars,  chiefs  assuming  the  most  brilliant  forms.33 
The  bright  rivers,  sunny  slopes,  and  green  forests 
of  the  Euroc  paradise  are  separated  from  the  earth  by 
a  deep  chasm,  which  good  and  wicked  alike  must  cross 
on  a  thin,  slippery  pole.     The  former  soon  reach  the 
goal,  aided,  doubtless,  by  the  good  spirit,  as  well  as 

3lHutchings'  Cat.  Mag.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  438-9;  Macfie's   Vane,  fsl,  p.  448. 

32  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 

33 Ib.;  Gibbs,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  140. 


524  FUTURE  STATE. 

by  the  fire  lighted  on  the  grave  by  mourning  friends; 
but  the  wicked  man  has  to  falter  unaided  along  the 
shivering  bridge;  and  many  are  the  nights  that  pass 
before  his  friends  venture  to  dispense  with  the  beacon, 
lest  the  soul  miss  the  path,  and  fall  into  the  dark  abyss. 
Nor  does  retribution  end  with  the  peril  and  anxiety  of 
the  passage,  for  many  are  liable  to  return  to  the  earth 
as  birds,  beasts,  and  insects.  When  a  Kailta  dies,  a 
little  bird  carries  the  soul  to  spirit-land,  but  its  flight 
is  impeded  by  the  sins  of  the  wicked,  which  enables 
a  watching  hawk  to  overtake  and  devour  the  soul.34 

The  Cahrocs  have  a  more  distinct  conception  of 
future  reward  and  punishment,  and  suppose  that  the 
spirit  on  its  journey  comes  to  two  roads,  one  strewn 
with  flowers  and  leading  to  the  bright  western  land 
beyond  the  great  waters,  across  which  good  Chareya 
doubtless  aids  it;  the  other,  bristling  with  thorns  and 
briars,  leading  to  a  place  full  of  deadly  serpents,  where 
the  wicked  must  wander  forever.35  The  Tolewahs 
place  heaven  behind  the  sun,  wherever  that  is,  and 
picture  hell  as  a  dark  place  where  souls  shiver  forever 
before  the  cold  winds,  and  are  harassed  by  fiends.36 
The  Modocs  believe  in  a  spirit-land,  evidently  situated 
in  the  air  above  the  earthly  home,  where  souls  hover 
about  inciting  the  living  to  good  or  evil.  Merit  ap- 
pears to  be  measured  by  bodily  stature,  for  contempti- 
ble woman  becomes  so  small  here  that  the  warrior, 
whose  stature  is  in  proportion  to  his  powers,  requires 
quite  a  number  of  females  to  supply  his  wants.37 

The  Ukiahs,  Sanels,  and  others  sprinkle  food  about 
the  favorite  haunts  of  the  dead.  The  mother,  for  in- 
stance, while  chanting  her  mournful  ditty  over  the 
grave  of  her  dead  babe  sprinkles  the  nourishing  milk 

•  .    |  •  OQ 

in  the  air. 

Many  of  the  Nevada  tribes  thought  that  several 
heavens  await  the  soul,  each  with  a  degree  of  bliss  in 

84 Powers'  Porno,  MS.;  Miller's  Life  amongst  the  Modocs,  pp.  241,  249. 
^Powers,  in  Overland  Monthly,  vol.  viii.,  pp.  430-1. 
36 Id.,  Porno,  MS.;  this  vol.,  p.  177. 
87  Meacham,  Religion  of  Indians. 
38  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 


METEMPSYCHOSIS  IN  CALIFORNIA.  525 

proportion  to  the  merits  of  the  dead  person  ;  but  this 
belief  was  not  well  defined  ;  nor  was  that  of  the  Snakes, 
who  killed  the  favorite  horse,  and  even  wife,  for  the 
deceased,  that  he  might  not  be  lonely.39  The  Allequas 
supposed  that  before  the  soul  could  enter  the  ever- 
green prairies  to  live  its  second  life,  free  from  want 
and  sorrow,  it  had  expiated  its  sins  in  the  form  of  some 
animal,  weak,  or  strong,  bad  or  good,  often  passing 
from  a  lower  to  a  higher  grade,  according  to  the 
earthly  conduct  of  the  deceased.  By  eating  prairie- 
dogs  and  other  game,  some  sought  to  gather  souls, 
apparently  with  a  view  to  increase  the  purity  ot  their 
own  and  shorten  the  preparatory  term.40  The  San 
Diego  tribes,  on  the  other  hand,  who  considered  large 
game  as  the  embodied  spirits  of  certain  generations, 
abstained  from  their  flesh,  evidently  fearing  that  such 
fare  would  hasten  their  metamorphosis;  but  old  men, 
whose  term  of  life  was  nearly  run,  were  not  deterred 
by  these  fears. 

Ideas  of  metempsychosis  also  appear  in  one  of  the 
songs  of  a  southern  Californian  tribe,  which  runs  :  As 
the  moon  dies  to  be  reborn,  so  the  soul  of  man  will  be 
renewed.  Yet  this  people  professed  no  belief  in  a 
future  reward  or  punishment.  It  is  doubtless  the 
same  people,  living  near  Monterey,  of  wThom  Marmier 
says  they  supposed  that  the  dead  retired  to  certain 
verdant  isles  in  the  sea,  while  awaiting  the  birth  of 
the  infants  whose  souls  they  were  to  form.  Others 
regarded  these  islands  as  paradise,  and  placed  hell  in 
a  mountain  chasm.41 

Among  the  Acagchemems  we  meet  with  a  peculiar 
pantheistic  notion.  Death  was  regarded  as  an  invisi- 
ble entity  constituting  the  air,  which  also  formed  the 
soul  of  man,  or  his  breath,  whose  particular  seat  was 
the  heart.  As  man  became  decrepit,  his  soul  was  grad- 
ually absorbed  in  the  element  which  had  originated  it, 

39  Vol.  i.,  pp.  439-40,  this  work;  Browne  s  L.  CaL,  p.  188. 

40  Meyer,  Nach  dem  Sacramento,  pp.  228-9;  Sclioolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p. 
215-16. 


Perouse,  Voy.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  307;  Marmier,  Notice,  in  Bryant,  Voy.  en 
CaL,  p.  238;  Fages,  in  Noiwelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1844,  torn,  ci.,  pp.  335- 
6;  Mofras,  Explor.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  379-80. 


526  FUTURE  STATE. 

until  it  finally  became  merged  and  lost  therein.  But 
this  was  the  belief  of  some  only  among"  the  tribe. 

v  O 

Others  supposed  that  they  would  go  to  tolmec,  the 
abode  of  the  great  Chinigchinich,  situated  below  the 
earth,  abounding  in  sensual  pleasures,  unembittered  by 
sorrow,  and  where  food  and  other  wants  were  supplied 
without  labor.  Still  others  held  that  Chinigchinich 
sent  the  soul,  or  the  heart,  as  they  expressed  it,  to 
different  places,  according  to  the  station  in  life  and 
manner  of  death  of  the  deceased.  Thus  chiefs  and 
medicine-men,  whom  Tacu,  the  eater  of  human  flesh, 
honored  by  devouring,  became  heavenly  bodies,  while 
those  who  died  by  drowning,  or  in  captivity,  and  could 
not  be  eaten  by  Tacu,  went  elsewhere.  Souls  of  com- 
mon people  were  consigned  to  some  undefined  though 
evidently  happy  place,  since  they  were  obliged  to  pass 
a  probationary  term  on  the  borders  of  the  sea,  on 
mountains,  in  valleys  or  forests,  whence  they  came 
to  commune  with  or  among  their  widows  or  relatives, 
who  often  burned  or  razed  the  house  to  be  saved  from 
such  visits.42 

The  Mojaves  have  more  liberal  ideas,  and  admit  all 
to  share  the  joys  of  heaven.  With  the  smoke  curling 
upward  from  the  pyre,  the  soul  rises  and  floats  east- 
ward to  the  regions  of  the  rising  sun,  whither  Matevil 
has  gone  before,  and  where  a  second  earth-life  awaits 
it,  free  from  want  and  sorrow.  But  if  its  purity  be 
sullied  by  crime,  or  stained  with  human  blood,  the 
soul  is  transformed  into  a  rat,  and  must  remain  for 
four  days  in  a  rat-hole  to  be  purified  before  Matevil 
can  receive  it.  According  to  some,  Matevil  dwells  in  a 
certain  lofty  mountain  lying  in  the  Mojave  territory.43 

The  Pimas  also  believe  that  the  soul44  goes  to  the 


,  in  Robinsons  Life  in  CaL,  pp.  316-24. 

43'Ives  legte  dem  Gebirge  den  Namen:  "Berg  der  Todten"bei.'  Moll- 
hausen,  Reisen  in  die.  Felsenyeb.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  357-8.  'All  cowardly  Indians 
(and  bravery  was  the  good  with  them)  were  tormented  with  hardships  and 
failures,  sickness,  and  defeats.  This  hill,  or  hades,  they  never  dared  visit.  ' 
Strattons  Capt.  Oatman  Gtrls,  p.  233;  Dodt,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Kept.,  1870,  p.  129; 
Whipple,  Ewbank,  and  Turners  Rept.,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  43.  ^ 

44Estupec,  the  soul  or  heart,  may  be  connected  with  eep,  breath.  Walk- 
er's Pimas,  MS.  In  Schooler  aft's  Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  461,  occurs  the  term 


FUTURE  OF  MARICOPAS,  YUMAS,  APACHES,  MOQUIS.     527 

east,  to  the  sun -house  perhaps,  there  to  live  with  Se- 
huiab,  the  son  of  the  creator,  but  this  Elysium  is  not 
perfect,  for  a  devil  called  Chiawat  is  admitted  there, 
and  he  greatly  plagues  the  inmates.45  The  Maricopas 
are  stated  in  one  account  to  believe  in  a  future  state 
exactly  similar  to  the  life  on  earth,  with  all  its  social 
distinctions  and  wants,  so  that  in  order  to  enable  the 
soul  to  assume  its  proper  position  among  the  spirits, 
all  the  property  of  the  deceased,  as  well  as  a  great  part 
of  that  of  his  relatives,  is  offered  up  at  the  grave.  But 
according  to  Bartlett,  they  think  the  dead  will  return 
to  their  ancient  home  on  the  banks  of  the  Colorado, 
and  live  on  the  sand  hills.  Here  the  different  parts 
of  the  body  will  be  transformed  into  animals,  the  head, 
for  instance,  becoming  an  owl,  the  hands,  bats,  the  feet, 
wolves,  and  in  these  forms  continue  their  ancient  feuds 
with  the  Yumas,  who  expelled  them  from  that  coun- 
try.46 The  Yumas,  however,  do  not  conform  to  these 
views,  but  expect  that  the  good  soul  will  leave  worldly 
strife  for  a  pleasant  valley  hidden  in  one  of  the  canons 
of  the  Colorado,  and  that  the  wicked  will  be  shut  up 
in  a  dark  cavern  to  be  tantalized  by  the  view  of  the 
bliss  beyond  their  reach.47 

The  Apaches  believe  in  metempsychosis,  and  con- 
sider the  rattlesnake  as  the  form  to  be  assumed  by  the 
wicked  after  death.  The  owl,  the  eagle,  and  perfectly 
white  birds  were  regarded  as  possessing  souls  of  divine 
origin,  and  the  bear  was  not  less  sacred  in  their  esti- 
mation, for  the  very  daughter  of  Montezuma,  whom 
it  had  carried  off  from  her  father's  home,  was  the 
mother  of  its  race.48  The  Moquis  went  so  far  as  to 
suppose  that  they  would  return  to  the  primeval  con- 
angel,  but  the  Pima  chiefs  whom  I  have  questioned  state  that  the  term 
angel  was  not  known  to  them. 

*'*  Walkers  Pimas,  MS. 

46  Pers.  Nar.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  222;  Cremonys  Apaches,  pp.   104-5,     'Cuando 
muere  va  a  vivir  su  corazon  por  el  mar  haeia  el  poniente:  que  algunos  des- 
pues  que  mueren  viven  como  tecolotes,  y  tiltimamente  dijeron  que  ellos  no 
saben  bien  estas  cosas.'  Garces,  Diario,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  ii.,  torn',  i., 
p.  239. 

47  Day,  in  Hesperian,  vol.  iii.,  p.  482. 

48  Henry,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  209. 


528  FUTURE  STATE. 

dition  of  animals,  plants,  and  inanimate  objects.49  The 
faith  of  the  other  Pueblo  tribes  in  New  Mexico  was 
more  in  accordance  with  their  cultured  condition; 
namely,  that  the  soul  would  be  judged  immediately 
after  death  according  to  its  deeds.  Food  was  placed 
with  the  dead,  and  stones  were  thrown  upon  the  body 
to  drive  out  the  evil  spirit.  On  a  certain  night,  in 
August  it  seems,  the  soul  haunted  the  hills  near  its 
former  home  to  receive  the  tributes  of  food  and  drink 
which  affectionate  friends  hastened  to  offer.  Scoffers 
connected  the  disappearance  of  the  choice  viands  with 
the  rotund  form  of  the  priests.50 

The  Navajos  expected  to  return  to  their  place 
whence  they  originated,  below  the  earth,  where  all 
kinds  of  fruits  and  cereals,  germinated  from  the  seeds 
lost  above,  grow  in  unrivalled  luxuriance.  Released 
from  their  earthly  bonds,  the  spirits  proceed  to  an  ex- 
tensive marsh  in  which  many  a  soul  is  bemired  through 
relying  too  much  on  its  own  efforts,  and  failing  to  ask 
the  aid  of  the  great  spirit;  or  perhaps  the  outfit  of 
live-stock  and  implements  offered  at  the  grave  has 
been  inadequate  to  the  journey.  After  wandering 
about  for  four  days,  the  more  fortunate  souls  come  to 
a  ladder  conducting  to  the  underworld;  this  they  de- 
scend, and  are  gladdened  by  the  sight  of  two  great 
spirits,  male  and  female,  who  sit  combing  their  hair. 
After  looking  on  for  a  few  suns,  imbibing  lessons  of 
cleanliness,  perhaps,  they  climb  up  to  the  swamp  again 
to  be  purified,  and  then  return  to  the  abode  of  the 
spirits  to  live  in  peace  and  plenty  forever.  Some  be- 
lieve that  the  bad  become  coyotes,  and  that  women 
turn  into  fishes,  and  then  into  other  forms.51 

Among  the  Comanches  we  find  the  orthodox  Ameri- 
can paradise  in  its  full  glory.  In  the  direction  of  the 
setting  sun  lie  the  happy  prairies,  where  the  buffalo 
leads  the  hunter  in  the  glorious  chase,  and  where  the 

49  Ten  Broeck,  in  Id.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  86. 

50 Id.,  p.  78;  Domeneclis  Deserts,  vol.  ii.,  p.  402;  Whipple's  Kept.,  in  Pac. 
R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  59. 

51  Beadle,  in  Crofutt's  Western  World,  Aug.,  1872,  p.  27;  Bristol,  in  Ind. 
Aff.  Rept.,  1867,  p.  358;  EcOon,  in  Schoolcrafis  Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  218;  Davis' 
El  Gringo,  p.  418. 


THE  REALM  OF  MUCCHITA.  529 

horse  of  the  pale-face  aids  those  who  have  excelled  in 
scalping  and  horse-stealing  to  attain  supreme  felicity. 
At  night  they  are  permitted  to  revisit  the  earth,  but 
must  return  before  the  break  of  day.52  In  striking 
contrast  to  this  idea  stands  the  curious  belief  said  to 
have  been  held  by  the  Pericuis  of  Lower  California. 
Their  great  spirit  Niparaya  hated  war,  and  to  deter 
his  people  from  engaging  therein,  consigned  all  those 
slain  in  battle  to  Tuparan  or  Wac,  a  spirit  who,  rising 
in  rebellion  against  the  peace-loving  Niparaya,  was 
deprived  of  all  luxuries,  and  imprisoned  in  a  cave  by 
the  sea,  guarded  by  whales.  Yet  a  number  openly 
professed  themselves  adherents  of  this  personage. 
The  Cochimis,  who  appear  to  have  had  nearly  the 
same  belief,  declare  that  it  was  the  bad  spirits  who 
sought  to  secure  the  soul  and  hold  it  captive  in  the 
cave.  Whatever  may  be  the  correct  version,  their 
belief  in  a  future  state,  says  Baegert,  is  evident  from 
the  custom  of  putting  sandals  on  the  feet  of  the  dead.53 
The  souls  of  the  Sonora  Indians  dwell  in  the  caves 
and  among  the  rocks  of  the  cliffs,  and  the  echoes 
heard  there  are  their  clamoring  voices.54  Ribas  de- 
clares that  in  one  part  of  Sinaloa  a  future  state  was 
ignored,  yet  he  says  that  they  acknowledged  a  supreme 
mother  and  her  son,  who  was  the  first  man.55  In 
Nayarit  we  come  upon  the  Mexican  idea  of  different 
heavens,  determined  by  the  mode  of  death.  Thus 
children  and  those  who  were  carried  off  by  disease 
went  to  one  place ;  those  who  died  a  violent  death,  to 
the  air  regions,  where  they  became  shooting  stars. 
The  others  went  to  mucchita,  placed  somewhere  in  the 
district  of  Rosario,  where  they  lived  under  the  care 
of  men  with  shaven  heads.  During  the  day  they 

52  M arcy's  Army  Life,  p.  57;  Sckoolcraft's  Arch,  vol.  v.,  pp.  54,  685.  Food 
is  left  at  the  grave  for  a  certain  time;  this  would  indicate  that  the  soul 
proper,  or  its  second  form,  remains  with  the  body  for  a  while.  Id.,  pp.  78-9. 

^Smithsonian  Kept.,  1866,  p.  387;  Clavigero,  Storia  della  Cal,  torn,  i.,  pp. 
136-7,  139. 

54  A  Iger's  Future  Life,  p.  208.  *  Lo  llevan  a  enterrar  sentado  y  con  sus 
mejores  vestidos,  poniendo  a  su  lado  competente  porcion  de  sus  ordinaries 
alimentos.'  Alegre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  ii.,  p.  218. 

65  Hist,  de  k>s  Triumphs,  p.  18. 
VOL.  III.    34 


530  FUTURE  STATE. 

were  allowed  to  consort  with  the  living,  in  the  form 
of  flies,  to  seek  food;  but  at  night  they  returned  to 
the  mucchita  to  assume  the  human  form  and  pass  the 
time  in  dancing.  At  one  time  they  could  be  released 
from  this  abode,  but  owing  to  the  imprudence  of  one 
man,  this  privilege  was  lost.  This  person  one  day 
made  a  trip  to  the  coast  to  procure  salt,  leaving  his 
wife  to  take  care  of  the  house.  After  a  short  absence 
he  returned,  in  time  only  to  see  her  disappear  in  the 
mucchita,  whither  the  spirits  had  beckoned  her.  His 
sorrow  was  boundless,  for  he  loved  his  wife  dearly. 
At  last  his  tears  and  sighs  touched  the  heart  of  the 
keeper  of  the  souls,  who  told  him  to  watch  for  his 
wife  one  night  when  she  appeared  in  the  dance,  and 
wound  her  with  an  arrow;  she  would  then  recognize 
him  and  return  home ;  but  he  warned  him  not  to 
speak  a  loud  word,  or  she  would  disappear  forever. 
The  man  did  as  he  was  told,  wounded  his  wife  on  the 
leg,  and  had  the  joy  to  see  her  return  home.  Musi- 
cians and  singers  were  called  in,  and  a  grand  feast  was 
held  to  celebrate  the  event;  but,  overcome  with  ex- 
citement, the  husband  gave  vent  to  a  shout  of  joy. 
The  next  moment  the  warning  of  the  keeper  was 
verified — a  ghastly  corpse  had  taken  the  place  of  the 
wife.  Since  then  no  other  soul  has  been  allowed  to 
rejoin  the  living.56  It  is  curious  to  note  in  how  many 
countries  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life  has  been  con- 
nected with  the  legend  of  some  hero  who  has  died, 
descended  into  the  underworld,  and  again  risen  to 
life.  How  closely  does  this  American  legend  resem- 
ble the  old  story  of  Orpheus  and  Eurydice;  the  death 
and  resurrection  of  the  Egyptian  Osiris ;  the  Mithraic 
Mysteries  of  Persia,  in  which  the  initiated,  in  dumb 
show,  died  and  rose  again  from  the  coffin;  the  Indian 
Mahadeva  searching  for  the  lifeless  Sita,  and  made 
glad  by  his  resuscitation ;  the  recovery  of  Atys  by 
Cybele  among  the  Phrygians;  the  return  of  Kore 
to  Demeter  for  half  of  every  year,  in  the  Elusinian 
Mysteries;  the  mock  murder  and  new  birth  of  the 

66  Apostolicos  Afanes,  pp.  22-4. 


EICUT  AND  YOATOTOWEE.  531 

impersonated  Zagreus,  in  the  Bacchic  Mysteries;  the 
Metamorphoses  in  the  Celtic  and  Druidic  Mysteries 
practised  in  Gaul  and  Britain — all  are  different  forms 
of  but  one  idea. 

An  equally  devoted  husband  was  the  Neeshenam, 
whose  story  is  told  by  Mr  Powers  in  the  following- 
legend:  "  First  of  all  things  existed  the  moon.  The 
moon  created  man,  some  say  in  the  form  of  a  stone, 
others  say  in  the  form  of  a  simple,  straight,  hairless, 
limbless  mass  of  flesh,  like  an  enormous  earth-worm, 
from  which  he  gradually  developed  into  his  present 
shape.  The  first  man  thus  created  was  called  Eicut ; 
his  wife,  Yodtotowee.  In  process  of  time,  Yoatotowee 
fell  sick,  and  though  Eicut  nursed  her  tenderly,  she 
gradually  faded  away  before  his  eyes  and  died.  He 
loved  her  with  a  love  passing  the  love  of  brothers,  and 
now  his  heart  was  broken  with  grief.  He  dug  a  grave 
for  her  close  beside  his  camp-fire  (for  the  Neeshenams 
did  not  burn  the  dead  then),  that  he  might  daily  and 
hourly  weep  above  her  silent  dust.  His  grief  knew 
no  bounds.  His  life  became  a  burden  to  him;  all  the 
light  was  gone  out  of  his  eyes,  and  all  this  world  was 
black  and  dreary.  He. wished  to  die,  that  he  might 
follow  his  beloved  Yoatotowee.  In  the  greatness  of 
his  grief  he  fell  into  a  trance,  there  was  a  rumbling  in 
the  ground,  and  the  spirit  of  the  dead  Yodtotowee 
arose  out  of  her  grave  and  came  and  stood  beside  him. 
When  he  awoke  out  of  his  trance  and  beheld  his  wife, 
he  would  have  spoken  to  her,  but  she  forbade  him,  for 
in  what  moment  an  Indian  speaks  to  a  ghost  he  dies. 
She  turned  away  and  set  out  to  seek  the  spirit-land 
(ooshwooshe  Icoom,  literally,  'the  dance-house  of  ghosts'), 
Eicut  followed  her,  but  the  ghost  turned  and  said, 
1  Why  do  you  follow  me?  you  are  not  dead.'  They 
journeyed  on  through  a  great  country  and  a  darksome — 
a  land  that  no  man  has  seen  and  returned  to  report — 
until  they  came  to  a  river  that  separated  them  from  the 
spirit-land.  Over  this  river  there  was  a  bridge  of  one 
small  rope,  so  very  narrow  that  a  spider  could  hardly 
cross  over  it.  Here  the  spirit  of  Yodtotowee  must 


532  FUTURE  STATE. 

bid  farewell  to  her  husband  and  go  over  alone  into  the 
spirit  land.  But  the  great  unspeakable  grief  of  Eicut 
at  beholding  his  wife  leaving  him  forever  overcame 
his  love  of  life  and  he  called  aloud  after  her.  In  that 
selfsame  instant  he  died — for  no  Indian  can  speak  to 
a  ghost  and  live — and  together  they  entered  the  land 
of  spirits.  Thus  Eicut  passed  away  from. the  realm  of 
earth,  and  in  the  invisible  world  became  a  good  and 
quiet  spirit  who  constantly  watches  over  and  befriends 
his  posterity  still  living  on  earth.  But  he  and  his 
wife  left  behind  them  two  children,  a  brother  and  a 
sister;  and  to  prevent  incest,  the  moon  created  another 
pair,  and  from  these  two  pairs  are  descended  all  the 
Neeshenams  of  to-day."  "7 

The  future  abode  of  the  Mexicans  had  three  divis- 
ions, to  which  the  dead  were  admitted  according  to 
their  rank  in  life  and  manner  of  death.  Glorious  as 
was  the  fate  of  the  warrior  who  died  in  the  cause  of 
his  country,  on  the  battle-field,  or  in  the  hands  of  the 
enemy's  priests,  still  more  glorious  was  the  destiny 
that  awaited  his  soul.  The  fallen  Viking;  was  carried 

O 

by  radiant  Valkyries  to  Valhalla,  but  the  Aztec  hero 
was  borne  in  the  arms  of  Teoyaomique  herself,  the  con- 
sort of  Huitzilopochtli  to  the  bright  plains  of  the  Sun 
House,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  heavens,  where  shady 
groves,  trees  loaded  with  luscious  fruit,  and  flowers 
steeped  in  honey,  vied  with  the  attractions  of  vast 
hunting  parks  to  make  his  time  pass  happily.  Here 
also  awaited  him  the  presents  sent  by  affectionate 
friends  below.  Every  morning  when  the  sun  set  out 
upon  his  journey,  these  bright  strong  warriors  seized 
their  weapons58  and  marched  before  him,  shouting 
and  fighting  sham  battles.  This  continued  until  they 
reached  the  zenith,  where  the  sun  was  transferred  to 

57  This  legend  is  taken  from  a  MS.  kindly  presented  to  me  by  Mr.  Ste- 
phen Powers,  and  is  a  corrected  version  of  the  legend  entitled  '  Hilpmecone 
and  Olegance,'  contributed  by  the  same  gentleman  to  the  Overland  Monthly, 
January,  1874,  pp.  30-1. 

58  '  El  que  tena  rodela  horadada  de  saetas  no  podia  mirar  al  sol.'  Sahayun, 
Hist,   Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p.  265.     This  may  perhaps  mean  that  the  hum- 
bler warrior,  whose  inferior  shield  was  more  likely  to  be  pierced,  could  not 
look  upon  the  majestic  face  of  the  sun,  just  as  he  had  been  interdicted  from 
regarding  the  face  of  his  king. 


THE  SUN  HOUSE  AND  TLALOCAN.          533 

the  charge  of  the  Celestial  Women,  after  which  the 
warriors  dispersed  to  the  chase  or  the  shady  grove. 
The  members  of  the  new  escort  were  women  who  had 
died  in  war  or  childbed,  and  lived  in  the  western  part 
of  the  Sun  House.  Dressed  like  the  warriors  in  mar- 
tial accoutrement,59  they  conducted  the  sun  to  his  home, 
some  carrying  the  litter  of  quetzal-feathers  in  which 
he  reclined,  while  others  went  in  front,  shouting  and 
fighting  gayly.  Arrived  at  the  extreme  west,  they 
transferred  the  sun  to  the  dead  of  Mictlan,  and  went 
in  quest  of  their  spindles,  shuttles,  baskets,  and  other 
implements  necessary  for  weaving  or  household  work.60 
The  only  other  persons  who  are  mentioned  as  being 
admitted  to  the  Sun  House  were  merchants  who 
died  on  their  journey.  After  four  years  of  this  life, 
the  souls  of  the  warriors  pass  into  birds  of  beautiful 
plumage,  which  live  on  the  honey  of  flowers  growing  in 
the  celestial  gardens,  or  seek  their  sustenance  on  earth.61 
The  second  place  of  bliss  was  Tlalocan,  the  abode 
of  Tlaloc,  a  terrestrial  paradise,  the  source  of  the  riv- 
ers and  all  the  nourishment  of  the  earth,  where  joy 
reigns  and  sorrow  is  unknown,62  where  every  imagina- 
ble product  of  the  field  and  garden  grows  in  profusion 
beneath  a  perpetual  summer  sky.  This  paradise  ap- 
pears to  have  been  erected  on  the  ideal  reminiscences 

59  '  "When  the  midwife  speaks  to  a  woman  who  has  died  in  childbed,  she 
refers  to  the  noble  manner  in  which  she  has  used  the  sword  and  shield,  a  fig- 
ure of  speech  which  is  probably  intended  to  represent  the  high  estimation  in 
which  they  held  her.'  Id.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  189. 

60  'Descendian  aca  a  la  tierra.'  Ib.     But  it  is  just  as  likely  that  they  used 
the  weaving  implements  supplied  to  them    at   the   grave,  as  those  of   the 
living.     Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  says  that  the  inhabitants  of  this  region  had 
day  when  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  slept;  but  since  the  women  resumed 
their  work  after  the  setting  of  the  sun,  it  is  more  likely  that  they  always  had 
light  up  there,  and  that  they  never  slept.  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  497. 

61  The  humming-bird,  the  emblem  and  attribute  of  the  war-god,  offered 
on  the  grave  in  the  month  of  Quecholli,  probably  referred  to  this  transforma- 
tion. Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  p.  164,  lib.  iv.,  pp.  264-5,  torn,  ii., 
lib.  vi.,  pp.   188-9,  lib.  ix.,  p.  358;  Torquemacla,  Monarq.  2nd.,  torn,  ii.,  p. 
530.      '  Nachher  werden  sie  theils  in  Wolken  verwandelt,  theils  in  Kolibris. ' 
Miiller,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  p.  661.     The  transformation  into  clouds 
seems  to  refer  to  the  Tlascaltecs. 

6:2  Tlalocan  is  the  name  given  by  some  old  writers  to  the  country  between 
Chiapas  and  Oajaca.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  496; 
Brinton's  Myths,  pp.  88-9.  It  may  also  be  the  place  referred  to  under  the 
names  of  Tamoancha,  Xuchitlycacan.  Explanation  of  the  Codex  Telleriano- 
Yemenis,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  127. 


534  FUTURE  STATE. 

of  the  happy  Tollan,  the  cradle  of  the  race,  where 
their  fathers  revelled  in  riches  and  splendor.  To  this 
place  went  those  who  had  been  killed  by  lightning, 
the  drowned,  those  suffering  from  itch,  gout,  tumors, 
dropsy,  leprosy,  and  other  incurable  diseases.  Chil- 
dren also,  at  least  those  who  were  sacrificed  to  the 
Tlalocs,  played  about  in  its  gardens,  and  once  a  year 
they  descended  among  the  living  in  an  invisible  form 
to  join  in  their  festivals.63  It  is  doubtful,  however, 
whether  this  paradise  was  perpetual,  for  according  to 
some  authors  the  diseased  stayed  here  but  a  short 
time,  and  then  passed  on  to  Mictlan;  while  the  chil- 
dren, balked  of  their  life  by  death  or  sacrifice,  were 
allowed  to  essay  it  again.64 

The  third  destination  of  the  dead,  provided  for  those 
who  died  of  ordinary  diseases  or  old  age,  and  accord- 
ingly for  the  great  majority,  was  Mictlan,  '  the  place 
of  the  dead/  which  is  described  as  a  vast,  pathless 
place,  a  land  of  darkness  and  desolation,  where  the 
.dead  after  their  time  of  probation  are  sunk  in  a  sleep 
that  knows  no  waking.  In  addressing  the  corpse,  they 
spoke  of  this  place  of  Mictlan  as  a  'most  obscure  land, 
where  light  cometh  not,  and  whence  none  can  ever 
return.'65  There  are  several  points,  however,  given  by 
Sahagun,  as  well  as  other  writers,  which  tend  to  mod- 
ify this  aspect  of  Mictlan.  The  lords  and  nobles  seem 
even  here  to  have  kept  up  the  barriers  which  sepa- 
rated them  from  the  contaminating  touch  of  inferiors, 
and  doubtless  the  good  and  respectable  were  classed 
apart  from  low  miscreants  and  criminals,  for  there 

63  Vol.  ii.,  p.  336,  this  work. 

^Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  p.  97;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp. 
82,  529.  The  remarks  of  the  above  authors  with  reference  to  those  who  die 
of  diseases  may,  however,  refer  to  sufferers  from  ordinary  afflictions,  who 
were  from  all  doomed  to  Mictlan.  In  Explanation  of  the  Codex  Vaticanus,  in 
Kinysborouglis  Hex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  169-71,  all  who  die  of  diseases  and  a 
violent  death  are  consigned  to  Mictlan.  Brinton's  AhjtliS,  pp.  246-7;  A  Iyer's 
Future  Life,  pp.  475-6.  Chevalier,  Mex.  Ancien  et  Mod.,  p.  91,  who  regards 
the  sun  as  heaven,  and  Mictlan  as  hell,  considers  this  an  intermediate  and 
incomplete  paradise.  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p.  264;  Clavigero, 
Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  5. 

^Sakaffun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  pp.  260-1,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  176; 
Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ltd.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  529;  Brasxeur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist. 
Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  571;  Tezozomoc,  Hist.  Mex.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  329,  331. 


MICTLAN.  535 

were  nine  divisions  in  Mictlan,  of  which  Chicohna- 
huimictlan  or  Ninth-Mictlan,  was  the  abode  of  the 
Aztec  Pluto  and  his  Proserpine.  This  name  seems 
also  to  have  been  applied  to  the  whole  region,  mean- 
ing then  the  nine  Mictlans.66  The  different  idol-man- 
tles in  which  the  dead  person  was  attired,  determined 
by  his  profession  and  by  his  manner  of  death,  would 
imply  that  different  gods  had  control  of  these  divis- 
ions.67 Whatever  distinction  there  may  have  been 
was  kept  up  by  the  humbler  or  richer  offerings  of  food, 
clothing,  implements,  and  slaves,  made  at  the  time  of 
the  burial,  at  the  end  of  eighty  days,  and  on  the  first, 
second,  third,  and  fourth  anniversary  of  the  death ;  all 
of  which  went  before  Mictlantecutli  before  being 
turned  over  to  the  use  of  the  person  for  whom  they 
were  destined.68  In  one  place  Sahagun  states  that 
four  years  were  passed  in  travelling  before  the  soul 
reached  Mictlan,  and  on  another  page  he  distinctly 
implies  that  this  term  was  passed  within  that  region, 
wrhen  he  says  that  the  dead  awoke  from  their  sleep  as 
the  sun  reached  the  western  horizon,  and  rose  to  escort 
it  through  their  land ;  Torquemada  says  that  four  days 
were  occupied  in  the  journey.69  The  only  way  to  rec- 
oncile these  statements  is  by  supposing  that  the  soul 
passed  from  one  division  to  another,  until  it  finally, 
at  the  end  of  the  four  years,  reached  Mictlan  proper, 
or  Ninth-Mictlan,  and  attained  repose;  their  duties 
during  this  term  consisting  in  escorting  the  sun,  and 
working  like  their  happier  brethren  in  the  Sun  House, 
besides  passing  a  certain  time  in  sleep.  The  fact  that 
the  people  besought  the  dead  to  visit  them  during  the 

66 Id.,  p.  329.  'Le  plus  commun  est  CMucnauh-Mictlan,  les  Neuf  se jours 
des  Morts.'  Brasseur  de Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  495;  Mendieta, 
Hist.  Ecles.,  p.  97;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p.  263. 

CTThis  seems  also  to  be  the  idea  of  Gomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  308-9, 
although  he  makes  the  heavens  distinct  from  one  another,  and  includes  the 
Sun  House  and  Tlalocan  in  the  list. 

68 Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  p.  166,  lib.  iii.,  p.  263. 

69Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  522.  The  fact  that  offerings  and  prayers  were 
kept  up  for  four  days  by  the  mourners,  confirms  this  statement.  Sahagun, 
Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p.  203,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  189.  'Until  souls 
had  arrived  at  the  destined  place  at  the  expiration  of  these  four  years,  they 
had  to  encounter  much  hardship,  cold,  and  toil.'  Ei-planation  of  the  Codex 
Telleriano-Remensis,  in  KinysborougJis  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  96. 


536  FUTURE  STATE. 

festival  in  their  honor  implies  that  they  were  within 
Mictlan,  though  their  liberty  there,  at  that  season  at 
least,  was  not  so  very  restricted.  "As  they  helped  to 
escort  the  sun,  we  must  suppose  that  they  also  en- 
joyed the  blessings  of  sunshine  while  terrestrial  beings 
slept,  and  the  expression  of  Tezozomoc,  a  place  where 
none  knows  whether  it  be  night  or  day,  a  place  of 
eternal  rest,"  must  refer  to  those  only  who  have  passed 
the  time  of  probation,  and  lapsed  into  the  final  sleep. 
It  may  be,  however,  that  the  sun  was  lustreless  at 
night,  for  Camargo  states  that  it  slept  after  its  jour- 
ney.70 If  so,  the  dim  twilight  noticed  among  the 
northern  people,  or  the  moon,  the  deity  of  the  night, 
must  have  replaced  the  obscured  brightness  of  the  sun, 
if  lights  indeed  were  needed,  for  the  escort  and  the 
workers  could  scarcely  have  used  artificial  illumina- 
tion. The  route  of  the  sun  further  indicates  that 
Mictlan  was  situated  in  the  antipodean  regions,  or 
rather  in  the  centre  of  the  earth,  to  which  the  term 
'  dark  and  pathless  regions '  also  applies.  This  is  the 
supposition  of  Clavigero,  who  bases  it  on  the  fact  that 
Tlalxicco,  the  name  of  Mictlantecutli's  temple,  signi- 
fies l centre  or  bowels  of  the  earth.'71  But  Sahagun 
and  others  place  it  in  the  north,  and  support  this  as- 
sertion by  showing  that  Mictlampa  signified  north.72 
The  fact  that  the  people  turned  the  face  to  the  north 
when  calling  upon  the  dead 73  is  strongly  in  favor  of 
this  theory;  the  north  is  also  the  dark  quarter.  These 
apparently  contradictory  statements  may  be  reconciled 
by  supposing  that  Mictlan  was  situated  in  the  north- 

70  Hist.  Tlax.,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn,  xcviii.,  p.  193; 
Tezozomoc,  Hist.  Mex.,  torn,  i.,  p.  331.  'When  the  sun  sets,  it  goes  to  give 
light  to  the  dead.'  Explanation  of  the  Codex  Telleriano-Remensis,  in  Kings- 
borouyh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  128. 

nStoria,  Ant.  del Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  6.  Tlalxicco  maybe  considered  au 
hell  proper,  and  distinct  from  Mictlan,  and  may  have  been  ruled  over  by 
Tzontemoc,  who  must  then  be  regarded  as  distinct  from  Mictlantecutli. 
KingsborougJis Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  219. 

72  Mictlampaehecatl,  the  north -wind,  is  said  to  come  from  hell.  Sahagun, 
Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vii.,  pp.  253,  256-7;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  81. 

7a Explanation  of  the  Codex  Vaticanus,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol. 
vi.,  pp.  218-19. 


THE  JOURNEY  OF  THE  DEAD.  537 

ern  part  of  the  subterranean  regions,  as  the  home  of 
the  heroes  was  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  heavens. 

As  the  warrior  in  the  Sun  House  passes  after  four 
years  of  perfect  enjoyment  into  a  seemingly  less  happy 
state,  so  the  Mictlan  probationer  appears  to  have 
abandoned  his  work  for  a  condition  of  everlasting  re- 
pose.74 This  condition  is  already  indicated  by  the  very 
signification  of  the  name  Mictlan,  'place  of  the  dead,' 
and  by  the  preceding  statements ;  it  is  also  implied  by 
the  myth  of  the  creation  of  man,  wherein  the  god- 
heroes  say  to  Xolotl :  Go  beg  of  Mictlantecutli,  Lord 
of  Hades,  that  he  may  give  thee  a  bone  or  some  ashes 
of  the  dead  that  are  with  him.75 

I  will  now  revert  to  the  terrible  four  days'  journey,76 
which  those  who  were  unfortunate  enough  to  die  a 
peaceful  death  had  to  perform  before  they  could  attain 
their  negative  happiness.  Fully  impressed  with  the 
idea  of  its  hardships,  the  friends  of  the  deceased  held 
it  to  be  a  religious  duty  to  provide  him  with  a  full 
outfit  of  food,  clothing,  implements,  and  even  slaves,  to 
enable  him  to  pass  safely  through  the  ordeal.  Idols 
were  also  deposited  by  his  side,  and  if  the  dead  man 
were  a  lord,  his  chaplain  was  sent  to  attend  to  their 
service.  This  maintenance  of  worship  during  the  jour- 
ney is  also  implied  by  the  sprinkling  of  water  upon  the 
ashes  with  the  words:  Let  the  dead  wash  himself.77 
The  officiating  priests,  laid,  besides,  passports  with  the 
body,  which  were  to  serve  for  various  points  along  the 
road.  The  first  papers  passed  him  by  two  mountains, 
which,  like  the  symplegades,  threatened  to  meet  and 
crush  him  in  their  embrace.  The  second  was  a  pass 
for  the  road  guarded  by  a  big  snake;  the  other  papers 

74 '  Despues  de  pasados  cuatro  anos,  el  dif  unto  se  salia  y  se  iba  a  los 
mieve  infiernos . . . .  en  este  lugar  del  infierno  que  se  llamaba  Chisunamictla, 
se  acababan  y  fenecian  los  difuntos.'  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p. 
233;  see  also  note  8.  At  the  end  of  four  years  the  souls  came  to  a  place 
where  they  enjoyed  a  certain  degree  of  repose.  Explanation  of  the  Codex  v  ati- 
canm,  in  Kingsboroiif/h's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  218. 

75 This  vol.,  p.  59;  see  also  pp.  296-402. 

76  See  note  12.  Four  was  the  most  sacred  number  among  the  Mexicans  as 
well  as  the  other  nations  of  America,  and  is  derived  from  the  adoration  of 
the  cardinal  points.  Brintoris  Myths,  p.  67.  The  Central  Americans  believed 
that  the  soul  arrived  at  its  destination  in  four  days  after  death. 

77 Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p.  263. 


538  FUTURE  STATE. 

took  him  by  the  green  crocodile,  Xochitonal,  across 
eight  deserts,  and  over  eight  hills.  Then  came  the 
freezing  itzehecaya, l wind  of  knives,'  which  hurls  stones 
and  knives  upon  the  traveller,  who  now  more  than 
ever  finds  the  offerings  of  his  friends  of  service.  How 
the  poor  soul  escaped  this  ordeal  is  not  stated.  Lastly, 
he  came  to  the  broad  river  Chiconahuapan,  'nine 
waters/  which  could  be  crossed  only  upon  the  back  of 
a  dog  of  reddish  color,  which  was  killed  for  this  pur- 
pose by  thrusting  an  arrow  down  its  throat,  and  was 
burned  with  the  corpse.  According  to  Gomara,  the 
dog  served  for  a  guide  to  Mictlan,  but  other  au- 
thors state  that  it  preceded  its  master,  and  when  he 
arrived  at  the  river,  he  found  it  on  the  opposite  bank, 
waiting  with  a  number  of  others  for  their  owners.  As 
soon  as  the  dog  recognized  its  master,  it  swam  over,  and 
bore  him  safely  across  the  rushing  current.  A  cotton 
string  tied  round  its  neck  when  placed  upon  the  pyre 
may  have  served  to  distinguish  it  from  other  dogs,  or 
as  a  passport.78  The  traveller  was  now  taken  before 
Mictlantecutli,  to  whom  he  presented  the  passports, 
together  with  gifts  consisting  of  candlewood,  perfume- 
canes,  soft  threads  of  plain  and  colored  cotton,  a  piece 
of  cloth,  a  mantle,  and  other  articles  of  clothing,  and 
was  thereupon  assigned  to  his  sphere.  Women  under- 
went the  same  ordeal.79  Camargo  mentions  a  paradise 
above  the  nine  heavens,  occupied  by  the  goddess  of 
love,  where  dwarfs,  fools,  and  hunchbacks  danced  and 
sang  for  her  amusement;  but  whether  these  beings 
were  of  human  or  divine  origin  is  not  stated.80  At 
times  the  old  chroniclers  consider  Mictlan  as  a  place 
of  punishment,81  but  the  priests  in  their  homilies 

78  '  Pour  qu'il  ne  f  ut  pas  entraine  en  traversant  le  Styx  indien. '  Biart, 
Terre  Temperee,  p.  280;  Gomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  309.  'Los  perres  de  pelo 
bianco  y  negro,  no  podian  nadar  y  pasar  el  rio,  porque  dizque  decia  el  perro 
de  pelo  negro:  "  yo  me  labe  "  y  el  perro  de  pelo  bianco  decia:  "  yo  me  he 
inanchado  de  color  prieto,  y  por  eso  no  puedo  pasaros  "  solamente  el  perro 
de  pelo  vermejo  podia  pasar.  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p.  203. 

79 Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  pp.  260-4;  Torquemada,  Monarq. 
Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  528-30;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp. 
5-6;  vol.  ii.,  pp.  603-19,  of  this  work. 

80  Hist.  Tlax.,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn,  xcix.,  pp.  192-3. 

81  '  Tenian  por  cierto,  que  en  el  infierno  habian  de  padecer  diversas  penas 
conforme  a  la  calidad  de  los  delitos.'  Mendieta,  Hist.  Edes.,  p.  83.     'Entdu- 


THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  TLASCALTECS.  539 

never  appear  to  have  urged  repentance  for  the  pur- 
pose of  escaping  future  punishment,  but  merely  to 
avoid  earthly  inflictions,  visited  upon  them  or  their 
children.82  The  philanthropist  whose  whole  life  had 
been  one  continuous  act  of  benevolence,  the  wise  prince 
who  had  lived  but  for  his  country's  good,  the  saintly 
hermit,  the  pious  priest  who  had  passed  his  days  in 
perpetual  fasts,  penance,  and  self-torture,  all  were  con- 
signed to  Mictlan,  together  with  the  drunkard,  the  mur- 
derer, the  thief;  and  none  were  exempt  from  the  terrible 
journey,  or  from  the  long  probation  which  ends  in 
eternal  sleep.  They  may  have  accounted  to  themselves 
for  the  manifest  unfairness  of  this  system  by  means  of 
their  belief  in  predestination,  which  taught  that  the 
sign  under  which  a  man  was  born  determined  to  a  great 
extent,  if  not  entirely,  his  character,  career,  and  con- 
sequently his  future.83  Mictlan  cannot,  therefore,  be 
regarded  as  a  hell;  it  is  but  a  place  of  negative  pun- 
ishment, a  Nirv4na,  in  which  the  soul  is  at  last  blown 
out  and  lost.84 

ces  todos  seran  castigados  conforme  £  &us  obras.'  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn, 
ii.,  lib.  vii.,  pp.  36-7;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  80.  *  Us  etaient 
plonges  dans  une  obscurite  profonde,  livres  &  leurs  remords.'  Chevalier,  Mex. 
Ancien  et  Mod.,  p.  91. 

82  'Padecen  por  los  pecados  de  sus  padres.'  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii., 
lib.  vi.,  p.  36.  Their  prayers  and  penances,  says  Acosta,  were  merely  on 
account  of  corporal  inflictions,  for  they  certainly  feared  no  punishment  in  the 
world  to  come,  but  expected  that  all  would  rest  there.  Hist,  de  las  Ynd.,  p. 
383.  *  In  the  destiny  they  assigned  to  the  wicked  we  discern  similar  traces 
of  refinement;  since  the  absence  of  all  physical  torture  forms  a  striking 
contrast  to  the  schemes  of  suffering  so  ingeniously  devised  by  the  fancies  of 
the  most  enlightened  nations.  In  all  this,  so  contrary  to  the  natural  sugges- 
tions of  the  ferocious  Aztec,  we  see  the  evidences  of  a  higher  civilization, 
inherited  from  their  predecessors  in  the  land.'  Prescott's  Mex.,  vol.  i.,  pp. 
62-3. 

83 Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  pp.  267  et  seq. 

84  The  reader  who  thinks  upon  the  subject  at  all  cannot  help  being  struck 
by  the  remarkable  resemblance  in  some  points  between  these  future  abodes 
of  the  Mexicans  and  those  of  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans.  The  trem- 
bling soul  has  to  pass  over  the  same  dreadful  river,  ferried  by  a  brute  Charon. 
In  Hades  as  in  Mictlan,  the  condition  of  the  dead  was  a  shadowy  sort  of  ap- 
parent life,  in  which,  mere  ghosts  of  their  former  selves,  they  continued 
dreamily  to  perform  the  labors  and  carry  on  the  occupations  to  which  they 
had  been  accustomed  on  earth.  In  Greece  as  in  Mexico,  the  shades  of  the 
dead  were  occasionally  permitted  to  visit  their  friends  on  earth,  summoned 
by  a  sacrifice  and  religious  rites.  Neither  Elysium  nor  the  glorious  Sun  House 
was  the  reward  of  the  purely  good  so  much  as  of  the  favorites  of  the  gods. 
Such  points  of  resemblance  as  these  are,  however,  unnoticed  by  those  who 
theorize  concerning  the  origin  of  the  Americans;  they  go  farther  for  analo- 
gies, and  perhaps  fare  worse. 


540  FUTURE  STATE. 

The  Tlascaltecs  supposed  that  the  souls  of  people  of 
rank  entered  after  death  into  the  bodies  of  the  higher 
animals,  or  even  into  clouds  and  gems,  while  common 
souls  passed  into  lower  animal  forms.85  With  the 
Mexicans,  they  believed  that  little  children  who  died 
were  given  another  trial  of  earth-life.86  In  Goatza- 
coalco  the  bones  of  the  dead  were  so  placed  that  the 
soul  might  have  no  difficulty  in  finding  them.87  In 
the  Aztec  creation-myth  we  have  seen  that  out  of  bone 
man  was  formed,  and  Brinton  considers  this,  together 
with  instances  of  the  careful  preservation  of  remains 
to  be  noticed  in  different  parts  of  America,  evidence 
of  a  wide-spread  belief  that  the  soul  resided  in  the 
bones.  This  receives  further  confirmation  in  the  Qui- 
che legend,  which  relates  that  the  bones  of  certain 
heroes  were  ground  to  powder  to  prevent  their  re- 
moval.88 Yet  the  idea  does  not  accord  with  the  Mexi- 
can custom  of  placing  a  stone  between  the  lips  of  the 
dead  to  serve  as  heart,  and  doubtless  to  hold  the 
soul,  as  the  Quiches  supposed.  Either  instance,  how- 
ever, implies  a  belief  in  several  souls,  although  no  ref- 
erence is  made  to  such  plurality.  The  Tlascaltecs 
had  guardian  spirits  which  were  embodied  in  the  idols 
called  tepictoton,  and  Camargo  mentions  angels  who 
inhabited  the  air  and  influenced  thunder,  winds,  and 
other  phenomena,  and  who  were  doubtless  the  chil- 
dren of  Tlalocan.89  A  devil  they  could  scarcely  have 
had,  for  evil  mingled  too  liberally  in  the  nature  of 
most  of  the  Mexican  gods  to  admit  of  its  personifica- 
tion by  one  alone.  The  nearest  approach  to  our  Satan 
was  to  be  found  in  a  phantom  called  Tlacatecolotl,  the 
'owlish  pne,'90  who  roamed  about  doing  mischief;  to 
see  an  owl  was  accordingly  held  to  be  an  evil  sign, 

^Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  5;  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles., 
p.  97. 

**Alger's  Future  Life,  pp.  475-6. 

87  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  ix.,  cap.  vii. 

88  Mytlis,  p.  258;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  175. 

89  H'ist.  Tlax.,  in  Nouvelks  Annales  des   Voy.,   1843,  torn,  xcviii.,  p.  192; 
Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  64. 

9t*  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  p.  81.  'Tlacatecolotl,  demonio  o  diablo.* 
Molina,  Dicdonario. 


FUTURE  OF  THE   OTOMIS,  MIZTECS,  AND  MAYAS.         541 

and  much  dreaded.  "Will-o'-the-wisps  were  regarded 
as  transformed  wizards  and  witches,  or  animals.91  The 
Tlascaltecs  supposed  that  the  sparks  which  sped  away 
from  the  craters  of  volcanoes  were  the  souls  of  tyrants 
sent  forth  by  the  gods  to  torment  the  people.02 

The  Otomis  believed  that  the  soul  died  with  the 
body,93  while  the  Tarascos,  according  to  Herrera, 
admitted  a  future  judgment,  with  its  accompaniments 
of  heaven  and  hell,  but  to  judge  from  their  burial 
customs,  with  immolation  of  attendants,  term  of 
mourning,  and  so  forth,  it  would  appear  that  they  had 
the  same  belief  as  the  Aztecs.94 

The  Miztecs  placed  the  gates  of  paradise  within 
the  cavern  of  Chalcatongo,  and  the  grandees  of  the 
kingdom  were  therefore  eager  to  be  buried  within  its 
precincts  in  order  to  be  near  the  abode  of  bliss.  The 
Zapotecs  placed  the  heavenly  portals  within  the  cave 
of  Mictlan.  Their  heaven  must  accordingly  have 
been  situated  within  the  earth,  although  the  custom 
of  placing  the  dead  with  their  feet  toward  the  east 
indicates  that  it  lay  toward  the  sunny  morning  land. 
The  common  people  at  least  seem,  like  the  Aztecs,  to 
have  been  required  to  pass  a  probationary  term  before 
entering  the  holy  place,  and  during  this  period  they 
were  permitted  to  visit  their  friends  on  earth  once 
a  year,  and  partake  of  the  repast  spread  for  them. 
The  Zapotecs  gave  as  a  reason  for  interring  the  dead, 
that  those  who  were  burned  failed  to  reach  heaven.95 

The  Mayas  believed  in  a  place  of  everlasting  delight, 
where  the  good  should  recline  in  voluptuous  repose 

^Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecks.,  p.  109. 

92  *  The  inhabitants  suppose  kinges  (who,  while  they  liued,  gouerned 
amisse)  to  haue  a  temporary  aboade  there  being  companions  with  diuels 
amonge  those  flames,  where  they  may  purge  the  foule  spots  of  their  wicked- 
nesse.'  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  v.,  lib.  ii. 

93Clawgero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  4;  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles., 
p.  96. 

9i  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  x.;  Carbajal  Espinosa,  Hist.  Mex.,  torn, 
i.,  p.  292;  vol.  ii.,  pp.  620-2,  of  this  work. 

^Burtjoa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  ii.,  fol.  230-1,  torn,  i.,  fol.  159-61;  Clam- 
gero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  5;  Explanation  of  the  Codex  Telleriano- 
Rememis,  in  Kinysborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  96;  Id.,  Codex  Vaticanus, 
p.  218;  vol.  ii.,  pp.  622-3,  of  this  work. 


642  FUTURE  STATE. 

beneath  the  shade  of  the  yaxche,96  indulging  in  dainty 
food  and  delicious  drinks.  Those  who  died  by  hanging 
were  especially  sure  of  admittance  to  this  paradise, 
for  their  goddess  Ixtab  carried  them  thither  herself, 
and  many  enthusiasts  committed  suicide  with  this 
expectation.  The  wicked,  on  the  other  hand,  descended 
into  Mitnal,D7  a  sphere  below  this,  where  hunger  and 
other  torments  awaited  them.  Cacao-money  was  laid 
with  the  body  to  pay  its  way,  and  frequent  offerings 
of  food  were  made,  but  the  funeral  was  not  proceeded 
with  until  the  fifth  day,  when  the  soul  had  entered  its 
sphere.  A  trace  of  metempsychosis  may  be  noticed 
in  the  superstitious  belief  that  sorcerers  transformed 
people  into  animals.98 

Whether  the  Quiches  believed  in  a  future  reward 
and  punishment  is  uncertain,  for  on  the  one  hand  we 
are  told  that  Xibalba,  which  implies  a  place  of  terror, 
was  their  hell,  where  ruled  two  princes  bearing  the 
suggestive  names  of  One  Death  and  Seven  Deaths; 
while  on  the  other  hand  the  sacrifice  of  slaves  and 
other  objects  implies  a  negative  punishment,  A 
gentle,  unwarlike  tribe  of  Guatemala  is  said  to  have 
had  a  belief  similar  to  that  of  the  Pericuis;  namely, 
that  a  future  life  was  accorded  to  those  only  who  died 
a  natural  death,  and  therefore,  they  left  the  bodies  of 
the  slain  to  beasts  and  vultures."  The  Pipiles  appear 
to  have  looked  forward  to  the  same  future  abodes  as 
the  Mexicans,  and  to  the  same  dreadful  journey  after 
death.  During  the  four  days  and  four  nights  that  the 
soul  was  on  the  road,  the  mourners  wailed  deeply, 
probably  with  fear  for  its  safety,  but  on  the  fifth  day, 

96 '  Le  YcKccM,  qui  signifie  arbre  vert,  est  probablement  le  meme  qne  le 
tonacaste  ou  tonacazquahuitl,  arbe  au  tronc  puissant  et  elev6,  au  feuillago 
immense,  mais  menu  et  serre,  dont  la  beaute  et  1'extreme  fraicheur  lui  ont 
fait  dormer  le  nom  d'arbre  de  la  vie.'  Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  in  Landa,  fiela- 
cion,  p.  200. 

97  An  evident  corruption  of  Mictlan. 

98  '  Dezian  se  lo  (el  difunto)  avia  llevado  el  diablo  porqne  del  pensavan. 
les  venian  los  males  todos  y  especial  la  muerte. '  Landa,  Relation,   p.   196, 
198-202;  Coyolludo,   Hist.    Yuc.,   p.    192;  Brasseur  de  Bmirlourg,   Hist.  Nat. 
Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  62-3;  Carrillo,  in  Mex.  Soc.  Geoy.,  Boktin,  2da  epoca,  torn, 
iii.,  pp.  265-6. 

™Brintons  Myths,  p.  246;  Brasseur  de  Bmtrbaurrj,  Popol  VuJt,  pp.  Ixxix.- 
Ixxx.,  cxxviii.-cxxx. ;  vol.  ii.,  p.  799,  of  this  •work. 


FUTURE   OF  THE  NICARAGUANS.  543 

when  the  priest  announced  that  it  had  reached  the 
goal,  the  lamentation  ceased.  During  this  time,  also, 
the  mother  whose  infant  had  departed  withheld  the 
milk  from  all  other  children,  lest  the  thirsty  little 
wanderer  should  be  angry,  and  smite  the  usurper.100 
The  probationary  routine  of  the  spirits  appears  to 
have  called  them  to  the  earth  at  intervals  for  a  legend 
of  the  isles  of  Lake  Ilopango  recounts  that  at  certain 
times  of  the  year  spectre  barks  glide  in  silence  over 
the  tranquil  waters  of  the  lake,  anointing  every  island 
from  the  least  to  the  greatest,  offering  upon  each  to 
some  bloody  divinity  of  past  times  a  human  victim, 
an  infant  chosen  by  lot.101 

The  same  view  of  futurity  was  taken  by  the  Nicara- 
guans,  who  thought  that  the  souls102  of  slain  warriors 
went  to  the  sunrise  regions,  the  abode  of  Tamagostat 
and  Cipattonal,  who  welcomed  them  with  the  title  of 
'our  children.'  But  all  the  good,  that  is,  those  who 
had  obeyed  and  reverenced  the  gods,  were  admitted 
here,  whether  warriors  or  not,  and  strong  must  have 
been  their  faith  in  the  bliss  that  awaited  them,  for  the 
virgins,  says  Andagoya,  who  were  cast  as  offerings  into 
the  seething  lava  streams  of  the  volcano,  met  their  fate 
without  fear.los  The  wicked  were  doomed  to  annihila- 
tion in  the  abode  of  Miquetanteot.104  Infants  who 
died  before  they  were  weaned  returned  to  the  house 
of  their  parents  to  be  cared  for,  evidently  in  spirit 
form.10'  The  Mosquitos  believe  in  one  heaven  only, 
and  this  is  open  to  all ;  for  it  they  prepare  at  the  very 
beginning  of  life  by  tying  a  little  bag  of  seeds  round 
the  neck  of  the  infant,  wherewith  to  pay  the  ferriage 

lmPnlacio,  Carta,  pp.  76-8. 

101  Doll/us  and  Mont-Serrat,   Voy.  Geologique,  p.  12. 

102  Yolia  or  yulia  derived  from  yoli,  to  live  is  distinct  from  heart,  yollotli. 
Euschmann,  Ortsnamen,  p.  159.     Yet  the  heart  was  evidently  considered  as 
the  seat  of  the  soul,  for  some  Indians  stated  that  '  el  coracon  va  arriba, '  while 
others  explained  that  by  this  was  meant  the  breath.  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn, 
iv.,  pp.  44-5. 

103  Navarrete,  Col  de  Viages,  torn,  iii.,  p.  415. 

104  Corresponding   to   the   Aztec   Mictlantecutli.      It  is  not  quite   clear 
whether  all  agreed  upon  total  annihilation  in  this  place. 

100  '  Han  de  resu^itar  6  tornar  a  casa  de  sus  padres,  e  sus  padres  los  co- 
nose9ran  e  criaran.'  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  iv. ,  pp.  41,  42-9;  Brintoris  Myths, 
pp.  145,  235;  Brasseur  de  Eourboury,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  h.,  pp.  113-14. 


544  FUTURE  STATE. 

across  the  great  river  beyond  which  paradise  lies.106 
In  and  about  Veragua,  death  means  annihilation,  and 
no  food  is  left  for  the  dead.  In  some  places,  the  dying 
are  carried  out  to  the  woods  and  abandoned  to  wild 
beasts.107  In  Costa  Rica  and  Darien,  slaves  and  even 
wives  are  sacrificed,  that  their  souls  may  serve  their 
lords  in  heaven.108 

Writing  on  the  customs  of  Dabaiba,  Peter  Martyr 
says:  "  They  are  such  simple  men  that  they  know  not 
how  to  call  the  soule,  nor  vnderstand  the  power 
thereof:  whereupon,  they  often  talk  among  themselues 
with  admiration  what  that  inuisible  and  not  intelligible 
essence  might  bee,  whereby  the  members  of  men  and 
brute  beastes  should  be  moued:  I  know  not  what 
secret  thing,  they  say,  should  Hue  after  the  corporall 
life.  That  (I  know  not  what)  they  beleeue  that  after 
this  peregrination,  if  it  liued  without  spott,  and  re- 
serued  that  masse  committed  vnto  it  without  iniury 
done  to  any,  it  shoulde  goe  to  a  certayne  seternall 
felicity :  contrary,  if  it  shall  suffer  the  same  to  be  cor- 
rupted with  any  filthy  lust,  violent  rapine,  or  raging 
furie,  they  say,  it  shall  finde  a  thousande  tortures 
in  rough  and  vnpleasant  places  vnder  the  Center: 
and  speaking  these  things,  lifting  vpp  their  handes 
they  shewe  the  heauens,  and  after  that  casting  right 
hand  down,  they  poynt  to  the  wombe  of  the  earth"  ! 
Their  belief  in  a  future  punishment  he  further  illus- 
trates by  relating  that  "  the  thicke  spott  seene  in  the 
globe  of  the  Moone,  at  the  full,  is  a  mann,  and  they 
beleeue  hee  was  cast  out  to  the  moyst  and  colde  Cir- 
cle of  the  Moone,  that  hee  might  perpetually  bee  tor- 
mented betweene  those  two  passions,  in  suffering  colde 
and  moysture,  for  incest  committed  with  his  sister."1 

106  Bell  adds  that  this  ferriage  money  was  provided  lest  the  child  *  should 
die   young.'    Offerings  are   also   placed   upon   the   grave.    Lond.  Geog.  Soc., 
Jour.,  vol.  xxx ii.,  pp.  254-5. 

107  'They  suppose  that  men  do  naturally  Hue  and  die  as  other  beastes  do.* 
Peter  Martyr,  dec.  iii. ,  lib.  iv. 

lee  <Aquel  humo  iba  donde  estaba  el  dnima  de  aquel  defunto en  el  cielo, 

y  que  en  el  humo  iba  alia.'  Andayoya,  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn,  iii., 
p.  402;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  i.,  lib.  vii.,  cap.  xvi.,  dec.  ii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  v.; 
Gomara,  Hist.  Intl.,  fol.  255;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  142. 

109  Dec.  vii.,  lib.  x. 


THE  COYOTE'S  ELOPEMENT.  545 

The  following  myths,  for  which  I  am  indebted  to 
the  kindness  and  industrious  investigation  of  Mr 
Powers,  having  come  to  hand  too  late  for  insertion  in 
their  proper  places,  I  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity 
to  give  them  here:  There  dwells,  say  the  Neeshe- 
nams,  upon  the  hills  and  in  the  forests,  a  ghost  named 
Bohem  Culleh,  which  is  at  once  man  and  woman.  It 
is  a  bad  spirit,  but  nevertheless  a  useful  one  to  those 
who  seek  its  aid,  and  these  are  mostly  bad  people. 
Sometimes  in  the  night  its  weird  eldritch  cry  is  heard 
in  the  forest,  and  then  some  woman  about  to  be  over- 
taken in  dishonest  childbirth  goes  out  into  the  woods 
alone,  with  her  shame  and  her  pangs  upon  her,  and 
having  brought  forth,  presently  returns,  crying  and 
lamenting  that  the  wicked  ghost  met  and  overcame 
her,  and  that  she  has  conceived  of  the  spirit.  Or  per- 
haps it  is  a  man  who  has  wrought  an  evil  thing  who 
makes  this  bad  spirit  responsible  for  his  wickedness. 
Either  a  man  or  a  woman  wandering  alone  in  the  for- 
est is  exposed  to  the  enticements  of  the  ghost  Bohem 
Culleh,  to  commit  fornication  with  it. 

'The  Coyote's  Elopement'  forms  the  subject  of  an- 
other Neeshenam  tale.  It  is  as  follows:  The  coyote 
and  the  bat  were  one  day  gathering  the  soft-shelled 
nuts  of  the  sugar-pine,  when  there  came  along  two 
women-deer  (the  only  way  they  have  of  expressing 
'  female  deer ')  who  were  the  wives  of  pigeons.  The 
coyote,  upon  this,  took  a  handful  of  pitch  and  be- 
smeared the  bat's  eyes  so  that  it  could  not  see.  The 
poor  bat  was  totally  blinded,  but  it  called  upon  the  wind 
to  blow,  and  its  eyes  were  opened  a  little,  as  we  see  them 
to-day.  Meantime  the  rascally  coyote  eloped  with  the 
two  women-deer.  But  it  was  not  long  before  they 
came  to  a  bridge  so  extremely  narrow  that  they  could 
not  pass  over  it.  Just  then  there  came  along  a  quail, 
and  he  took  the  two  women-deer  and  led  them  across, 
leaving  the  bigamous  coyote  in  the  lurch.  No  sooner 
had  they  crossed  than  the  sister  of  the  pigeons  took 
the  quail  away  to  his  mother's  camp,  and  thus  the 

VOL.  III.    35 


546  FUTURE  STATE. 

women-deer  were  set  at  liberty,  and  recovered  by  their 
husbands,  the  pigeons. 

"In  this  story,"  says  Mr  Powers,  "as  in  many  oth- 
ers, we  have  something  analogous  to  the  were-wolves 
and  swan-maidens  of  the  mediaeval  legends.  It  also 
illustrates  the  Indian  belief  in  the  common  origin  of 
all  animals.  Their  favorite  theory  is,  that  the  man 
originated  from  the  coyote  and  the  woman  from  the 
deer.  Wherefore  this  story  probably  gives  us  a  glimpse 
of  the  first  courtship  recorded  of  the  human  race,  when 
the  animals  had  so  developed,  strictly  in  accordance 
with  the  Darwinian  programme,  that  man  was  about 
to  appear  upon  the  scene.  The  failure  of  the  coyote's 
elopement  delayed  that  auspicious  event  a  little  while." 

Another  Neesheiiam  legend  relates  that  there  was 
once  a  medicine-man  who  possessed  the  wonderful  fac- 
ulty of  turning  himself  into  a  bear  for  a  brief  season. 
When  one  of  his  patients  was  extremely  ill,  and  ac- 
cording to  custom,  he  sucked  him  to  extract  the  in- 
jurious matter,  he  would  presently  be  seized  with  a 
spasm.  Falling  upon  all  fours,  he  would  find  his  hands 
and  feet  sprawled  along  the  ground  in  plantigrade 
fashion,  his  nails  would  grow  long  and  sharp,  a  short 
tail  would  sprout  forth,  hair  would  spring  up  all  over 
his  body,  in  short,  he  would  become  a  raging,  roaring 
bear.  When  the  spasm  had  passed  away,  he  would 
return  to  the  human  form. 

According  to  yet  another  Neeshenam  tradition, 
there  lived  long,  long  ago  a  very  terrible  old  man, 
whose  chief  delight  it  was  to  kill  and  devour  Indians. 
He  had  stone  mortars  in  which  he  pounded  the  flesh 
to  make  it  tender  for  eating.  Far  down  on  the  Sac- 
ramento plains,  thirty  or  forty  miles  away,  he  and  his 
wife  lived  together,  and  around  their  wigwam  the 
blood  of  Indians  lay  a  foot  deep.  The  Indians  all 
made  war  on  them  and  tried  to  kill  them,  but  they 
could  do  nothing  against  them.  Then  at  last  the  Old 
Coyote  took  pity  on  the  Indians  whom  he  had  created, 
and  he  determined  to  kill  this  old  man.  He  was  ac- 
customed to  go  into  the  great  round  dance-house  when 


SHASTA  LEGENDS.  547 

the  Indians  were  assembled  within  it,  and  slay  the 
chief.  So  the  Old  Coyote  dug  a  deep  hole  just  outside 
the  door,  and  hid  himself  in  it,  armed  with  a  big  knife. 
The  knife  was  just  on  a  level  with  the  ground,  and 
when  the  old  man  came  along,  going  into  the  dance- 
house,  he  saw  it,  and  gave  a  kick  at  it,  but  did  not  no- 
tice the  Coyote,  who  immediately  jumped  out  of  his 
hole,  ran  into  the  dance-house,  and  killed  the  old  man. 

This  story  Mr  Powers  thinks  probably  refers  to 
some  long  extinct  race  of  cannibals  who  were  superior 
in  power  to  the  present  .race.  uTo  them,"  he  says, 
"  may  be  assigned  the  stone  mortars  found  in  so  many 
parts  of  California,  which  the  Indians  now  living 
here  confessedly  did  not  make.  Others  account  for 
these  stone  mortars  by  saying  they  were  made  by  the 
chief  of  the  spirits,  Haylin  Kakeeny,  and  his  subor- 
dinates." 

The  following  queer  legends  are,  on  the  indisputable 
authority  of  Mr  Powers,  of  Shasta  origin :  The  wrorld 
was  created  by  Old  Groundmole,  ididoc,  a  huge  ani- 
mal that  heaved  creation  into  existence  on  its  back, 
by  rooting  underneath  somewhere.  When  the  flood 
came,  it  destroyed  all  animals  except  a  squirrel  as 
large  as  a  bear,  which  exists  to  this  day  on  a  mountain 
called,  by  the  Shastas,  Wakwaynuma,  near  Happy 
Camp. 

A  long  time  ago  there  w^as  a  fire-stone  in  the  dis- 
tant east,  white  and  glistening,  like  the  purest  quartz; 
and  the  coyote  journeyed  east,  brought  this  fire-stone, 
and  gave  it  to  the  Indians,  and  that  was  the  origin  of 
fire. 

Originally  the  sun  had  nine  brothers,  all,  like  him- 
self, flaming  hot  with  fire,  so  that  the  world  was  like 
to  perish ;  but  the  coyote  slew  nine  of  the  brothers, 
and  thus  saved  mankind  from  burning  up.  The  moon 
also  had  nine  brothers,  all  like  to  himself,  made  of 
the  coldest  ice,  so  that  in  the  night  people  went  near 
to  freeze  to  death.  But  the  coyote  went  away  out  on 
the  eastern  edge  of  the  world  with  a  mighty  big  knife 
of  flint  stone,  heated  stones  to  keep  his  hands  warm, 


548  FUTURE  STATE. 

then  laid  hold  of  the  nine  moons,  one  after  another, 
and  slew  them  likewise,  and  thus  men  got  warm  again. 

When  it  rains,  there  is  some  Indian  sick  in  heaven, 
weeping.  Long,  long  ago  there  was  a  good  young 
Indian  on  earth,  and  when  he  died  all  the  Indians 
cried  so  much  that  a  flood  came  on  the  earth  and  rose 
up  to  heaven,  and  drowned  all  people  except  one  couple. 

The  Chenposels  relate  that  there  was  once  a  man 
who  loved  two  women,  and  wished  to  marry  them. 
Now,  these  two  women  were  magpies,  atchatch,  and 
they  loved  him  not,  but  laughed  his  wooing  to  scorn. 
Then  he  fell  into  a  rage  and  cursed  these  two  women 
that  were  magpies,  and  went  far  away  to  the  north, 
and  there  he  set  the  world  on  fire,  made  for  himself  a 
tule  boat,  in  which  he  escaped  to  sea,  and  was  never 
heard  of  more.  But  the  fire  which  he  had  kindled 
burned  with  a  mighty  burning.  It  ate  its  way  south 
with  terrible  swiftness,  licking  up  all  things  that  are 
on  earth — men,  trees,  rocks,  animals,  water,  and  even 
the  ground  itself.  But  the  Old  Coyote  saw  the  burn- 
ing and  smoke  from  his  place  far  in  the  south,  and  he 
ran  with  all  his  might  to  put  it  out.  He  took  two 
little  boys  in  a  sack  on  his  back,  and  ran  north  like 
the  wind.  So  fast  did  he  run  that  he  gave  out  just 
as  he  got  to  the  fire,  and  dropped  the  two  little  boys. 
But  he  took  Indian  sugar  (honey-dew)  in  his  mouth, 
chewed  it  up,  spat  it  on  the  fire  and  put  it  out.  Now 
the  fire  was  out,  but  the  Coyote  was  very  thirsty ;  but 
there  was  no  water,  so  he  took  Indian  sugar  again, 
chewed  it  up,  dug  a  hole  in  the  bottom  of  the  creek, 
covered  up  the  sugar  in  it,  and  it  turned  to  water,  and 
the  earth  thus  had  water  again.  But  the  two  little 
boys  cried  because  they  were  lonely,  for  there  was 
nobody  on  earth.  Then  the  Coyote  made  a  sweat- 
house,  and  split  up  a  great  number  of  little  sticks, 
which  he  laid  in  the  sweat-house  over  night;  in  the 
morning  they  were  all  turned  into  men  and  women, 
so  the  two  little  boys  had  company,  and  the  earth 
was  repeopled.110 

110 '  It  is  possible, '  concludes  Mr  Powers,  '  that  this  legend  has  dim  ref- 


SUN-MYTH   OF  THE  PALLAWONAPS  549 

I  conclude  with  a  sun-myth  of  the  Pallawonaps, 
who  lived  on  Kern  River  in  southern  California. 
Pok5h  made  all  things.  Long  ago  the  sun  was  a  man. 
The  sun  is  bad  and  wishes  to  kill  all  things,  but  the 
moon  is  good.  The  sun's  rays  are  arrows,  and  he 
gives  a  bundle  to  every  creature,  more  to  the  lion, 
fewer  to  the  coyote,  etc. ;  but  to  none  does  he  give  an 
arrow  that  will  slay  a  man.  The  coyote  wished  to  go 
to  the  sun,  and  he  asked  Pokbh  the  road.  Pokoh 
pointed  out  to  him  a  good  road,  and  the  coyote  trav- 
elled on  it  all  day,  but  the  sun  turned  round,  so  he 
travelled  in  a  circle,  and  came  back  at  night  to  the 
place  whence  he  had  started  in  the  morning.  A  sec- 
ond time  he  asked  Pokoh,  and  a  second  time  he  came 
back  in  a  circle.  Then  Pokbh  told  him  to  go  straight 
to  the  eastern  edge  of  the  earth,  and  wait  there  until 

O  ' 

the  sun  came  up.  So  the  coyote  went  and  sat  down 
on  the  hole  where  the  sun  came  up,  with  his  back 
turned  to  the  east,  and  kept  pointing  with  his  arrow 
in  every  direction,  pretending  he  was  going  to  shoot. 
The  sun  came  up  under  him,  and  told  him  to  get  out 
of  the  way.  But  the  coyote  sat  there  until  it  became 
so  warm  that  he  was  obliged  to  coil  up  his  tall  under 
him.  Then  he  began  to  get  thirsty,  and  asked  the 
sun  for  water.  The  sun  gave  him  an  acorn-cup  full, 
but  this  did  not  satisfy  the  coyote's  great  thirst.  Next 
his  shoulders  began  to  get  warm,  so  he  spat  on  his 
paws  and  rubbed  his  back  with  them.  Then  he  said 
to  the  sun,  Why  do  you  come  up  here,  meddling  with 
me?  But  the  sun  said,  I  am  not  meddling  with  you; 
I  am  travelling  where  I  have  a  right  to  travel.  The 
coyote  told  him  to  go  round  some  other  way,  that 
that  was  his  road,  but  the  sun  insisted  on  going  straight 
up.  Then  the  coyote  wanted  to  go  up  with  him,  so 
the  good-natured  sun  took  him  along.  Presently  they 
came  to  a  path  with  steps  like  a  ladder,  and  as  the  sun 
went  up  he  counted  the  steps;  when  they  got  up 

erence  to  that  great  ancient  cataclysm,  or  overflow  of  lava  from  the  north, 
which  has  been  demonstrated  by  Professor  Le  Conte,  in  a  paper  read  before 
the  Calif ornian  Academy  of  Science.' 


550  FUTURE  STATE. 

above  the  world,  the  coyote  found  it  getting  hot  and 
wanted  to  jump  down,  but  the  distance  was  too  great. 
By  noon  the  sun  was  very  hot  and  bright,  and  he  told 
the  coyote  to  shut  his  eyes.  He  did  so,  but  he  opened 
them  quickly  again,  and  so  kept  opening  and  shutting 
them  all  the  afternoon,  to  see  how  fast  the  sun  was 
sliding  down.  When  the  sun  came  down  to  the  earth 
in  the  west,  the  coyote  jumped  off  onto  a  tree,  and  so 
clambered  down  to  the  ground/ 


in 


Such  are  the  Myths  of  the  Farthest  West,  such 
the  endeavors  of  these  men,  unenlightened  according 
to  our  ideas  of  enlightenment,  to  define  the  indefina- 

O  ' 

ble,  such  the  result  of  their  ' yearning  after  the  gods.' 
Most  of  their  myths  and  beliefs  are  extravagant, 
childish,  meaningless,  to  our  understanding  of  them, 
but  doubtless  our  myths  would  be  the  same  to  them. 
From  the  beginning  of  time  men  have  grappled  with 
shadows,  have  accounted  for  material  certainties  by 
immaterial  uncertainties.  Let  us  be  content  to  gather 
and  preserve  these  perishable  phantoms  now;  they 
will  be  very  curious  relics  in  the  day  of  the  triumph 
of  substance. 

111  This  myth,  Mr  Powers  thinks,  has  been  belittled  or  corrupted  from  the 
ancient  myth  of  the  zodiac,  and,  in  his  opinion,  argues  for  the  Americans  a 
civilized,  or  at  least  semi-civilized,  Asiatic  origin — a  very  far-fetched  con- 
clusion, I  should  say. 


THE  NATIVE  RACES 

OF    THE 

PACIFIC 'STATES. 


LANGUAGES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL  REMARKS. 

NATIVE  LANGUAGES  IN  ADVANCE  OF  SOCIAL  CUSTOMS — CHARACTERISTIC  INDI- 
VIDUALITY OF  AMERICAN  TONGUES — FREQUENT  OCCURRENCE  OF  LONG 
WORDS — REDUPLICATIONS,  FREQUENTATIVES,  AND  DUALS — INTERTRIBAL 
LANGUAGES  —  GESTURE-LANGUAGE — SLAVE  AND  CHINOOK  JARGONS — 
PACIFIC  STATES  LANGUAGES — THE  TINNEH,  AZTEC,  AND  MAYA  TONGUES 
—THE  LARGER  FAMILIES  INLAND — LANGUAGE  AS  A  TEST  OF  ORIGIN — 
SIMILARITIES  IN  UNRELATED  LANGUAGES — PLAN  OF  THIS  INVESTIGATION. 

IN  nothing,  perhaps,  do  the  Native  Races  of  the 
Pacific  States  show  signs  of  age,  and  of  progress  from 
absolute  prime valism,  more  than  in  their  languages. 
Indeed,  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  two 
Americas  aboriginal  tongues  display  greater  richness, 
more  delicate  gradations,  and  a  wider  scope  than,  from 
the  uncultured  condition  in  which  the  people  were 
found,  one  would  be  led  to  suppose.  Until  recently, 
no  attention  has  been  given  by  scholars  to  these  lan- 
guages; now  it  is  admitted  that  the  more  they  are 
studied  the  more  do  new  beauties  appear,  and  that  in 

(551) 


552  GENERAL  REMARKS. 

their  speech  these  nations  are  in  advance  of  what  their 
general  rudeness  in  other  respects  would  imply.  Nor 
is  there  that  difference  in  the  construction  of  words 
and  the  scope  of  vocabularies  between  nations  which 
we  call  civilized  and  those  called  savage,  which,  from 
the  difference  in  their  customs,  industries,  and  polities 
we  should  expect  to  find ;  from  which  it  is  safe  to  infer 
that  in  progress,  after  the  essential  corporeal  require- 
ments are  satisfied,  the  necessities  of  the  intellect,  of 
which  speech  is  the  very  first,  are  not  only  met,  but 
are  developed  and  gratified  beyond  what  the  actual 
necessities  of  the  body  demand.  That  is,  speech  or 
no  speech,  the  body  must  be  fed  or  the  animal  dies,  but 
with  the  absolute  necessities  of  the  body  supplied,  the 
intellect  and  its  supernumeraries  shoot  forward  beyond 
their  relative  primeval  state,  leaving  bodily  comforts 
far  behind.  Hence  in  the  very  outset  of  what  we  call 
progress,  we  see  the  intellect  asserting  its  independence 
and  developing  those  organs  only  which  in  their  turn 
assist  its  own  development.  Again,  under  certain  con- 
ditions, two  nations,  having  advanced  materially  and 
intellectually  side  by  side  up  to  a  certain  point,  may 
from  extrinsic  or  incidental  causes  become  widely  sepa- 
rate :  one  may  go  forward  intellectually,  while  the  two 
remain  together  substantially;  one  may  go  forward 
materially,  while  mentally  there  is  no  apparent  differ- 
ence. The  causes  which  give  rise  to  these  strange 
inequalities  we  cannot  fathom  until  we  can  minutely 
retrace  the  progress  of  the  people  for  thousands  of 
ages  in  their  history ;  we  only  see,  in  the  many  exam- 
ples round  us,  that  such  is  the  fact.  A  people  well 
advanced  in  art  and  language  may,  from  war  or  famine, 
become  reduced  to  primeval  penury,  and  yet  retain 
traces  of  its  former  culture  in  its  speech;  but  by  no 
possibility  can  rude  and  barbaric  speech  suddenly 
assume  depth  and  richness  from  material  prosperity : 
from  all  of  which  it  is  safe  to  conclude  that  language 
is  the  surest  test  of  the  age  of  a  people,  for  the  mind 
cannot  expand  without  an  improvement  in  speech,  and 


RELATIONSHIP  OF  AMERICAN   LANGUAGES.  553 

speech  improves  only  as  it  is  forced  slowly  to  develop 
under  pressure  of  the  mind. 

The  researches  of  the  few  philologists  who  have 
given  American  languages  their  study  have  brought 
to  light  the    following  facts:    First,  that  a  relation- 
ship  exists  among  all  the  tongues   of  the   northern 
and  southern  continents;  and  that  while  certain  char- 
acteristics are  found  in  common  throughout  all  the 
languages  of  America,  these  languages  are,  as  a  whole, 
sufficiently  peculiar   to  be    distinguishable    from  the 
speech  of  all  the  other  races  of  the  world.     Although 
some  of  these  characteristics,  as  a  matter  of  course,  are 
found  in  some  of  the  languages  of  the  Old  World — more 
of  them  in  the  Turanian  family  than  in  any  other — yet 
nowhere  on  the  globe  are  uniformities  of  speech  carried 
over  vast  areas,  and  through  innumerable  and  diversi- 
fied races,  with  such  persistency  as  in  America ;  no- 
where are  tongues  so  dissimilar  and  yet  so  alike  as  here. 
In  this  general  similarity  would  be  a  strong  ground- 
work for  a  theory  of  common  origin,  either  indigenous 
or  foreign,  but  for  the  fact  that  while  the  languages  of 
America  appear  distinct  from  all  other  languages  of 
the  world,  and  do,  indeed,  in  certain  respects  bear  a 
general  resemblance  one  to  another  throughout,  yet  at 
the  same  time  I  may  safely  assert  that  on  no  other  con- 
tinent can  there  be  found  such  a  multitude  of  distinct 
languages  which  definitely  approach   one  another  in 
scarcely  a  single  word  or  syllable  as  in  America.     It 
is  as  easy  to  prove  from  language  that  the  nations  of 
the  New  World  were  originally  thrown  together  from 
different  parts,  and  that  by  intermigrations,  uniformity 
in  customs  and  climate,  and  the  lapse  of  long  ages,  the 
people  have  become  approximately  brethren  in  speech, 
while  their  incessant  wars  have  at  the  same  time  held 
them  asunder  and  prevented  a  more  particular  uni- 
formity, as  it  would  be  to  prove  a  common  origin  and 
subsequent  dispersion ;  without  further  light,  both  theo- 
ries are  alike  insusceptible  of  proof,  as  are,  indeed,  all 
hypotheses  concerning  the  origin  of  the  native  races 
of  this  continent.     Another  fact  which  naturally  be- 


554  GENERAL  REMARKS. 

comes  more  apparent  the  more  we  investigate  the  sub- 
ject, particularly  as  regards  the  nations  inhabiting  the 
western  half  of  North  America,  is,  that  the  innumer- 
able diversities  of  speech  found  among  these  tribes 
constantly  tend  to  disappear,  tend  to  range  themselves 
under  broad  divisions,  coalescing  into  groups  and  fam- 
ilies, thereby  establishing  more  intimate  relationship 
between  some,  and  widening  the  distance  between 
others.  The  numbers  of  tongues  and  dialects,  which 
at  the  first  appeared  to  be  legion,  by  comparison  and 
classification  are  constantly  being  reduced.  Could  we 
go  back,  even  for  a  few  thousand  years,  and  follow 
these  peoples  through  the  turnings  and  twistings  of 
their  nomadic  existence,  we  should  be  surprised  at  the 
rapid  and  complete  changes  constantly  taking  place ; 
we  should  see  throughout  this  broad  continent  the  tide 
of  human  life  ebbing  and  flowing  like  a  mighty  ocean, 
surging  to  and  fro  in  a  perpetual  unrest,  huge  billows 
of  humanity  rolling  over  forest,  plain,  and  mountain, 
nations  driving  out  nations,  absorbing  or  annihilating, 
only  to  be  themselves  inevitably  driven  out,  absorbed, 
or  annihilated ;  we  should  see,  as  a  result  of  this  inter- 
minable mixture,  languages  constantly  being  modified, 
some  wholly  or  in  part  disappearing,  some  changing  in 
a  lesser  degree,  hardly  one  remaining  the  same  for  any 
considerable  length  of  time.  Even  within  the  short 
period  of  our  own  observation,  between  the  time  of 
the  first  arrival  of  Europeans  and  the  disappearance 
of  the  natives,  many  changes  are  apparent;  while  we 
are  gazing  upon  them  we  see  their  boundaries  oscillate, 
like  the  play  of  the  threads  in  net- work.  On  the  buf- 
falo-hunting inland  plains  I  have  seen  aggregations  of 
tribes  driven  out  from  their  old  camping-ground,  in 
some  instances  a  thousand  miles  away,  and  their  places 
occupied  by  others;  in  the  narrower  limits  of  the 
north-western  mountains  I  have  seen  numerous  tribes 
extirpated  by  their  neighbors,  a  remnant  only  being 
kept  as  slaves.  While  such  was  the  normal  condition 
of  the  aborigines,  it  is  not  difficult  to  perceive,  in  some 
degree  at  least,  the  effect  upon  languages.  Yet,  while 


LONG  WORDS  IN  AMERICAN  LANGUAGES.  555 

American  languages  are  indeed,  as  Whitney  terms 
them,  "the  most  changeful  human  forms  of  speech," 
there  are  yet  found  indestructible  characteristic  ele- 
ments, affiliations  which  no  circumstances  of  time  or 
place  can  wholly  obliterate. 

One  of  these  characteristic  elements  is  the  frequent 
occurrence  of  long  words.  Even  the  Otomf,  the  only 
language  in  America  which  can  be  called  monosyllabic, 
consisting  as  it  does,  for  the  most  part,  of  etymons  of 
one  syllable,  contains  some  comparatively  long  words. 
This  frequency  of  long  words,  the  method  of  their  con- 
struction, and  the  ease  with  which  they  are  manu- 
factured constitute  a  striking  feature  in  the  system 
of  unity  that  pervades  all  American  languages.  The 
native  of  the  New  World  expresses  in  a  single  word, 
accompanied  perhaps  by  a  grunt  or  a  gesture,  what  a 
European  would  emply  a  whole  sentence  to  elucidate. 
He  crowds  the  greatest  possible  number  of  ideas  into 
the  most  compact  form  possible,  as  though  in  a  multi- 
tude of  words  he  found  weakness  rather  than  strength 
— taking  their  several  ideas  by  their  monosyllabic 
equivalents,  and  joining  them  in  one  single  expression. 
This  rule  is  universal ;  and  so  these  languages  become, 
as  Humboldt  expresses  it,  "like  different  substances  in 
analogous  forms;"  in  which,  as  Grallatin  observes,  there 
is  "a  universal  tendency  to  express  in  the  same  word, 
not  only  all  that  modifies  or  relates  to  the  same  object 
or  action,  but  both  the  action  and  the  object,  thus  con- 
centrating in  a  single  expression  a  complex  idea  or 
several  ideas,  among  which  there  is  a  natural  connec- 
tion." This  linguistic  peculiarity  is  called  by  various 
names.  Duponceau  terms  it  the  polysynthetic  stage 
or  system;  Wilhelm  von  Humboldt  the  agglutinative; 
Lieber  the  holophrastic ;  others  the  aggregative,  the 
incorporative,  and  so  on.  As  an  illustration  of  this 
peculiarity,  take  the  Aztec  word  for  letter-postage, 
amatlaciiilolitquitcatlaxtlahuilli,  which  interpreted  liter- 
ally signifies,  'the  payment  received  for  carrying  a 
paper  on  which  something  is  written.'  The  Cherokees 
go  yet  further  and  express  a  whole  sentence  in  a  siu- 


556  GENERAL  REMARKS. 


word — a  long  one  it  is  true,  but  yet  one  word — 
winitawtigeginaliskawlungtanawnelitisesti,  which  trans- 
lated forms  the  sentence,  'they  will  by  that  time  have 
nearly  finished  granting  favors  from  a  distance  to  thee 
and  me.'  Other  peculiarities  common  to  all  American 
languages  might  be  mentioned,  such  as  reduplications, 
or  a  repetition  of  the  same  syllable  to  express  plurals; 
the  use  of  frequentatives  and  duals;  the  application  of 
gender  to  the  third  person  of  the  verb;  the  direct 
conversion  of  nouns,  substantive  and  adjective,  into 
verbs,  and  their  conjugation  as  such;  peculiar  generic 
distinctions  arising  from  a  separation  of  animate  from 
inanimate  beings,  and  the  like. 

The  multiplicity  of  tongues,  even  within  compara- 
tively narrow  areas,  rendered  the  adoption  of  some 
sort  of  universal  language  absolutely  necessary.  This 
international  language  in  America  is  for  the  most  part 
confined  to  gestures,  and  nowhere  has  gesture-language 
attained  a  higher  degree  of  perfection  than  here;  and 
what  is  most  remarkable,  the  same  representatives  are 
employed  from  Alaska  to  Mexico  and  even  in  South 
America.  Thus  each  tribe  has  a  certain  gesture  to 
indicate  its  name,  which  is  understood  by  all  others. 
A  Flathead  will  make  his  tribe  known  by  placing  his 
hand  upon  his  head ;  a  Crow  by  imitating  the  flapping 
of  the  wings  of  a  bird;  a  Nez  Perce  by  pointing  with 
his  finger  through  his  nose,  and  so  on.  Fire  is  gener- 
ally indicated  by  blowing  followed  by  a  pretended 
warming  of  the  hands,  water  by  a  pretended  scooping 
up  and  drinking,  trade  or  exchange  by  crossing  the 
fore  fingers,  a  certain  gesture  being  fixed  for  everything 
necessary  to  carry  on  a  conversation.  Besides  this 
natural  gesture-language,  there  is  found  in  various  parts 
an  intertribal  jargon  composed  of  words  chosen  to  fit 
emergencies,  from  the  speech  of  the  several  neighbor- 
ing nations;  the  words  being  altered,  if  necessary,  in 
construction  or  pronunciation  to  suit  all.  Thus  in  the 
valley  of  the  Yukon  we  find  the  Slave  jargon,  and  in 
the  valley  of  the  Columbia  the  Chinook  jargon,  which 
latter  arose  originally,  not  as  is  generally  supposed  con- 


LANGUAGES  OF  THE  PACIFIC  STATES.  557 

ventionall y,  between  the  French-Canadian  and  English 
trappers  and  the  natives  of  the  north-west,  solely  for 
purposes  of  trade,  but  which  originated  among  the 
tribes  themselves  spontaneously  and  before  the  advent 
of  Europeans,  though  greatly  modified  and  extended 
by  subsequent  European  intercourse.  Thus  has  been 
laid,  no  doubt,  the  foundation  of  many  permanent  lan- 
guages and  dialects  ;  and  thus  we  may  easily  perceive 
the  powerful  and  continued  effect  of  one  language 
upon  another. 

As  to  the  number  of  languages  in  America,  much 
difference  of  opinion  exists.  Hervds,  before  half  the 
country  was  discovered,  felt  justified  in  classifying 
them  all  under  seven  families,  while  others  find,  on 
the  Pacific  side  of  the  northern  continent  alone,  over 
six  hundred  languages  which  thus  far  refuse  to  affili- 
ate. The  different  dialects  are  countless;  and  yet, 
notwithstanding  the  formidable  array  of  names  which 
I  have  gathered  at  the  end  of  this  chapter,  probably 
not  one-fourth  of  their  real  number  are  or  ever  will  be 
known  to  us. 

Many  of  the  Pacific  States  languages  bear  resem- 
blances to  one  another,  and  may  therefore  be  brought 
more  or  less  under  groups  and  classes.  These  lan- 
guages, however,  resemble  one  another  too  slightly  to 
be  called  dialects,  and  in  the  majority  of  cases  no  affili- 
ations of  any  kind  can  be  traced.  But  four  great 
languages  are  found  within  our  territory,  or,  if  we  ex- 
clude the  Eskimo,  which  is  not  properly  an  American 
language,  there  remain  but  three,  the  Tinneh,  the  Az- 
tec, and  the  Maya.  Of  the  lesser  tongues,  there  are 
many  more,  as  will  appear  farther  on.  The  Eskimos 
skirt  the  shores  of  the  north  polar  ocean,  and  belong 
more  to  the  Old  World  than  to  the  New.  The  Tinneh, 
Athabasca,  or  Chepewyan  family  covers  the  northern 
end  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  range,  sending  its  branches 
in  every  direction,  into  Alaska,  British  Columbia,  Brit- 
ish America,  Washington,  Oregon,  California,  New 
Mexico,  Texas,  and  Mexico.  The  Aztec  language, 


558  GENERAL  REMARKS. 

whose  seat  is  central  Mexico,  is  found  also  in  Nicara- 
gua and  other  parts  of  Central  America.  Traces  more- 
over appear  in  some  parts  of  Sonora,  Sinaloa,  Durango, 
Chihuahua,  Texas,  Arizona,  California,  Utah,  Nevada, 
Idaho,  Montana,  and  Oregon.  The  Maya  is  the  chief 
Central  American  tongue,  but  traces  of  it  may  be 
found  as  well  in  Mexico.  Thus  we  see  that  while  the 
cradle  of  the  Tinneh  tongue  appears  to  be  in  the  cen- 
tre of  British  North  America,  its  dialects  extend  west- 
ward and  southward,  lessening  in  intensity  the  farther 
they  are  removed  from  the  hypothetical  original  cen- 
tre, suddenly  dying  out  in  some  directions,  fading 
gradually  away  in  others,  and  breaking  out  at  dis- 
connected intervals  in  others.  So,  with  the  Aztec 
language,  whose  primitive  centre,  so  far  as  present 
appearances  go,  was  the  valley  of  Mexico;  we  find  it 
extending  south  along  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  as  far 
as  Nicaragua,  while  northward  its  traces  grow  fainter 
and  fainter  until  it  disappears.  And  so  it  is  with  the 
Maya,  which,  covering  as  it  does  a  less  extent  of  terri- 
tory, is  more  distinctly  marked  and  consequently  more 
easily  followed. 

In  classifying  the  languages  of  the  Pacific  States, 
the  marks  of  identification  vary  with  different  families. 
Thus  the  linguistic  affiliations  of  the  Tinneh  family  are 
founded,  not  so  much  on  certain  recurring  grammatical 
rules,  as  on  the  number  of  important  words  occurring 
under  the  same  or  slightly  altered  form.  In  the  Aztec 
language,  the  reverse  of  this  is  true;  for  although  to 
some  extent,  in  the  establishing  of  relationships,  we  are 
governed  by  verbal  similarities,  yet  we  also  find  posi- 
tive grammatical  rules  which  carry  with  them  much 
more  weight  than  mere  word  likenesses. 

For  example,  in  the  north,  wherever  Aztec  traces 
are  found,  the  Aztec  substantive  endings  tl  and  tli  are 
either  abbreviated  or  changed  according  to  a  regular 
system  into  ti,  te,  t,  de,  re,  K,  Ice,  ca,  la,  ri.  Aztec 
numerals  are  used  by  these  northern  nations,  but  in 
greatly  modified  forms;  personal  pronouns  are  there 
found  but  little  changed,  while  demonstrative,  inter- 


INLAND  AND  COAST  LANGUAGES.  559 

rogative,  and  indefinite  pronouns  likewise  show  signs 
of  Aztec  origin.  The  ending  ame,  which,  attached  to 
the  verb,  designates  the  person  acting,  can  be  plainly 
traced;  while  among  these  same  northern  nations  of 
which  I  am  speaking  is  found  that  certain  system  of 
Lautverschiebung r,  or  sound-shunting,  originally  discov- 
ered by  Grimm  in  the  Indo-Germanic  family,  and  by 
Professor  Max  Miiller  called  Grimm's  law. 

In  the  pursuance  of  this  investigation,  I  noticed  a 
twofold  curiosity  which  may  be  worthy  of  mention. 
Throughout  the  great  North-west,  as  well  in  most  of 
the  many  Tinneh  vocabularies  as  elsewhere,  is  found 
the  Aztec  word  for  stone,  tetl,  sometimes  slightly 
changed,  but  always  recognizable,  and  to  which  the 
same  meaning  is  invariably  attached;  while  on  the 
other  hand,  the  Tinneh  word  for  fire,  cun,  or  coon, 
appears  in  like  manner  in  several  of  the  Mexican  lan- 
guages, and  I  even  noticed  it  in  the  vocabulary  of  a 
Honduras  nation.  This  may  be  purely  accidental, 
but  both  being  important  words,  I  thought  best  to 
draw  attention  to  the  fact. 

The  larger  linguistic  families  are  for  the  most  part 
found  inland,  while  along  the  sea-shore  the  speech  of  the 
people  is  broken  into  innumerable  fragments.  Par- 
ticularly is  this  the  case  along  the  shores  of  the  North- 
west. South  of  Acapulco,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Aztec 
tongue  holds  the  seaboard  for  some  distance ;  but  again, 
farther  south,  as  well  as  on  the  gulf  coast,  there  is 
found  a  great  diversity  in  languages  and  dialects.  In 
California  the  confusion  becomes  interminable,  as  if 
Babel-builders  from  every  quarter  of  the  earth  had 
here  met  to  the  eternal  confounding  of  all ;  yet  there 
are  linguistic  families  even  in  California,  principally 
in  the  northern  part.  It  is  not  at  all  improbable  that 
Malays,  Chinese,  or  Japanese,  or  all  of  them,  did  at 
some  time  appear  in  what  is  now  North  America,  in 
such  numbers  as  materially  to  influence  language,  but 
hitherto  no  Asiatic  nor  European  tongue,  excepting 
always  the  Eskimo,  has  been  found  in  America;  nor 
have  affinities  with  any  other  language  of  the  world 


560  GENERAL  REMARKS. 

been  discovered  sufficiently  marked  to  warrant  the 
claim  of  relationship.  Theorizers  enough  there  have 
been  and  will  be;  for  centuries  to  come  half-fledged 
scientists,  ignorant  of  what  others  have  done,  or 
rather  have  failed  to  do,  will  not  cease  to  bring  for- 
ward wonderful  conceptions,  striking  analogies;  will 
not  cease  to  speculate,  linguistically,  ethnologically, 
cosmographically,  and  otherwise,  to  their  own  satis- 
faction and  to  the  confusion  of  their  readers.  The 
absurdity  of  these  speculations  is  apparent  to  all  but 
the  speculator.  No  sooner  is  a  monosyllabic  lan- 
guage, the  Otomi,  discovered  in  America  than  up 
rises  a  champion,  Senor  Najera,  claiming  the  distinc- 
tion for  the  Chinese,  and  with  no  other  result  than  to 
establish  both  as  monosyllabic,  which  was  well  enough 
known  before.  So  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
who  has  given  the  subject  more  years  of  study  and 
more  pages  of  printed  matter  than  any  other  writer, 
unless  it  be  the  half-crazed  Lord  Kingsborough,  first 
attempts  to  prove  that  the  Maya  languages  are  derived 
from  the  Latin,  Greek,  English,  German,  Scandina- 
vian, or  other  Aryan  tongues ;  then  that  all  these  lan- 
guages are  but  offshoots  trom  the  Maya  itself,  which 
is  the  only  true  primeval  language.  So  much  for  in- 
temperate speculation,  which,  whether  learned  or  shal- 
low, too  often  originates  in  doubt  and  ends  in  obscurity. 
To  show  the  futility  of  such  attempts,  let  me  give 
a  few  words,  analogous  both  in  signification  and  sound, 
selected  from  American,  European,  Asiatic,  and  other 
languages,  between  which  it  is  now  well  established 
that  no  relationship  exists.  For  the  German  ja 
we  have  the  Shasta  ya;  for  komm,  the  Comanche 
Jcim;  for  Kopf,  the  Cahita  coba;  for  weinen,  the  Cora 
vyeine;  for  thun,  the  Tepehuana  duni;  for  nichts,  nein, 
the  Chinook  nixt,  nix.  For  the  Greek  ?copa£,  there  is 
the  Tarahumara  colatschi;  for  e[ta$vv,  fia&elv,  the  Cora 
muate;  for  yvvq,  the  Cahita  cuna.  For  the  Latin  hie, 
vaSj  we  have  the  Tepehuana  hie,  vase;  for  mucor,  the 
Cora  mucuare;  for  lingua,  the  Moqui  linga;  for  vallis, 
the  Kalapooya  walldh;  for  toga,  manus,  the  Kenai 


ACCIDENTAL  WORD-SIMILARITIES.  561 

togaai,  man.  For  the  French  casser,  we  find  the 
Tarahumara  cassnialer;  for  tdtonner,  the  Tepehuana 
tatame.  For  the  Spanish  hueco,  the  Tarahumara 
hoco;  for  tuetano,  the  Cora  tutana.  For  the  Italian 
cosi,  the  Tarahumara  cossi;  for  the  Arabic  dchar,  the 
Tarahumara  ajare;  for  the  Hawaiian  po,  the  Sekumne 
po  (night). 

For  the  Sanscrit  da,  there  is  the  Cora  ta  (give);  for 
eke,  the  Miztec  ec  (one);  for  md,  the  Tepehuana  mai 
(not)  and  the  Maya  ma  (no);  for  masd  (month),  the 
Pima  mahsa  (moon);  for  tschandra  (moon),  the  Kenai 
tschane  (moon);  forpada  (foot),  the  Sekumne podo  (leg); 
for  Jcamd  (love),  the  Shoshone  kamakh  (to  love);  for 
pa,  the  Kizh  paa  (to  drink).  For  the  Malay  tdna,  we 
have  the  Tepehuana  tani  (to  ask);  for  hurip,  tabah, 
the  Cora  huri  (to  live),  tabd  (to  beat);  for  homah,  the 
Shasta  6ma  (house),  and  so  on. 

These  examples  I  could  increase  indefinitely,  and 
show  striking  similarities  in  some  few  words  between 
almost  any  two  languages  of  the  world.  When  there 
are  enough  of  them  similar  in  sound'  and  signification 
in  any  two  tongues  to  constitute  a  rule  rather  than  ex- 
ceptions, such  languages  are  said  to  be  related ;  but 
where,  as  in  the  above-cited  instances,  these  similari- 
ties are  merely  accidental,  to  prove  them  related  would 
prove  too  much,  for  then  all  the  languages  of  the  earth 
might  be  said  to  be  related. 

In  treating  of  the  languages  of  the  Pacific  States, 
commencing  with  those  of  the  north  and  proceeding 
southward,  I  make  it  a  rule  to  follow  them  wherever 
they  lead,  without  restricting  myself  to  place  or  nation. 
One  nation  may  speak  two  languages;  the  same  lan- 
guage may  be  spoken  by  a  dozen  nations,  and  if  the 
evidence  is  such  as  to  imply  the  existence  of  the  same 
language,  or  traces  of  it,  in  Alaska  and  in  Sonora,  I  can 
do  no  less  than  step  from  one  place  to  the  other  in  speak- 
ing of  it.  Besides  the  names  and  localities  of  languages 
and  linguistic  families,  I  shall  endeavor  to  give  some 
idea  of  their  several  peculiar  characteristics,  their 

VOL.  Ill     36 


562 


CLASSIFICATION   OF  LANGUAGES. 


grammatical  construction,  with  such  specimens  of  each 
as  will  enable  the  student  to  make  comparisons  and 
draw  inferences.  In  the  following  table  I  have  at- 
tempted a  classification  of  these  languages;  but  in 
some  instances,  from  the  lack  of  vocabularies  taken 
before  the  intermixtures  that  followed  the  advent  of 
Europeans,  any  classification  can  be  but  approximative. 


CLASSIFICATION   OF   THE   ABORIGINAL  LANGUAGES   OF 
THE  PACIFIC   STATES. 


Eskimo  . . 


f  Naggeuktormute 
Kittear 
Northern     J  Kangmali-Innuin 
Eskimo        j  Nuwangmeun 
1  Nunatangmeuu 
^  Kitegue 

r  Malemute 

Anlygmute 

Chnagmute 

Pashtolik 

Southern 
Eskimo       j 

Kangjulit  \ 

or 

Magemute 

Koniagan 

Agulmute 

Kejataigmute 

Aglegmute 

Chugatsch 

Kadiak 

Kiiskoquigmute 
K  wichpag  mute 


Aleut. 


Thlinkeet. 


Unalaska 
Atkha 

f  Yakutat 
j  Chilkat 

Hoodsinoo 

Takoo 

J  ,4u.k 


Eastern 
Division 


Sitka 
Eeliknoo 
Stikeen 
Tungass 

f  Sawessaw-tinneh  or  Chepewyan 

Tantsawhoot-tinneh  or  Coppermine  River 

Horn  Mountain 

Beaver 

Thlingcha-tinneh  or  Dog-Rib 

Kawcho-tinneh  or  Hare 

Ambawtawhoot-tinneh  or  Sheep 

Sarsis  or  Sursees 

Tsillawdawhoot-tinneh  or  Brush- wood 

Nagailer 

Slouacuss-tinneh 

Rocky  Mountain 
|^  Edchawtawoot-tinneh 


CLASSIFICATION   OF  LANGUAGES, 


5S3 


Tinneh...  -{ 


•    < 

Degothi-kutchin  or  Loucheux 

Vanta-kutchin 

Natche-kutchin 

Kukuth-kutchiii 

Kutchin.  ,  *  - 

Tutchone-kutchin 
Tathzey-kutchin 

Han-kutchin 

Western 

Artez-kutchin 

Division 

Kutcha-kutchin 

t  Tenan-kutchin 

r  Junakachotana 

Jugelnut 

Ingalik 

Kenai  •< 

Inkalit 
Kenai 

Ugalenz 

Atnah  or  Nehanne" 

Koltschane 

•    • 

Tautin  or  Talkotin 

Tsilkotin  or  Chilkotin 

Naskotin 

Thetliotin 

Tacully 

Tsatsnotiii 
Nulaautin 

or           '  .  * 
Carrier 

Ntshaautin 
Natliautin 

Nikozliautin 

Central 
Division 

Tatshiautin 
Babine 
Sicaniii 

Tlatskanai 

Qualhioqua 

Umpqua 

Lassies 

Wilacki 

Hoopah  .  .  .  „  - 

Haynaggi 
Tolewah 

Tahahteen 

Siah 

f  ' 

'Apache  proper 

Tonto 

Chiricagui 

Gileno 

Mimbreno 

Faraon 

Mescalero 

Southern    , 
Division    " 

Apaches.  .  .  - 

Llanero 
Lipan 
Vaquero 

Xicarilla 

Natage 

Pinaleno 

Coyotero 

Tejua 

Coppermine 

. 

^Navajo 

564 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  LANGUAGES. 


Haidah, 


Nass. 


Bellacoola 
Cliimsyau 


Nootka. 


Haidah 
Kaiganie 

Nass 

Sebassa 

liailtza 


Quackoll 

Cowichin 

Tlaoquatch 

Uclenu 

Quane 

Quactoe 

Koskiemo 

Quatsino 

Kycucut 

Aitizzaht 

Chicklezaht 

Ahazaht 

Eshquaht 

Klaizzaht 

Nitinaht 

Toquaht 

Seshaht 

Clayoquot 

Patcheena 

Soke 

Nimkish 

Wickinninish 

Songhie 

Sanetch 

Comux 

Noosdalum 

Kwantlum 

Teet 

Nanaimo 

Tacuita 

Ucleta 

Neculta 

Queehaniculta 

Newittee 

Saukaulutuck 

Makah 

Newchemasa 

Shimiahmoo 

Nooksak 

Samish 

Skagit 

Snohomish 

Chimakum 

Clallam 

Toanhooch 


CLASSIFICATION   OF  LANGUAGES. 


565 


Salish , 


Kootenai 


Sahaptin . 


AVaiilatpu , 


Chinook. . 


Salish  proper  or  Flathead 

Lumnri 

Clallam 

Kullespelm  or  Penci  d'Oreilles 

Shushwap 


Spokai 


Soaiatlpi 

Qkanagan., « 

Skitsuish,  or  Coeur  d'Alene 

Pisqtiouse 

Cowlitz 

Nsietshaw 


(  Sngomenei 
•j  Snpoilschi 
(  Syk'eszilni 

St  lakam 


Chehalis.. 
Nisqually 


f  Sahaptin  proper  or  Nez  Perca 

Walla  Walla 
J  Palouse 
I  Yakima 

Kliketat 
[  Tairtla 

j  Cayuso 
i  Mollale 

Chinook 

Wakiakum 

Cathlamet 

Clatsop 

Multnomah 

Skilloot 

Watlala,  , 


(  Chehalis  proper 
•<  Quaiant). 
(  Queniauitl 


Yamkally 
Calapooya 
Chinook  Jargon 


Tototin 
Yakou 


Klamath  .... 


(  Lutuami  or  Klamath 
-j  Modoc 
(  Copah 


Shasta  . 


Shasta 
Palaik 

Watsahewah 


Euroc 

Cahroc 

Oppegach 


566 


CLASSIFICATION   OF  LANGUAGES. 


Pataway  or 
Weitspeek 


f  Pataway 
J  Veeard 
1  Weeyot 
I  Wishosk 


Ehnek  or  Pehtsik 

Howteteoh 

Nabiltse 

Patawat 

Chillulah 

Wheelcutta 

Kailta 

Chimalaquai 


Yuka. 


Porno. 


Yuka 

Tahtoo 

Wapo  or  Ashochemie 

•Ukiah 
Gallinomero 
Masallamagoon 
Gualala 
Matole 
Kulanapo 
Sanel 
Yonios 
Choweshak 
Batemdakaie 
Chocuyem 
Olamentke 
Kainamare 
Chwachamaju 


Cushna 

Kinkla 

Yuba 

Sonoma 

Oleepa 

Yoloy  or  Yolo 

Nemshous 

Colusa 

Bashonee 

Veshanack 

Meidoo 

Neeshenam 


Sacramento 
Valley 


Eastern 
Dialects 


'Ochecamne 
Serouskumne 
Chupumne 
Omochumne 
Secumne 
Walagumne 
Cosumne 
Sololumne 
Turealumne 
Saywamiiie 
Newichumne 
Matchemne 
.Sagayayunme 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  LANGUAGES. 


567 


-r,     .             (  Muthelemne 
Eastern       \  s       tatumue 
Dialects      |  TJatiu 

Puzlumne 

Sacramento 
Valley 
Languages 

Western 

Yasumne 
Pujuiii 
Sekumne 
Kisky 

Dialects 

Yalesumne 

Huk 

Yukal 

Tsamak 

Nemshaw 

Napobatin 


Napa. 


Mustitul 

Tulkay 

Suisun 

Karquines 

Tomales 

Lekatuit 

Petaluma 

Guiluco 

Tulare 

Hawhaw 

Coconoon 

Yocut 

Matalan 

Salse 

Quirote 

Olhone 

Runsien 

Eslene 

Ismuracan 

Aspianaque 

Sakhone 

Chalone 

Katlendaruca 

Poytoqui 

Mutsun 

Thamien 

Chowchilla 

Meewoc  . 

Tatch6 

San  Miguel 

Santa  Cruz 


INapa 
Myacoma 
Calayomane 
Caymus 
Uluca 
Suscol 


Shoshone. 


fShoshone 
I  Wihinasht 
I  Bannack 
I  Shoshokee 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  LANGUAGES. 


"Utah 

Uintatite 

Goshute 

Piute 

Utah  - 

Pahute 

1  Paiulee 

H 

Washoe 

§ 

8 

Sampitche 
[Mono 

o 
in 

Comanche 

Moqui 

Kizh 

Netela 

Kechi 

Chemehuevi 

Cahuillo 

f                                               1 
IQueres  ,  ,,  J 

Kiwomi  . 
0  o  c  li  i  to  mi 

< 

Aconia 

Tegua  or  Tezuque 

i, 

PH 

Picoris 

*Temez 

Zufli 

Yuma 

Maricop'a 

Cuchan 

Diegeno 

JCANS. 

Chevet 

Yampais 
Yavipais 

1' 

Cajuenche  -J 

Cajuenche 

Jalliquamai 

K 

Tamajab 

" 

Beneme  ...                      ] 

Tecuiche 

Teniqueche 

Covaji 

1 

Noche 

g 

Cochimi  .  .                   .  .  •] 

Laymoii 

Jfj 

I 

Ika 

§ 

i 

Cora 

3- 

Monqui 

o  " 

Didiu 

s 

Liyue 
Edu 

9 

Uchitie 

Pericti 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  LANGUAGES. 


569 


Pima  Alto. 
Pima  Bajo 


Papago 

,-M       -i  • 

ipuris 


Opata. 


f  Eudeve 
Teguis 
Teguima 
Coguinachie 

•{  Batuca 
Sahuaripa 
Himeri 
Guazaba 


Cahita... 


Zoe 

Guazave 

Batuca 

Albino 

Ocoroni 

Vocaregui 

Zuaque 

Comoporis 

Ahome 

Mocorito 

Petatlan 

Huite 

Ore 

Macoyahui 

Tauro 

Troes 

Nio 

Cahuimeto 

Tepave 

Ohuero 

Chicorata 

Basopa 

Tarahumara. 


Mayo 
Yaqui 
Tehueco 


Varogio 

Guazapare 

Pachera 


Concho 

Toboso 

Julime 

Piro 

Suma 

Chinarra 

Irritilia 

Tejano 

Tubar 


Tepehuana 


570 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  LANGUAGES. 


( 

Topia 

Acaxee  -, 

Sabaibo 

5 

Xixime 

g 

Zacatec 

N 

Cazcane 

Mazapile 

to 

Huitcole 

B 
i 

Guachichile 

H 

Colotlan 

§ 

Tlaxomultec 

£ 

Tecuexe 

Tepecano 

Muiitzicat 

Cora  •< 

Teakualitzigti 
Cora,  or  Ateakari 

Aztec,  Mexican,  or  Nahuatl 

a! 

Otomi  - 

Otomi 
Mazahua 

1 

Pame 

w 

Meco,  or  Serrano 

<J 

Ye'me- 

H 

Olive 

W 

Xanambre 

O 

Pisone 

Tamaulipec 

Tarasco 

Matlaltzinca 

^         Ocuiltec 

r 

rTepuzculano 

Yangiiistlan 
Miztec  baja 

Miztec  alta 

Cuixlahuac 

Miztec  ~{ 

Tlaxiaco 

Cuilapa 

!K 

SB 

Mictlantongo 
Tamazulapa 

1 

Xal  tepee 

M 

X! 

Nochiztlan 

S  , 

Chocho,  or  Chuchone 

I 

Amusgo 
Mazatec 

I 

Cuicatec 

t3 

Chatino 

CO 

Tlapanec 

Chinantec 

Popoluca 

| 

•Zaachilla 

Zapotec        .                 < 

Ocotlan 
Etla 

Netzicho 

CLASSIFICATION   OF  LANGUAGES.  571 


I  Serrano  de  Itztepec 
I  Serrano  de  Cajonos 

Zapotec iBeniXono 

Serrano  de  Miahuatlan. 


Mije 
Huave 


Huastec...  |  Chakalmati 


fTetikilhati 
Chakalmati 
Ipapaiia 
Tatiniolo,  or  Naolingo 


Totonac 

Chiapanec 

Tloque 

Zotzil 

Zeldal-quelen 

Vebetlateca 

Mam 

Achie 

Guatemaltec 

Cuettac 

Hhirichota 

Pokonchi 

Caechicolchi 

Tlacacebastla 

Apay 

Poton 

Taulepa 

Ulua 

Quiche 

Cakchiquel 

Zutugil 

Chorti 

Alaguilac 

Caichi 

Ixil 

Zoque 

Cox  oh 

Chanabal 

Choi 

Uzpantec 

Aguacateo 

Quechi 

Maya 

Carib 

Mosquito 

Poya 

Towka 

Seco 

Valiente 

Rama 

Cookra 

Woolwa 

Toonglas 


572  CLASSIFICATION   OF  LANGUAGES. 


Lenca 

Smoo 

Teguca 

Albatuina 

Jara 


o 


Gaula 


^      Motuca 
Fansasma 
Sambo 


(4  r 

w    '  Coribici 


: 


•Sj  J  Chorotega 
Chontal 
Orotina 


g  : 

w 
O    I 


^   f  Blanco 
g     Tiribi 
^  -|  Talamanca 
^    |  Chiripo 
^   [_  Guatuso 


Nicoya 

Cerebaro 

Chiriqui 

Burica 

Veragua 

Paris 

Escoria 

Biruqueta 

Nata 

Urraca 

Chiru 

Chame 

Chicacotra 

Saiigana 

Guarara 

Cutara 

Panama 

Chuchura 

Chagro 

Chepo 

Cueba 

Quarecua 

Chiape 

Ponca 

Pocora 

Zumanama 

Coiba 

Chitarraga 

Acla 

Careta 

Darien 

Abieiba 

Abenamecbey 

Dabaiba 

Birtl 


-  . 


CLASSIFICATION   OF  LANGUAGES.  573 


Tule 

Cholo 

Doracho 

Cimarron 

Bayaiio 

Cimarron 

Manzanillo,  or  San  Bias 

Man  dingo 

Cuna 

Cunacuna 

Choco 

Caomane 

Uraba 

Idiba 

Paya 

Goajiro 

Motilone 

Guaineta 

Cocina 


CHAPTER   II. 

HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

DISTINCTION  BETWEEN  ESKIMO  AND  AMERICAN — ESKIMO  PRONUNCIATION  AND 
DECLENSION — DIALECTS  OF  THE  KONIAGAS  AND  ALEUTS — LANGUAGE  OF 
THE  THLINKEETS — HYPOTHETICAL  AFFINITIES — THE  TINNEH  FAMILY  AND 
ITS  DIALECTS — EASTERN,  WESTERN,  CENTRAL,  AND  SOUTHERN  DIVISIONS 
— CHEPEWYAN  DECLENSION — ORATORICAL  DISPLAY  IN  THE  SPEECH  OF 
THE  KUTCHINS — DlALECTS  OF  THE  Al'NAHS  AND  UGALENZES  COMPARED — 
SPECIMEN  OF  THE  KOLTSHANE  TONGUE — TACULLY  GUTTURALS — HOOPAH 
VOCABULARY  —  APACHE  DIALECTS  —  LIPAN  LORD'S  PRAYER — NAVAJO 
WORDS — COMPARATIVE  VOCABULARY  OF  THE  TINNEH  FAMILY. 

THE  national  and  tribal  distinctions  given  in  the 
first  volume  of  this  work  will,  for  the  most  part,  serve 
as  divisions  for  languages  and  dialects;  I  shall  not, 
therefore,  repeat  here  the  names  and  boundaries  be- 
fore mentioned,  except  so  far  as  may  be  necessary  in 
speaking  of  languages  alone.  As  a  rule,  those  physi- 
cal and  social  distinctions  which  indicate  severalness 
among  peoples  are  followed,  if  indeed  they  are  not 
governed,  by  the  severalness  of  dialects,  that  is,  the 
diversities  of  language  operate  as  powerfully  as  the 
aspects  of  nature  or  any  other  causes,  in  separating 
mankind  into  tribes  and  nations;  hence  it  is  that  in 
the  different  divisions  of  humanity  are  found  different 
dialects,  and  between  dialects  physical  and  geographi- 
cal divisions.1 

As  I  have  said  in  another  place,  the  Eskimos  are 
the  anomalous  race  of  the  New  World;  and  this  is  no 
less  true  in  their  language  than  in  their  physical  char- 

vol.  i.,  pr».  42  ct  sen.,  of  this  work. 

(574) 


LANGUAGES   ON  THE  ARCTIC   SEABOARD.  575 

acteristics.  Obviously,  they  are  a  polar  people  rather 
than  an  American  or  an  Asiatic  people.2  They  cling- 
to  the  seaboard;  and  while  the  distinction  between 
them  and  the  inland  American  is  clearly  drawn,  as  we 
descend  the  strait  and  sea  of  Bering,  cross  the  Alas- 
kan peninsula,  and  follow  the  shores  of  the  Pacific 
eastward  and  southward,  gradually  the  Arctic  dialect 
merges  into  that  of  the  American  proper.  In  our 
Hyperborean  group,  whose  southern  bound  is  the  fifty- 
fifth  parallel,  the  northern  seaboard  part  is  occupied 
wholly  by  Eskimos,  the  southern  by  a  people  called 
by  some  Eskimos  and  by  others  Koniagas,  while  far- 
ther on  the  graduation  is  so  complete,  and  the  transi- 
tion from  one  to  the  other  so  imperceptible,  that  it  is 
often  difficult  to  determine  which  are  Indians  and 
which  Eskimos.  In  treating  of  their  manners  and 
customs,  I  separated  the  littoral  Alaskans  into  two 
divisions,  calling  them  Eskimos  and  Koniagas,  but  in 
their  languages  and  dialects  I  shall  speak  of  them  as 
one.  No  philologist  familiar  with  the  whole  terri- 
tory has  attempted  to  classify  these  Hyperborean 
tongues;  different  writers  refer  the  languages  of  all 
to  such  particular  parts  as  they  happen  to  be  familiar 
with.  Thus  the  Russian  priest  Veniaminoff  divides 
the  Eskimo  language  into  six  dialects,  all  belonging  to 
the  Koniagas,  on  the  Kadiak  Islands  and  the  adjacent 

2  'Ces  deux  langues sont  absolument  la  me  me  que  celle  des  Vogules, 

habitants  de  la  Tartarie,  et  la  meme  que  celle  des  Lapons.'  Monglave,  in. 
Antiq.  Mex.,  torn,  i.,  div.  i.,  p.  65.  '  Les  Esquimaux  d'Amerique  et  les  Tchout- 
chis  de  I'extrernite  nord  de  1'Asie  orientale. . .  .ilest  aise  de  reconnaitre  qu'ih 
appartiennent  a  une  meme  famille.'  Mofras,  Explor.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  330.  'The 
whole  arctic  shore  of  North  America  is  possessed  by  the  Esquimaux  and 
Greenlanders,  who  speak  an  original  tongue  called  Karalit.'  McCulloctis  Re- 
searches in  Amer.,  p.  36.  '  The  Arctic  region  is  mainly  covered  by  dialects  of 
a  single  language — the  Eskimo.'  Latham's  Comp.  Phil.,  vol.  viii.,  p.  384. 
'  Der  Amerikanische  Sprachtypus,  die  Eskimo-Sprache,  reicht  hiniiber  nach 
Asien.'  Btischmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  711.  'Alle  Eskimos  sprechen 
im  Wesentlichen  dieselbe  Sprache.'  Baer,  Stat.  u.  Ethno.,  p.  280.  'The  lan- 
guage of  the  Western  Esquimaux  so  nearly  resembles  that  o^  the  tribes  to  the 
eastward.'  Beediey's  Voyage,  vol.  ii.,  p.  311;  Sauer's  Billings'  Ex.,  p.  245; 
Kotzebue's  Voyage,  vol.  iii.,  p.  314;  Franklins  Nar.,  vol.  i.,  p.  30;  Dease  and 
Simpson,  in  Lond.  Geofj.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  viii.,  p.  222;  Seemanns  Voy.  Herald, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  68.-  But  Vater  does  not  believe  that  the  language  extends  across 
to  Asia.  '  Bass  sich  wohl  ein  Einfluss  der  Eskimo-Sprache,  aber  nicht  diese 
selbst  iiber  die  zwischen  Asien  and  Amerika  liegenden  Inseln  erstreckt.' 
Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  pp.  458,  426. 


576  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

territory.  The  fact  is,  Venianrinoff  dwelt  in  southern 
Alaska  and  in  the  Aleutian  Isles,  and  knew  nothing 
of  the  great  inland  nations  to  the  north  and  west.  To 
the  people  of  Kadiak  he  gives  two  dialects,  a  northern 
and  a  southern,  and  carries  the  same  language  over  to 
the  main-land  adjacent.3  The  Russian  explorer,  Sa- 
goskin,  to  the  Chnagmute  dialect  of  Yeniaminoff 
unites  the  Kwichpagmute  and  Kuskoquigmute  under 
the  collective  name  of  Kangjulit,  of  which  with  the 
Kadiak  he  makes  a  comparative  vocabulary  establish- 
ing their  identity.4  In  like  manner,  Baer  classifies 
these  northern  languages,  but  confines  himself  almost 
exclusively  to  the  coast  above  Kadiak  Island.5 

Kotzebue  says  that  a  dialect  of  this  same  language 
is  spoken  by  the  natives  of  St  Lawrence  Island.6  Yet 
if  we  may  believe  Mr  Seemann,  all  these  dialects  are 
essentially  different.  The  Eskimo  language,  he  writes, 
"  is  divided  into  many  dialects,  which  often  vary  so 
much  that  those  who  speak  one  are  unable  to  under- 
stand the  others.  The  natives  of  Kotzebue  Sound,  for 
instance,  have  to  use  an  interpreter  in  conversing  with 
their  countrymen  in  Norton  Sound;  toward  Point 
Barrow  another  dialect  prevails,  which,  however,  is 
not  sufficiently  distinct  to  be  unintelligible  to  the 
Kotzebue  people."7 

According  to  Yater  and  Richardson,  the  Eskimo 
language  as  spoken  east  of  the  Mackenzie  River  ap- 
pears to  have  a  softer  sound,  as,  for  instance,  for  the 
western  ending  tch  the  eastern  tribes  mostly  use  s  and 
sometimes  h.  The  German  sound  ch,  guttural,  is  fre- 
quently heard  among  the  western  people.  Nouns 
have  six  cases,  the  changes  of  which  are  expressed  by 

3  Veniaminojf,  Ueber  die  Sprachen  des  russ.  Amer.,  in  Erman,  Archiv.,  torn. 
vii.,  No.  1,  pp.  123  et  seq. 

tSagodan,  Tagebuch,  in  Russ.  Geog.  Gesell,  Denkschr.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  359  et 
seq. 

5  '  Alle  diese  Volkerschaften  reden  eine  Sprache  and  gehoren  zu  einem  und 

demselben  Stamme,  der  sich  auch  weiter  nordlich  liiAgs  der  Kiiste ausde- 

hnt.'  Baer,  Stat.  u.  Ethno.,  p.  122. 

6  Kotzcbue's  Voyage,  vol.  ii.,  p.  175. 

7  Of  the  similarity  between  the  Kadiak  and  Alaska  idiom,  Langsdorff  says: 
'  In  a  great  degree  the  clothing  and  language  of  the  Alaskans  are  the  same  as 
those  of  the  people  of  Kodiak.     Voy.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  236.  teemann's  Voy.  Herald, 
vol.  ii.,  pp.  68-9. 


EXAMPLES  OF  THE  ESKIMO  GRAMMAR.  577 

affixed  syllables.  These  are  in  the  singular  mut,  mik, 
mit,  me,  and  kut,  and  in  the  plural  nut,  nik,  nit,  ne,  and 
gut.  Ga,  go,  ne,  ait,  anga,  ara,  etc.,  affixed  to  the  nom- 
inative, denote  a  possessive  case;  as,  kivgah,  a  ser- 
vant; kivganga,  my  servant;  kivgane,  his  servant; 
etc.  Arsu  and  arsuit  are  diminutive  endings,  and  soak, 
sudset,  and  siidsek  augmentatives.  -Adjectives  are  also 
declinable.  Nouns  can  be  transposed  into  verbs  by 
affixing  evok  and  ovok,  and  the  adjective  is  altered  in 
the  same  manner. 

The  third  person  singular  of  the  indicative  is  taken 
as  the  root  of  the  verb,  and  by  changing  its  termina- 
tion it  may  be  used  as  a  noun.  The  infinitive  is  formed 
by  the  postposition  nek.  The  verb  has  numerous  in- 
flections. 

'To  be'  or  'to  have,'  both  possessing  a  similar  sig- 
nification, are  expressed  by  gi  or  m\  as,  nunagiva,  it 
is  his  land. 

Richardson  gives  the  following  declension  of  a  noun, 
transitively  and  intransitively  (?): 

TUPEK,   A  TENT. 

SINGULAR  DUAL  PLURAL 

turket 


intr.  turkib 

Gen.  turkib  tuppak  turket 

Dat.     tr.  tuppek  tuppak  turket 

intr.  tuppermut  tuppangnut  tuppernut 

Ace.     tr.  tuppak  tuppak  turkinut 

intr.  tuppernik  tuppangnit  turkit 

Abl.     tr.  tuppermit  tuppangnit  tuppermit 

intr.  tuppermut  tuppangnut  turkinnut8 

Some  claim  that  the  languages  of  Kadiak  and  the 
Aleutian  Islands  are  cognate,  others  deny  any  rela- 
tionship. Stephen  Glottoff,  one  of  the  first  to  visit 
Kadiak  Island,  states  positively  that  the  inhabitants 
of  Unalaska,  and  particularly  a  boy  from  the  Western 
Aleutian  Isles,  could  not  understand  the  people  of 

8  Richardson s  Jour.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  364  et  seq.;  Veniaminoff,  inErman,  Archiv, 
torn,  iii.,  No.  i.,  pp.  142-3;  Bc.echeys  Voyage,  vol.  ii.,  p.  366;  Vater,  Mithri- 
dates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  pp.  458  et  seq. ;  notes  on  the  Chugatsh  dialect  at  Prince 
William  Sound  in  Cool's  Voy.  to  Pac.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  374-6,  and  Portlock's  Voy.t 
pp.  254-5. 

VOL.  LU.    37 


578  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

Kadiak.9  Captain  Cook  thought  there  existed  a  pho- 
netic similarity  between  the  speech  of  the  Unalaskas 
and  the  people  of  Norton  Sound,  which  opinion  ap- 
pears to  be  correct.10  So  disarranged  have  the  abor- 
iginal tongues  in  this  vicinity  become  since  the  advent 
of  the  Russians,  that  little  dependence  can  be  placed 
on  latter-day  investigations.  Dall  admits  the  speech 
of  the  two  peoples  to  be  dissimilar,  yet  their  language 
he  believes  to  be  one.11  Vater,  more  cautious,  thinks 
that  there  is  perhaps  some  Eskimo  influence  notice- 
able among  the  Koniagas.12  Baer  gives  Admiral  Yon 
Wrangell's  opinion,  which  also  inclines  toward  such  a 
connection,  but  he  himself  expresses  the  opposite  be- 
lief, citing  in  support  of  this  that  the  physical  appear- 
ance of  the  Coniagas  differs  entirely  from  that  of  the 
Eskimo  race.13  Buschmann  gives,  as  the  result  of  care- 
ful investigations  and  comparisons,  the  opinion  that 
the  language  of  Unalaska  is  distinct  from  that  of  Ka- 
diak, and  supports  it  by  the  statements  of  travellers, 
as,  for  instance,  that  of  the  mate  Saikoff,  given  in  the 
Neue  Nordische  Beitrage,  torn,  iii.,  p.  284,  who  says  that 
the  two  are  totally  different. 

Throughout  the  whole  Aleutian  Archipelago  there 
are  but  two  dialects,  one  of  which  is  spoken  on  the 
peninsula,  on  Unalaska,  and  a  few  islands  contiguous, 
while  the  other — by  Veniaminoff  called  the  Atkha 
dialect — extends  thence  over  all  the  other  Aleutian 
Isles.  In  neither  dialect  is  there  any  distinction  of 
gender;  but  to  make  up  for  this  deficiency,  besides 
the  plural,  a  dual  is  used.  Substantives  have  three 
cases:  adakch,  the  father;  adam  or  adaganilyak,  of 
the  fether;  adaman,  to  the  father;  adakik  or  adakin, 
both  fathers;  adan,  the  fathers;  adanik,  to  the  fa- 
thers. Verbs  are  conjugated  by  means  of  terminals. 

9  '  Er  konnte  die  Sprache  dieser  Insulaner  nicht verstehen. '  Neue  Nach- 

richten,  p.  105. 

10  Cook's  Voy.  to  Pac.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  522. 

11  Doll's  Alaska,  pp.  377-8. 

12 '  Dass  sich  wohl  sin  Einfluss  der  Eskimo-Sprache  aber  nicht  diese  selbst 
iiber  die  zwischen  Asien  and  Amerika  liegenden  Inseln  erstreckt.'  Vater- 
Mithridatex,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  458. 

13 '  Der  Bewohner  von  Unalaschka  kann  den  von  Kadjack  gar  nicht  ver- 
stehen.' Baer,  Stat.  u.  El/mo.,  pp.  123-289. 


ATKHA  AND  UNALASKA  DIALECTS.  579 

They  are  divided  into  three  classes,  active,  medium, 
and  passive.  Negation  is  expressed  by  the  syllable 
oljuk  added  to  the  root  of  the  verb ;  sometimes  also  by 
Ijaka,  Ijaga,  or  gana.  Sjukong,  I  take;  sjunakcking, 
I  took;  sjuljalcakching,  I  take  not;  sjunag'oljuting,  I 
took  not;  sjuda,  take;  sjuljagada,  or  sjuganachtchin, 
take  not. 

The  eastern  Aleuts  enunciate  very  rapidly,  without 
dividing  their  words  distinctly,  making  it  very  difficult 
for  a  stranger  to  understand  them.  In  Unalaska,  their 
speech  is  more  drawling,  while  on  Atkha  Island  the 
natives  pronounce  each  word  very  distinctly.  The 
western  Aleuts  and  the  people  on  Umnak  also  speak 
rather  slowly — drawling.14  Dall  states  that  the  chief 
difference  between  the  Atkha  and  Unalaska  dialects 
consists  in  the  formation  of  the  plural  of  nouns.  The 
former  for  this  purpose  employ  the  terminal  letters  s, 
sh,  or  ng.  For  diminutives,  the  Atkhas  use  the  end- 
ing kutshak  and  the  Unalaskas  dak.15 

On  the  next  page  I  insert  a  vocabulary  of  Eskimo, 
Kuskoquigmute,  Malemute,  Aleut,  and  Kadiak  ton- 
gues. 

Turn  now  to  the  Thlinkeets,  who  extend  along  the 
coast  southward  from  Mount  St  Elias,  as  Holmberg 
says,  to  the  Columbia  River;16  Chlebikoif,  to  the 
forty -first  parallel;  Vater,  to  Queen  Charlotte  Island  ;17 
and  Veniaminoif,  to  the  Stikeen  River;  the  latter 
affirming  at  the  same  time  that  there  is  but  one  dia- 
lect spoken  among  them  all.18  The  nations  mentioned 

14 '  Dass sich  das  aleutische  Idiom . . . .  als  ein  eigner,  von  dem  grossen 

eskimoischen  ganz  verschiedener  Sprachtypus  erweist.'  Buschmann,  Spuren 
der  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp.  702  et  seq.  Veiiiaminoff 's  examples  are  as  follows:  active, 
he  took;  medium,  he  took  me;  passive,  he  was  born.  In  Erman,  Archiv,  torn, 
iii.,  No.  1,  pp.  136-8;  Veniamino/,  Sapiski  ob  Ostrovach  Oonalaskinskacho  Otjela, 
torn,  ii.,  pp.  264-71. 

15 Doll's  Alaska,  p.  386;    Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  pp.  459-460. 

16 'Von  St  Eliasberge  bis  himmter  zum  Columbia-strome. '  Holmberg, 
Ethno.  Skiz.,  p.  9. 

17 '  Sie  erstrecken  sich  von  lakutat  siidlich  bis  zu  den  Charlotten-Inseln. ' 
Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  219. 

3 '  Von  Ltu  bis  Stachin,  und  hat  fast  nur  einen  Dialect. '  Veniaminoff,  in 
Erman,  Archiv,  torn,  vii.,  No.  1,  p.  128. 


580 


HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 
COMPARATIVE  VOCABULARY.20 


ESKIMO. 

KUSKOQUIG- 
MUTE. 

MALEMUTE. 

ALEUT.                   KADIAK. 

Man 

tuak 

yugut 

enuk 

toioch               sewk 

\V  o  niciii. 

„  ffrio  Tr 

okanok 

aivagar 

Er 

knik 

iknik 

kignak 

kuok 

Water 
Salt 

Water 

Water 

mik 

immik 

taang^k            tuaii;rcik 

Earth 

nuni 

nuneh 

tshekak           nooua 

Stone 

aiigmak 

Dog      ] 

kenma  or 
kooneack 

annakhukkta 

kiyukmuk 

uikuk               !pswatit 

Knife 
( 

sequetat 
baittsaach 

chivichuk 

chowik             omgazshiz- 
Ishik 

tshaugielk 

Sun       \ 

maisak  or 

akhtah 

shukeenyuk 

akathak 

madzsliak 

neiya 

I 

Thou 

woonga            hwihka 
Ipit 

wunga 
illewit 

keen 

ingaan 

chooi 
chlput 

Eat       - 

ashadlooik  or; 
ishadlooweet  j   e  ga 

nugerunger 

kaangen 

pittooaga 

Yes 

a 

you 

wah 

aang 

aang 

.    I 

naga,  nau, 

No        \ 

tuum,  nao,      chashituk 

peechuk 

maselikan 

pedok 

( 

aunga 

One      | 

tegara  or 
adaitsuk 

atauchik 

atowsik 

attakon 

alcheluk 

Two 

milleit- 
sungnet 

malkhok 

malruk 

alluk 

malogh 

( 

pingettsat- 

Three  J 

sungnet  or 

painaivak 

pinyusut 

kankoon 

piiigaien 

I 

pingeyook 

T7* 

itsetummat  or 

jour 

setumet 

t'chamik 

setemat 

shitshin 

stamen 

Five     •< 

tadglemat 
adreyeet  or 

talimik 

telemat 

tshang 

taliman 

1 

taleema 

f  arkbunna 

Six 

aghwinnak 
akkaooin- 

akhvinok 

aghwinuleet 

attoon 

agovinligin 

elget 

f  aitpa 

achwinnigh- 

Seven  -(  ipagha 
!  mullaroonik 

ainaakhva- 

nain 

mahluditagh- 
wii>uleet 

olung 

malchongun 

or  bolruk 

Eight  , 

penayua 
penmyooik 
pegesset 

pinaiviak 

pinyusuni- 
laghwinuleet 

kamtshing 

inglulgin 

Nine     • 

i 

seetumna 
teeidimmik 

chtamiak- 
vanam 

koolinotyluk 

sitching 

kollemgaien 

T 

!tadleema  or 

Ten 

kdlit 

kullnuk 

kooleet 

hasuk 

kollen 

Eleven  - 

! 

attakatha- 
matkich 

alchtoch 

.......:::: 

20  Taken  from  Beechey's  Voyage,  vol.  ii. ;  Baer,  Stat.  u.  Ethno. 
and  Sauers  Billings'  Ex. 


;  DalVs  Alaska; 


HARSHNESS  OF  THE  THLINKEET  TONGUE.  581 

by  Captain  Bryant  as  speaking  this  language  are  the 
Chilkats,  Sitkas,  Hoodsinoos,  Auks,  Kakas,  Elikinoos, 
Stikeens,  and  Tungass.19 

From  all  accounts,  the  Thlinkeets  possess  the  most 
barbarous  speech  found  anywhere  in  the  Pacific  States. 
Whether  this  arises  from  the  huge  block  of  wood  with 
which  the  Thlinkeet  matrons  grace  their  under  lip, 
which  drives  the  sound  from  the  throat  through  the 
teeth  and  nose  before  it  reaches  the  ear  of  the  listener, 
I  do  not  pretend  to  say;  but  that  it  is  hard,  guttural, 
clucking,  hissing,  in  short  everything  but  labial,  there 
is  no  doubt.  All  who  have  visited  them,  whether 
German,  English,  French,  or  Spanish,  agree  in  this 
particular.  Marchand  describes  it  as  excessively  rude 
and  wild.  Most  of  their  articulations  are  accompanied 
by  a  strong  nasal  aspiration,  with  strenuous  efforts  of 
the  throat;  particularly  in  producing  the  sound  of  a 
double  r,  which  is  heavy  and  hard.  Many  of  their 
words  commence  with  a  strongly  guttural  Jc  sound,  and 
this  same  sound  is  frequently  heard  three  times  in  one 
word.  Dr  Roblet,  who  accompanied  Marchand,  says 
that,  notwithstanding  all  this,  the  language  is  very 
complete,  possessing  a  multitude  of  words,  the  natives 
being  at  no  loss  to  give  a  name  to  everything.21  La 
Perouse,  who  makes  a  similar  report,  gives  as  an 
example  of  its  harshness  the  word  Iclilrleies,  hair.22  In 
VeniaminofFs  vocabulary  are  found  such  words  as 
ihllcluntik,  healthy,  and  katlhth,  ashes,  literally  unpro- 
nounceable. The  frequently  occurring  sound  tl  has 
led  several  authors  to  suppose  a  relationship  with  the 
Aztec  tongue;  as,  for  example,  Vater,  who  made  a 
small  comparative  table,  which  I  insert  to  show  directly 
the  contrary  to  what  he  wished  to  prove. 

19 Bryant's  Jour.,  in  Artier.  Antiq.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  302.  The 
Tungass  language  'as  Mr  Tolmie  conjectured,  is  nearly  the  same  as  that 
spoken  at  Sitga.'  Scouler,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xi.,  p.  218. 

21  Marchand,  Voyage,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  109-10. 

22  L a  Perouse,  Voy.,  torn,  ii  ,  p.  238.     'Their  language  is  harsh  and  un- 
pleasant to  the  ear.'  PortlocJcs  Voy.,  p.  293.      'It  appears  barbarous,  uncouth, 
and  difficult  to  pronounce.*  Dixon's  Voy.,  p    172.      'La  dificil  pronunciacion 
de  sus  vozes ....  pues  las  f orman  de  la  garganta  con  un  movimiento  de  la 
le.ngua  contra  el  paladar.'  Bodega  y  Quadra,  Nav.t  MS.,  pp.  46-7. 


582  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

AZTEC.  THLINKEET. 

Mother  nantli  attli 

Brother  teachcauh  achaik  or  achonoik 

Face  xayacatl  kaga 

Forehead  yxquatl  kakak 

Strong  velitilizcotl  itlziii 

Depth  vecatlyotl  kattljan 

Stone  tetl     '  te 

Earth  tlalli  tljaknak  or  tlatka 

Duck  canauhtli  kauchu 

Star  citlati  tlaachztl 23 

Setting  aside  the  tetl,  te,  stone,  of  which  I  have  made 
previous  mention,  had  the  words  been  selected  to  prove 
a  want  of  affinity  between  the  two  languages,  they  could 
not  have  been  more  to  the  point.  Buschmann  asserts, 
moreover,  that  several  of  the  Mexican  words  are  mis- 
quoted.24 A  few  instances  have  been  discovered  by 
the  same  writer  where  the  Thlinkeet  tongue  appears 
to  be  verging  toward  the  Tinneh.  Among  others,  he 
mentions  the  Thlinkeet  words  te,  stone,  zyyn,  muskrat, 
comparing  the  latter  with  the  Dogrib  tzin;  the  Thlin- 
keet achschat,  woman,  wife,  with  the  Umpqua  sell  at; 
the  Thlinkeet  tje,  teik,  road,  with  the  Tacully  tee.25 
La  Perouse  pretends  that  they  do  not  use  and  can 
hardly  pronounce  the  letters  b,  /,  j,  d,  p,  and  v.  Most 
words  commence  with  k,  t,  n,  s,  or  m,  the  first  named 
being  the  most  frequently  used;  no  word  commences 
with  an  r.26  Yeniaminoff  again  says  that  it  would 
take  thirty-eight  letters  or  combinations  to  write  the 
distinct  sounds  which  are  expressed  in  the  Thlinkeet 
language.  The  personal  pronouns  are  Jchat  or  Ichatsh, 
I ;  bae^be,  or  belch,  thou ;  b  or  bch,  he ;  ban  or  bantch, 
we;  iban  or  ibantch,  you;  as  or  astch,^  or  youtas  or 
youastch,  they.  The  verb  'to  do'  is  conjugated  as  fol- 
lows:27 

23  Voter,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  in.,  pp.  212-13;  Holmberg,  Ethno.  Slciz., 
p.  16. 

24  'Von  der  ganzen  Liste  bleibt  allein  The,  Stein  als  ahnlich.'  Buschmann, 
Pima  u.  Koloschen  Sprache,  p.  386.      '  Zwischen  ihnen  und  der  mexicanischen 

in  Wortern  und  Grammatik  keine  Verwandtschaft  existirt ganzlich  vom 

Mex.  verschieden  sind. '  Buschmann,  Ortsnamen,  p.  69.      '  Je  ii'ai  trouve  aucuiie 

ressemblance  entre  les  mots  de  cette  langue  ct  celle  des Mexicains.    La 

Perouse,  Voy.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  240. 

25  Buschmann,  Pima  u.  Koloschen  Sprache,  p.  388. 
26 La  Pdrouse,  Voy.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  238-9. 

27  Veniaminoff,  Sapislci  ob  Ostrovach  OonalashUnsTcacho  Otjela,  torn,  iii.,  pp. 
149-51.  No  translation  is  given. 


THLINKEET  LOKD'S  PRAYER,  583 


PRESENT    INDICATIVE  FIRST    FUTURE 


SECOND    FUTURE 

enkbzini 


etakhani  ekbkazyani 

IMPERFECT  PERFECT 

etakhanegin  ekhbzini  or  ekhbzinnigin 

Vater  has  a  Lord's  Prayer  communicated  by  Bara- 
noff,  director  of  the  late  Russian  possessions  in  Amer- 
ica. It  reads  as  follows: 

Ais  waan,    wet  wwetu    tikeu;       ikukastii    itssagi 

Father       our,        who          art       in  the  clouds;       honored  be          name 

bae ;  faa  atkwakut  ikustigi  ibee ;  atkwakut  attiiitugati 

thine;      let  come  kingdom      thine,          be  done  will 

bee    ikachtekin    linkitani    zu    tlekw.      Katuachawat 

thine  as  we  in  heaven        and  on  earth.  Food 

udan   zuikwulkinichat  akech  udan  itat;    tamil   udan 

our  needful  give  us        to-day;     absolve         us 

tschaniktschak  aagi  zu   uaan  akut  tugati   ajat;    ilil 

debts  ours  as  also        we         give        debtors      our;     not  lead 

uan  zulkikagatii  tdat  anachut  uan  akalleelchwetach. 

us       into  temptation       but  deliver  us  from  the  evil  Spirit. 

Tu. 

So.28 

Next  come  the  Tinneh,  a  people  whose  diffusion  is 
only  equalled  by  that  of  the  Aryan  or  Semitic  nations 
of  the  Old  World.  The  dialects  of  the  Tinneh  lan- 
guage are  by  no  means  confined  within  the  limits  of 
the  Hyperborean  division.  Stretching  from  the  north- 
ern interior  of  Alaska  down  into  Sonora  and  Chihua- 
hua, we  have  here  a  linguistic  line  of  more  than  four 
thousand  miles  in  length,  extending  diagonally  over 
forty-two  degrees  of  latitude  ;  like  a  great  tree  whose 
trunk  is  the  Rocky  Mountain  range,  whose  roots  en- 
compass the  deserts  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  and 
whose  branches  touch  the  borders  of  Hudson  Bay2S> 

28  Vater,  Mitkridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  225. 

29 '  Dimensionen,  in  welchen  er  ein  ungeheures  Gebiete  im  Innern  des 
nordlichen  Continents  einnirnmt,  nahe  an  das  Eismeer  reicht,  und  queer 
das  nordamerikanische  Festland  durchzieht:  indem  er  im  Osten  die  Hud- 
sonsbai,  im  Siid  westen  in  abgestossenen  Stammen  am  Umpqua-Flusse  das 
stille  Meer  beriihrt.'  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  323.  '  This  great 
family  includes  a  large  number  of  North  American  tribes,  extending,  from 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie,  south  to  the  borders  of  Mexico.'  DalVs 
Alaska,  p.  428.  'There  are  outlyers  of  the  stock  as  far  as  the  southern 
parts  of  Oregon.  More  than  this,  there  are  Athabascans  in  California, 


584  •        HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

and  of  the  Arctic  and  Pacific  oceans.30  In  the  north, 
immense  compact  areas  are  covered  by  these  dialects; 
toward  the  south  the  line  holds  its  course  steadily  in 
one  direction,  while  at  the  same  time  on  either  side 
are  isolated  spots,  broken  fragments,  as  it  were,  of  the 
Tinneh  tongue,  at  wide  distances  in  some  cases  from 
the  central  line.  A  reference  to  the  classification  given 
at  the  end  of  the  preceding  chapter,  will  show  the 
separation  of  the  Tinneh  family  into  four  divisions — 
the  eastern,  western,  central,  and  southern.  The  east- 
ern division  embraces  the  dialects  spoken  between 
Hudson  Bay  and  the  Mackenzie  River ;  the  western, 
those  of  the  Kutchins  and  Kenai  of  interior  Alaska 
and  the  Pacific  coast  in  the  vicinity  of  Mount  St  Elias 
and  Copper  River;  the  central,  those  of  the  Tacullies 
of  New  Caledonia,  the  Umpquas  of  Oregon,  and  the 
Hoopahs  of  California ;  the  southern,  those  of  the 
Apaches  of  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and  northern 
Mexico. 

Near  the  sources  of  a  branch  of  the  Saskatchewan 
River  are  the  Sursees,  who  have  been  frequently  classed 
with  the  Blackfeet,  but  Mackenzie  had  before  this 
stated  that  they  speak  a  dialect  of  the  Tinneh.31  Um- 
freville,  who  visited  these  people,  compares  their  lan- 
guage to  the  cackling  of  hens,  and  says  that  it  is  very 
difficult  for  their  neighbors  to  learn  it.32 

Glance  first  at  the  dialects  round  Hudson  Bay,  and 
thence  towards  the  west.  The  northern  dialects  are 

New  Mexico  and  Sonora.'  Latliam's  Comp.  Phil.,  vol.  viiL,  p.  393.  'Dass 
er  in  seinem  Hauptgtirtel  von  der  nordlichen  Hudsonsbai  aus  fast  die  ganze 
Breite  des  Continents  durchlauf  fc;  und  dass  er  in  abgesonderten,  in  die  Feme 
geschleuderten  Gliedern,  gen  Siiden  nicht  allein  unter  dem  4Gten  (Tlatskaiiai 
und  Kwalhioqua)  und  43ten  Grade  nordlicher  Breite  (Umpqua)  das  stille 
Meer  beriihrt,  sondern  auch  tief  im  Inneen  in  den  Navajos  den  36teii  Grad 

trifft wahrend  er  im  Norden  und  Nordwesten  den  65ten  Grad  und  beinahe 

die  Gestade  des  Polarmeers  erreicht.'  Bmchmaun,  Athapask.  SpracJistammt 
p.  313.  See  also  vol.  i.,  pp.  114,  143-9. 

™Gibbs,  in.timit1isonianRept.,  1866,  p.  303. 

31 '  The  Sarsees  who  are  but  few  in  number,  appear  from  their  language,  to 
come  on  the  contrary  from  the  North-Westward,  and  are  of  the  same  people 

as  the  Rocky-Mountain  Indians who  are  a  tribe  of  the  Chepewyans.  * 

Mackenzie's  Voyages,  pp.  Ixxi.— Ixxii. 

32  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  252;  Gallatin,  in  Amer.  Antiq. 
Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  19.  The  Sarsi,  Sussees  'speak  a  dialect  of  the 
Chippewyan  (Athabascan),  allied  to  the  Tahkali.'  Hales  Ethnoy.,  in  U.  S. 
Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  219. 


DIALECTS  OF  THE  TINNEH  FAMILY.  585 

exceedingly  difficult  to  pronounce,  being  composed 
largely  of  gutturals.  Bicfiardson  compares  some  of 
the  sounds  to  the  Hottentot  cluck,  and  Isbister  calls 
them  "  harsh  and  guttural,  difficult  of  enunciation  and 
unpleasant  to  the  ear." 33  They  differ  mainly  in  accen- 
tuation and  pronunciation,  and  it  therefore  does  not 
require  that  philological  research  which  is  necessary 
with  the  farther  outlying  branches  of  the  family  to 
establish  their  connection.  Richardson  says  that  the 
Hare  and  Dogrib  dialects  differ  scarcely  at  all,  even 
in  their  accents;  and  again,  that  the  Sheep  dialect 
is  well  understood  by  the  Hare  Indians.  Latham 
affirms  that  the  "Beaver  Indian  is  transitional  to  the 
Slave  and  Chepewyan  proper."  Of  the  Coppermine 
people,  Franklin  writes  that  their  language  is  "essen- 
tially the  same  with  those  of  the  Chipewyans."  Ross 
Cox  says  that  the  language  of  the  Slowacuss  and 
Nascud  "  bears  a  close  affinity  to  that  spoken  by  the 
Chepewyans  and  Beaver  Indians."34 

From  a  paper  in  the  collection  of  M.  Du  Ponceau, 
cited  by  Mr  Gallatin,  there  appears  to  be  in  the  gram- 
mar of  these  northern  dialects  a  dual  as  well  as  a  plu- 
ral. Thus  dinne,  a  person;  dinne  you,  a  man;  dinne 
you  keh,  two  men ;  dinne  you  thlang,  many  men.  Again 
we  have  sick  keh,  my  foot ;  sick  keh  keh,  my  feet.  The 
Chepewyan  declension  is  as  follows : 

My  two  hats,  sit  sackhalle  keh;  thy  two  hats,  nit 
sackhalle  keh;  his  two  hats,  bit  sackhalee  keh,  or  noneh 
bid  tsakhalle  keh;  their  two  hats,  hoot  sackhalle  keh;  two 
pieces  of  wood,  teitchin  keh;  much  or  many  pieces  of 
wood,  teitchin  thlang;  my  son,  see  aze;  my  two  sons, 
see  aze  keh;  thy  two  sons,  nee  aze  keh;  his  two  sons, 
bee  aze  keh;  their  two  sons,  hoo  bee  aze  keh;  my  chil- 
dren, see  aze  keh  thlang,  or  siskaine.  Thus  we  see  that 


33 '  They  speak  a  copious  language,  which  is  very  difficult  to  be  attained. ' 
Mackenzie's  Voyages,  p.  114.      'As  a  language  it  is  exceedingly  meagre  and 

feet.'  Richardson s  Jour.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  3,  28. 
34 Richardson's  Jour.,  vol.   ii.,  pp.   3,    7;  Franklins  Nor.,  vol.   ii.,  p.  76. 


imperfect.'  Richardson's  Jour.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  3,  28. 

jp.  3,  7; 
'Hare  Indians,  who  also  speak  a  dialect  of  the  Chipewyan  language.'  Jd.y 


p.  83.  Rocky  Mountain  Indians  differ  but  little  from  the  Strongbow,  Beaver, 
etc.  Id.,  p.  85;  Latham's  Comp.  Phil,  vol.  via.,  pp.  388,  391;  Id.,  vol.  iii.. 
p.  393;  Cox's  Adven.,  p.  323. 


586  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

the  dual  ending  is  Jceh  (which  also  means  foot),  and 
that  of  the  plural,  thlang.  *  Possessive  pronouns  are ; 
first  person,  si,  sit,  or  nee;  second  person,  nit  or  nee; 
third  person,  his  or  their,  bit,  bee,  noot,  or  hoo. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  I  SPEAK,  YAWS'THEE. 

PRESENT.  IMPERFECT. 


I  speak,  yaws'thee 

Thou  speakest,  yawnelt'hee 
He  speaks,          yawlt'he"e 
"We  speak,          yawoult'hee 
You  speak,         tayoult'h^e 
They  speak,       tayathee 


I  spoke,  yawaylt'hee 

Thou  spakest,  yayolt'hee 

He  spoke,  yalthee 

We  spoke,  tayaolthee 

You  spoke,  tayahelthee 

They  spoke,  tayolthee     35 


At  the  end  of  this  chapter  may  be  found  a  compara- 
tive vocabulary,  comprising  words  selected  from  these 
and  other  dialects,  belonging  to  this  family. 

Crossing  over  to  the  country  drained  by  the  Yukon, 
we  find  the  great  Kutchin  nation,  and  to  their  north- 
east, the  Kenai.  The  Kutchin  s,  according  to  Jones, 
are  "  divided  into  about  twenty -two  different  tribes, 
each  speaking  a  dialect  of  the  same  language."  Har- 
disty  affirms  that  "the  Loucheux  proper  is  spoken  by 
the  Indians  of  Peels  River,  thence  traversing  the 
mountains  westward  down  Rat  River,  the  Tuk-kuth, 
and  Van-tah-koo-chin,  which  extend  to  the  Tran-jik- 
koo-chin,  Na-tsik-koo-chin,  and  Koo-cha-koo-chin  of 
the  Youcon."5  The  connection  of  the  Kutchin  lan- 
guage with  the  Tinneh  has  been,  by  early  travellers, 
denied,  and  this  denial  reechoed  by  writers  following 
them;87  but  later  philological  investigations  have  es- 
established  the  relationship  beyond  a  question.  Fur- 
thermore, to  corroborate  this  fact,  there  are  persons, 

zbOallatin,  in  Amer.  Antiq.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  215-16,  269. 

36  Richardson 's  Jour.,  pp.  377-413;  Lathams  Native  Races,  pp.  293-4;  Jones, 
in  Smithsonian  Kept.,  1866,  p.  320;  Hardisty,  in  /(/.,  p.  311. 

37  'They  speak  a  language  distinct  from  the  Chipewyan.'  Franklins  Nar., 
vol.  ii.,  p.  83.     'The  similarity  of  language  amongst  all  the  tribes  (Athabas- 
cans) that  have  been  enumerated  under  this  head  (the  Loucheux  excepted)  is 
fully  established.     It  does  not  appear  to  have  any  distinct  affinities  with  any 
other  than  that  of  the  Kinai.'  Gallatin,  in  Amer.  Antiq.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  ii., 
p.  20.     'The  language  of  the  latter  (Loucheux)  is  entirely  different  from  that 
of  the  other  known  tribes  who  possess  the  vast  region  to  the  northward  of  a 
line  drawn  from  Churchill,  on  Hudson's  Bay,  across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  to 
New  Caledonia. '  Simpsons  Nar. ,  p.  157.      "The  Degothees  or  Loucheux,  called 
Quarrellers  by  the  English,  speak  a  different  language.'  SchoolcrafCs  Arch., 
vol.  iii.,  p.  542. 


THE  KUTCHIN  DIALECTS  OF  THE  YUKON  587 

well  acquainted  with  these  people  and  their  language, 
having  lived  in  their  country  and  traded  with  them 
for  years,  who  are  positive  that  the  Kutchin  is  a  dia- 
lect of  the  Tinneh.  Some  of  them  even  affirm  that 
the  eastern  Kutchin  dialect  bears  a  closer  relationship 
to  that  of  their  neighbors,  the  Hares  and  Slaves,  than 
do  some  of  the  dialects  of  the  western  Kutchins  to 
each  other,  yet  it  is  certain  that  all  the  Kutchin 
tribes  of  the  Yukon  and  its  tributaries  understand  one 
another,  accentuation  being  the  principal  distinction 
between  them. 

A  greater  divergence  from  the  stock  language  is 
observable  in  the  dialect  of  the  Tutchone  Kutchin, 
which,  with  those  of  the  Han  Kutchin,  the  Slav6  of 
Francis  Lake  and  Fort  Halkett,  the  Sicannis,  the 
Abbato-tinneh  of  the  Pelly  and  Macmillan  rivers, 
and  the  Nehanne  of  forts  Liard  and  Simpson,  might 
be  called  a  dialectic  division  of  the  Tinneh  language.38 

Richardson,  following  Murray,  cautiously  traces 
these  relationships  in  the  following  words:  "More  re- 
semblances, he  thinks,  might  be  traced  through  the 
Mountain  Indian  speech  (Naha-'tdinne  or  Dtche-ta- 
ut-'tinne)  than  directly  between  the  Kutchin  and  Dog- 
rib  tongues.  The  Han-Kutchi,  of  the  sources  of  the 
Yukon,  speak  a  dialect  of  the  Kutcha-Kutchi  language, 
yet  they  understand  and  are  readily  understood  by  the 
Indians  of  Frances  Lake  and  the  banks  of  the  Pelly. 
Now,  these  converse  freely  with  the  Naha-  or  Dtche- 
ta-ut'tinne,  and  other  Rocky  Mountain  tribes,  whose 
language  resembles  the  Dogrib  tongue,  and  who  are, 
in  fact,  acknowledged  members  of  the  Chepewyan 
nation.  Again,  the  Frances  Lake  Indians  understand 
the  Netsilley,  or  Wild  Nation,  who  trade  at  Fort 
Halkett,  on  the  River  of  the  Mountains;  these  again 
are  understood  by  the  Sikanis;  and  the  Sikanis  by 
the  Beaver  Indians,  whose  dialect  varies  little  from 
that  of  the  Athabascans  the  longest  known  member 
of  the  'Tinne  nation."33 

zs  Hardisty,  in  Smithsonian  Kept.,  1866,  p.  311. 

39  Richardson 's  Jour.,  vol.  i ,  pp.  400-1;  Hoopers  Tuski,  p.  270, 


588  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

The  Kutchins  pride  themselves  on  their  oratorical 
powers,  making  long,  windy,  and  allegorical  speeches 
remarkable  alike  for  native  wit  and  eloquence.  In 
public  speaking,  their  delivery  is  unique  and  effective; 
commencing  in  a  low  monotonous  tone,  the  voice  slowly 
rises  to  a  crescendo,  then  increases  to  a  forte,  and 
finally  rolls  forth  in  grand  fortissimo,  at  which  point, 
accompanied  by  striking  gestures,  it  continues  until 
sheer  exhaustion  compels  the  orator  to  pause  for 
breath.  The  speech  closes  with  a  "most  infernal 
screech,"  as  Hardisty  calls  it,  which  is  supposed  to  be 
a  clincher  to  the  most  abstruse  argument. 

It  was  among  these  people,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
junction  of  the  Tananah  with  the  Yukon  River  that 
the  before-mentioned  broken  Slave  jargon  originated. 
Before  the  arrival  of  foreigners,  the  necessity  of  a 
trade  or  intertribal  language  was  felt  and  met,  the 
dialect  spoken  on  the  Liard  River  forming  the  basis. 
With  the  arrival  of  Russians,  French,  and  English 
successively,  each  one  of  these  nationalities  contributed 
of  its  words  to  form  the  general  jargon.  Dall  says 
that  it  is  in  use  among  all  western  Eskimos  who  have 
intercourse  with  the  Tinneh.  The  European  element 
in  their  jargon  is  very  slight,  much  less  than  in  the 
Chinook  jargon,  from  the  fact  that  but  few  Europeans 
have  ever  come  in  contact  with  the  inland  tribes  of 
Alaska  even  in  an  indirect  way. 

Following  the  Tinneh  tongue  southward  from  cen- 
tral Alaska,  we  strike  the  Pacific  seaboard  at  Cook's 
Inlet  and  Prince  William  Sound,  where  we  find  the 
Kenai,  with  six  or  more  dialects,  stretching  along 
the  shores  of  the  Ocean  as  far  as  Copper  River.  The 
word  Kenai,  or  as  they  are  sometimes  called,  the 
Thnaina,40  meaning  men,  in  signification  and  sound  is 
almost  identical  with  the  word  Tinneh,  Dinneh,  Tinne', 
Dinay,  Tinna,  with  many  other  variations  applied  to 
this  family.41  According  to  Sagoskin,  the  Ingaliks, 

*°  Holmbern,  Ethno.  SUz.,  pp.  6-7;  Baer,  Stat.  u.  Ethno,  p.  97;  Vater,  Mith- 
ridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  228;  Dalfs  Alaska,  430;  Latham's  Nat.  Paces,  292. 

41  Buschmann,  Athapask.  SpracJistamrn,  p.  223;  Krusentern,  Woerter-Samm- 
lung,  p.  xi. 


KENAI  LINGUISTIC  AFFILIATIONS.  589 

Unakatanas,  and  others  of  the  Yukon  and  Nulato 
rivers  call  themselves  Ttynaichotana.42  Veniaminoff, 
a  high  authority  on  matters  coming  under  his  imme- 
diate observation,  draws  erroneous  conclusions  from 
his  comparisons  of  Kenai  dialects.  The  Kenai  lan- 
guage, he  says,  is  divided  into  four  dialects :  the  Kenai 
proper,  the  Atnah,  spoken  by  the  Koltshanes  and  the 
people  of  Copper  River,  the  Kuskoquim,  and  the 
Kwichpak.43  Baron  Von  Wrangell  is  of  the  opinion 
that  the  Kenai  are  of  Thlinkeet  stock,  affirming  that 
although  their  idiom  is  different,  yet  it  comes  from  the 
same  root;44  but  Dall  believes  that  it  might  be  "more 
properly  grouped  with  the  Tinneh."4  The  dialect  of 
the  Ugalenzes,  Buschmann  confidently  asserts,  belongs 
to  the  Tinneh  family,  although  its  connection  with  the 
Kenai  is  not  strongly  marked,  while  slight  traces  of 
the  Thlinkeet  tongue  are  found  in  it,  but  not  the 
least  shadow  of  the  Aztec  as  Vater  imagined.46  Long 
words  are  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  speech  of  the 
Ugalenzes;  as  for  example,  chakljlschejalsga,  work; 
teJcsseJconachaleJc,  enemy;  IcaJcujasliatenna,  to  divide; 
auJcatschetohatle,  to  take  away. 

The  Atnah  dialect  has  also  been  classed  with  the 
Thlinkeet  by  Baer,  who  inserts  a  small  comparative 
vocabulary  to  show  the  similarity,  but  in  it  few  simi- 
lar words  are  found,  while  between  the  Atnah  and  the 
Ugalenze  the  connection  is  quite  prominent,  as,  for 
instance  : 

42  '  So  nennen  die   Seekiistenbewohner  Ulukag  Mjuten  Inkiliken,  und- 
diese  letzten  nennen   sich  selbst  entweder  nach.  dem   Dorfe,  oder  im  allge 
meiiien  Ttynai-Chotana.'  Sagoskin,  Tagebuch,  in  JRuss.  Geog.  Gesell.,  Denkschr., 
p.  321. 

43  Veniamino/,  in  Erman,  Archiv,  torn,  vii.,  No.  1,  p.  128. 

44 '  Hire  Sprache  ist  zwar  von  der  der  Koloschen  verschieden.  stammt  aber 
von  derselben  Wurzel  ab.J  Baer,  Stat.  u.  Ethno.,  p.  97. 

** Dall's  Alaska,  p.  430. 

46  *  Ich  bleide  dabei  stehn  sie  fur  eine  athapaskische  Sprache  zu  er- 
klaren.'  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  687.  'Two  tribes  are  found, 
on  the  Pacific  Ocean,  whose  kindred  languages,  though  exhibiting  some 
affinities  both  with  that  of  the  Western  Eskimaux  and  with  that  of  the  Atha- 
pascas,  we  shall,  for  the  present,  consider  as  forming  a  distinct  family. 
They  are  the  Kinai,  in  or  near  Cook's  Inlet  or  River,  and  the  Ugaljachmutzi 
(Ougalachmioutzy)  of  Prince  William's  Sound.'  Gallatin,  in  Amer.  Antiq.  Soc., 
Transact.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  14. 


590  HYPERBOREAN   LANGUAGES. 

ATNAH  UGALENZE 

Heaven  jaat  jaa 

Ice  tton  ttetz 

Stone  ttzesch  ttza 

Fox  nakattze  nakattze 

Eagle  ttschkulak  tkotschkalak 

Blood  tell  tedlch 

Fat  chcha  chche 

Come  here  any  anatschtja         47 

In  like  manner  the  Kenai  dialect  has  been  classed 
with  the  Thlinkeet ; 4S  but  here  the  preponderance  of 
evidence  is  with  the  Tinneh.  Buschmann  claims  it  as 
his  discovery  that  the  Kenai  belong  to  the  Tinneh 
family.49  The  Kenai  dialect  is  very  difficult  to  pro- 
nounce, so  much  so  that  even  the  neighboring  people 
with  their  harsh,  nasal,  and  guttural  idioms,  find  great 
trouble  in  enunciating  it  clearly.  Some  of  the  com- 
binations of  consonants  are  really  very  curious 50- 
aljtnjan,  earth;  kyssynj,  woman;  mljchny,  to  drink; 
keljkatj,  to  eat ;  Idaaltatlni,  to  shoot ;  kydykntjassnissj, 
I  hear ;  tschatscheeintschichku,  do  not  be  afraid ;  kazik- 
atejityssny,  I  know  not. 

Baer  makes  the  Ingalik  cognate  with  Kenai,  Atnah, 
and  Thlinkeet;51  an  affinity  is  also  detected  between 
the  Inkalit  and  the  Kenai,  Atnah,  and  Unalaska 
dialects;52  while  Sagoskin  numbers  both  the  Ingalik 

47 '  Dieses  Volk  gehort  gleich  den  Ugalenzen  zu  einem  und  demselben 

Stamme  mit  den  Koloschen Auch  in  der  Sprache  giebt  es  mehrere  Worter, 

die  auf  eine  gemeinschaftliche  Wurzel  hindeuten.'  Baer,  Stat.  u.  Ethno.,  p.  99. 

48 '  Gehort  zu  demselben  Stamme  wie  die  Galzanen  oder  Koltschanen, 
Atnaer  und  Koloschen.  Dieses  bezeugt  nicht  nur  die  noch  vorhaiidene 
Aehnlichkeit  einiger  Worter  in  den  Sprachen  dieser  Volker  (eine  Aehiilich- 
keit,  welche  freilich  in  der  Sprache  der  Koloschen  kaum  noch  merkbar  und 
fast  ganzlich  verschwunden  ist).'  Baer,  Stat.  u.  Ethno.,  p.  103. 

49  '  Die  Kinai,  Kenai  oder  Kenaizen  wurden  bisher  shoii  als  ein  Hauptyolk 
und   ihre    Sprache   als    eine   hauptsachliche   des    russichen    Nordamerika's 
betrachtet.     Sie  umziehen  in  ihren  Wohnungen  an  jener  Kiiste  die  grosse 
Kinai-Bucht  oder  den  sogenannten  Cooks-Fluss.     Ihr  Idiom  gait  bisher  als 
eine  selbststandige  und  ursprungliche  Sprache,  Triigerinn  mehrerer  anderer. 
Nach  meinen  Entdeckungen  ist  es  ein  Glied   des  grossen   athapaskischen 
Sprachstammes,  und  seine  Verwandten  im  russischen  Nord-westen  sind  an- 
dere  Glieder  desselben.'  Buschmann,  Athapask.  Sprachstamm,  p.  223. 

50  '  Die  Kenai-Sprache  ist,  wegen  der  Menge  ihrer  Gurgellaute,  von  alien 
Idiomen  des  russichen  Amerika  s  am  schwierigsten  auszusprechen.     Selbst 
die  Nachbarn  der  Kenajer,   deren  Sprachen  schon  ein  sehr  geschmeidiges 
Organ  erfordern,  sind  nicht  im  Stande,  Worter  des  Kenajischen  rein  wieder- 
zugeben.'    Veniaminoff,  in  Erman,  Archiv,  torn,  vii.,  No.  1,  p.  128. 

51  Baer,  Stat.  u.  Ethno.,  p.  119. 

52  '  Sie  sprechen  eine  Sprache,  die  ganz  verschieden  ist  von  der  an  der  See- 
kiiste  gebrauchlichen  Sprache  der  Aleuten  von  Kadjack;  der  Dialect  der  In- 
kaliten  ist  ein  Gemisch  aus  den  Pprachen  der  Kenayer,  Unalaschken  und 


CENTRAL  TINNEH  DIVISION.  591 

and  the  Inkalit  among  the  members  of  the  Tinneh 
family.53  Like  those  of  their  neighbors,  these  two  dia- 
lects are  harsh  and  difficult  of  pronunciation,  as  for 
instance,  in  the  Inkalit,  tschugljkchuja,  a  fox. 

From  the  earliest  times,  it  has  been  known  that  the 
Koltshanes  could  converse  freely  with  the  Atiiahs  and 
Kenai,  and  the  relationship  existing  between  these  dia- 
lects has  long  been  recognized.54  As  a  specimen  of  the 
Koltshane  tongue,  I  present  the  following  :  tschiljkaje, 
eagle;  nynkalcit,  earth;  ssyljtschitan,  cold;  sstscheljssilj, 
warm;  tschilje,  man. 

To  .the  Tacullies  of  our  central  Tinneh  division, 
whose  language  Hale  separates  into  eleven  dialects, 
Latham  adds  the  Siccannis,  and  other  writers  the 
Umpquas  and  the  Hoopahs.55  The  northern  dialects 
of  this  division  are  represented  as  composed  of  words 
harsh  and  difficult  to  pronounce,  while  the  southern 
dialects  are  softer  and  more  sonorous,  yet  robust  and 
emphatic.  Mr  Hale  felt  the  necessity  of  adopting  a 
peculiar  style  of  orthography  to  represent  the  sounds 
of  these  words.  The  Greek  chi  he  employed  to  repro- 
duce the  Tacully  gutturals,  which  he  says  are  some- 
what deeper  than  the  Spanish  jota,  probably  nearly 
akin  to  the  German  ch  in  acht  und  achtzig.  With 
t  chi  I  he  aims  to  convey  a  sound  which '"  is  a  com- 
bination uttered  by  forcing  out  the  breath  at  the  side 

Atnaer.  . .  .auch  die  Anwigmiiten  und  Magimiiten  sind  Inkaliten.'  Baer, 
Stat.  u  Eihno.,  pp.  120-1. 

53  '  Der  zwei  Stamme  des  Volkes  Ttynai,  hauptsiichlich  der  Inkiliken  und 
dcr  Inkaliten- jug-elnut.'  Sagoskin,  Tagebush,  inRuss.  Geog.  GeselL,  Denkschr., 
torn,  i.,  p.  352;  Whymper's  Alaska,  p.  175. 

5i '  Die  naher  wohnenden  gehoren  zu  demselben  Stamme  wie  die  Atnaer 
und  Kenayer  und  konnen  sich  mit  ihnen,  obgleich  sie  einen  anderen  Dialect 
sprechen,  verstandigen. '  Baer,  Stat.  u.  Eihno.,  p.  101. 

55  Domeneclis  Deserts,  vol.  ii.,  p.  62;  Mackenzie's  Voyages,  p.  284.  'Their 
language  is  very  similar  to  that  of  the  Chipewyans,  and  has  a  great  affinity 
to  the  tongues  spoken  by  the  Beaver  Indians  and  the  Sicaunes.  Between 
all  the  different  villages  of  the  Carriers,  there  prevails  a  difference  of  dialect 
to  such  an  extent  that  they  often  give  different  names  to  the  most  common 
utensils.'  Harmons  Jour.,  pp.  285-6,  379,  193,  196;  Ludewigs  Ab.  Lang.,  p. 
178.  'Les  Indiens  de  la  cote  ou  de  la  Nouvelle  Caledonie,  les  Tokalis,  les 
Chargeurs  (Carriers],  les  Schouchouaps,  les  Atnas,  appartiennent  tous  a  la 
nation  des  Chipeuhaians. '  Mofras,  Exptor.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  337;  Gallatin,  in  Amer. 
Antiq.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  20.  'A  branch  of  the  great  Chippewyan 
(Athapascan)  stock.'  Hate's  Ethnog.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  202. 


592  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

of  the  mouth  between  the  tongue  and  the  palate."50 
In  the  following  words,  instead  of  the  Greek  chi,  I 
write  kh,  and  for  t  chi  I,  sch.  Schling,  dog;  schlulc, 
fish;  sutschon,  good;  kwun,  fire;  kukh,  house;  schhell, 
mountain;  tse,  stone;  kuschkai,  run. 

Hale  is  the  only  author  who  gives  any  information 
of  the  two  tribes  Tlatskanai  and  Kwalhioqua.  The 
Kwalhioquas  dwell  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Colum- 
bia, near  its  mouth ;  but  between  them  and  the  river 
there  runs  a  wedge  of  Chinook  territory.  The  former 
are  to  be  found  south  of  the  river,  on  a  narrow  strip 
extending  north  and  south.  Being  nearly  related  to 
the  Tacully,  these  languages  also  belong  to  the  Tinneh 
family.  The  only  vocabulary  obtainable  is  given  by 
Mr  Hale.  Hound  the  head- waters  of  the  river  Ump- 
qua  live  the  people  of  that  name,  speaking  a  language 
related  to  the  two  last  mentioned,  but  which,  if  we  may 
believe  Mr  Hale,  is  "much  softer  than  the  others." 

Scouler,  who  has  made  a  curious  classification  of  the 
languages  of  north-western  America,  places  the  Ump- 
qua  in  the  same  family  with  the  Calapooya  and  Yam- 
kally,  under  the  general  name  of  Cathlascon.57  The 
southernmost  dialect  of  this  division  is  that  of  the 
Hoopahs,  on  Trinity  River.  Upon  the  authority  of 
Mr  Powers,  "the  Hoopa  language  is  worthy  of  the 
people  who  speak  it — copious  in  its  vocabulary ;  robust, 
sonorous,  and  strong  in  utterance;  of  a  martial  sim- 
plicity and  rudeness  in  construction."  Again,  he 
writes,  "as  the  Hoopas  remind  one  of  the  Romans 
among  savages,  so  is  their  language  something  akin 
to  the  Latin  in  its  phonetic  characteristics;  the  idiom 
of  camps — rude,  strong,  laconic.  Let  a  grave  and  de- 
corous Indian  speak  it  deliberately,  and  every  word 
comes  out  like  the  thud  of  a  battering-ram  against  a 
wall.  For  instance,  let  the  reader  take  the  words  for 
1  devil'  and  ' death' — keetoanchwa  and  cheechwit — and 
note  the  robust  strength  with  which  they  can  be  ut- 
tered. What  a  grand  roll  of  drums  there  is  in  that 

66Hale's  Ethnog.,  in  U.  8.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  533. 

67  Scouler,  LoncL  Georj.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xi.,  p.  225;  Hines*  Voy.,  p.  117: 


VOCABULARY  OF  HOOP  AH  DIALECTS.  593 

long,  strong  word,  conchwilchwil."  Mr  Powers  gives 
the  following  declension:  I,  hwe;  father,  hoota;  my 
father,  hwehoota;  you,  nine;  your  father,  nineta;  moth- 
er, neeho;  death,  cheechwit;  your  mother's  death,  nin- 
cho  cheechwit.58 

On  the  western  slope  of  Mount  Shasta,  there  is  the 
Wi-Lackee  language,  which  bears  a  close  likeness  to 
the  Hoopah ;  on  Mad  River  is  the  Lassie,  and  on  Eel 
River  the  Siah,  both  probably  Hoopah  dialects;  and 
on  Smith  River,  in  Del  Norte  County,  the  Haynaggi, 
Tolewah,  and  Tahahteen,  also  presumably  Hoopah  and 
Wi-Lackee  dialects.  The  following  comparative  table 
of  the  numerals  in  the  Tolewah,  Hoopah,  and  Wi- 
Lackee  dialects,  will  serve  to  illustrate  their  relation- 
ship. 

TOLEWAH.  HOOPAH.  WI-LACKEE. 

One  clila  chla  clyhy 

Two  nacheh  nach  nocka 

Three  tacheh  tach  tock 

Four  tencheh  tinckh  teiickha 

Five  swoila  chwola  tusculla 

Six  ostaneh  hostan  cooslac 

Seven.  tsayteh  ochkit  coosnac 

Eight  lanesh  tnata  cahnem  coostac 

Nine  chla  ntuch  nocdsta  coostenckha 

Ten  neh  sun  minchla  kwang  enta 

In  the  southern  and  last  division  of  the  Tinneh 
family  are  found  the  great  Apache  and  Navajo  nations, 
with  their  many  dialects.  The  Apaches  may  be  said 
to  inhabit,  or  rather  to  roam  over,  the  country,  com- 
mencing at  the  Colorado  desert  and  extending  east  to 
the  Rio  Pecos,  or  from  about  103°  to  114°  west  longi- 
tude, and  from  Utah  Territory  into  the  states  of  Sonora, 
Chihuahua,  Coahuila,  Nuevo  Leon,  and  Texas,  or  from 
about  38°  to  30°  north  latitude.  Hardly  two  authors 
agree  in  stating  the  number  and  names  of  the  different 
tribes  belonging  to  this  nation.59  The  names  by  which 

58  Powers,  in  Overland  Monthly,  vol.  ix.,  pp.  157-8;  Gibbs,  in  Schoolcraft's 
Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  422;  Turner,  in  Pac.  JR.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  84-5.      'Ich 
habe  spater  die  Hoopah  Sprache  wirklich  fur  eine  athapaskische  angenommen. ' 
Bmchmann,  Spuren  der  Aztelc.  Spr.,  p.  576. 

59  Bartlett's  Pers.  Nar.,  vol.   i.,  p.   325.      'Desde  el  Real  de  Chiguagua, 
cruzando  al  Poniente,  hasta  el  rio  Gila,  y  subieudo  al  Norte,  hasta  el  Moqui, 
y  Nuevo  Mexico,  y  Provincias  de  Texas  y  Quahuila;  y  revolviendo  al  Sur 
remata  en  el  sobredicho  Real.'  Arricivita,  Cronica  Serdjica,  p.  338;   Vater, 


VOL.  III.    38 


594  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

they  are  known  among  themselves  are,  according  to 
Orozco  y  Berra,  Vinni  ettinen-ne,  Segatajen-ne,  Tjuic- 
cujen-ne,  Iccujenrne,  Yutajen-ne,  Sejen-ne,  Cuekajerwie, 
Lipajen-ne,  for  which  the  Mexicans  have  substituted 
such  words  as  Apaches,  Tontos,  Chiricaguis,  Gilenos, 
Mimbrenos,  Faraories,  Mescaleros,  Llaneros,  Lipanes, 
and  Navajos.60  The  nations  that  make  up  this  great 
people  are  the  Chiricaguis  in  north-eastern  Sonora; 
Coyoteros  in  the  Gila  country ;  Faraones,  west  of  New 
Mexico  in  the  Sierras  del  Diablo,  Chanate,  and  Pilares; 
Gilenos  at  the  eastern  base  of  the  Sierra  de  los  Mimbres 
south  of  the  Rio  Gila ;  the  people  of  the  copper  mines 
on  both  banks  of  the  Rio  Grande,  ranging  west  to  the 
Coyoteros  and  Pinalenos,  and  also  into  Chihuahua  and 
Sonora,  and  at  Lake  Guzman  west  of  Paso  del  Norte; 
the  Lipanes,  or  Ipandes,  in  Texas;  the  Llaneros,  north- 
east of  Santa  Fe  and  northerly  of  the  Rio  Rojo  de 

Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  177;  Muhlenpfordt,  Mejico,  torn,  i.,  pp.  212-13. 
'  Extend  from  the  black  mountains  in  New  Mexico  to  the  frontiers  of  Cog- 
quilla.'  Pike's  Explor,  Trav.  (Phil.  1810),  appendix,  p.  10;  Turner,  in  Pac. 
R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  83;  Malte-Brun,  Precis  de  la  Geog.,  torn,  vi.,  p.  446; 
Pope,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  13;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr., 
p.  298;  Ludewig's  Ab.  Lang.,  p.  8.  '  Se  extienden  en  el  vasto  espacio  de  dicho 
continente,  que  comprenden  los  grados  30  a  38  de  latitud  Norte,  y  264  a  277 
de  longitud  de  Tenerif e. '  Cordero,  in  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  p.  369;  Villa- 
Seiior  y  Sanchez,  Theatro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  393  et  seq.  'Tota  haec  regio,  quam 
Novam  Mexicanam  vocant,  ab  omnibus  pene  lateribus  ambitur  ab  Apachibus.' 
Laet,  Novus  Orb'ts,  p.  316;  Venegas,  Noticia  de  la  Gal.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  553;  Orozco 
y  Berra,  Geografia,  p.  40. 

60  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  p.  369.  '  La  nacion  apache  es  una  misma 
aunque  con  las  denominaciones  de  Gilenos,  Carlanes,  Chilpaines,  Xicarillas, 
Faraones,  Mescaleros,  Natales,  Lipanes,  etc.  varia  poco  en  su  idioma.'  Doc. 
Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iv.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  10.  'Los  Apaches  se  dividen  en  cinco  par- 
cialidades  como  son:  Tontos  6  Coyoteros,  Chiricahues,  Gilenos,  Faraones, 
Mescaleros,  Llaneros,  Lipanes,  Xicarillas  y  otras.'  Barreiro,  Ojeada,  appen- 
dix, p.  7.  Browne  mentions  the  Gila  Apaches,  and  as  belonging  to  them 
Mimbrenas,  Chiricahuas,  Sierra  Blancas,  Final  llanos,  Coyoteros,  Cominos, 
Tontos,  and  Mogallones.'  Apache  Country,  p.  290;  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn, 
iii.,  pt.  iii.,  pp.  177-8;  Muhlenpfordt,  Mejico,  torn,  i.,  p.  211.  'The  Apache; 
from  which  branch  the  Navajos,  Apaches,  Coyoteros,  Mescaleros,  Moquis, 
Yabipias,  Maricopas,  Chiricaquis,  Chemeguabas,  Yumayas  (the  last  two 
tribes  of  the  Moqui),  and  the  Nijoras,  a  small  tribe  on  the  Gila.'  Ruxtons 
Adven.  Mex.,  p.  194;  Ind.  A/.  Rept.,  1857,  p.  298;  1858,  pp.  205-6;  1854,  p. 
180;  1861,  p.  122;  1862,  p.  238;  1863,  p.  108;  1864,  p.  156;  1865,  p.  506; 
1869,  p.  234;  Humboldt,  Essai  Pol,  torn,  i.,  p.  289.  'Los  apaches  se  dividen 
en  nueve  parcialidades  6  tribus. '  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  p.  251.  'Since 
acquiring  the  Apache  language,  I  have  discovered  that  they  (Lipans)  are  a 
branch  of  that  great  tribe,  speaking  identically  the  same  language,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  terms  and  names  of  things  existing  in  their  region  and 
not  generally  known  to  those  branches  which  inhabit  Arizona  and  New 
Mexico.'  Cremony's  Apaches,  p.  21. 


SPEECH  OF  THE  APACHE  TRIBES.  595 

Natchitoches  or  Rio  Pecos;  Mescaleros,  in  the  Sierras 
del  Diablo,  Cbanate,  Pilares,  and  on  both  banks  of  the 
Rio  Tuerco,  above  its  confluence  with  the  Rio  Grande ; 
the  Natages,  or  Natajes,  in  Texas,  near  the  Lipanes; 
the  Pelones,  in  Coahuila;  the  Pinalefios,  in  the  Sier- 
ras del  Pinal  and  Blanca;  the  Tejuas,  east  of  the  Rio 
Grande,  in  the  Gila  country;  the  Tontos,  in  north- 
eastern Sonora,  in  the  north-east  near  the  Seris,  in  the 
Pimeria  Alta,  and  south  of  the  Maricopas  and  the 
Rio  Gila;  the  Vaqueros  in  the  eastern  part  of  New 
Mexico;  the  Mimbreiios,  in  the  Sierra  de  los  Mimbres, 
west  of  Paso  del  Norte,  and  in  the  south-western  end 
of  New  Mexico,  on  the  northern  boundary  of  Chi- 
huahua.61 The  Xicarillas,  whose  dialect  forms  the 
principal  connecting  link  between  the  Apache  language 
and  the  Tinneh  family,  live  on  the  Rio  de  los  Osos, 
west  of  the  Rio  Grande ;  also  in  the  Moro  Mountains 
and  along  the  Cimarron.62  All  the  Apache  tribes 
speak  dialects  but  slightly  varying  from  one  another, 
and  all  can  converse  easily  together.  Different  accent- 
uations and  some  peculiar  vocal  appellations  are,  for 
the  most  part,  all  that  constitute  severalness  in  these 
dialects.  Don  Jose  Cortez  states  that  "the  utterance 
of  the  language  is  very  violent,  but  it  is  not  so  difficult 
to  speak  as  the  first  impression  of  it  would  lead  one 
to  suppose ;  for  the  ear,  becoming  accustomed  to  the 

61  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztelc.  Spr.,  pp.  303  et  seq.      '  El  mtermedio  del 
Colorado  y  Gila,  ocupan  los  yavipaistejua,  y  otros  yavipais;  al  sur  del  Moqui 
son  todos  yavipais,  que  es  lo  mismo  que  apaches,  donde  se  conooe  el  gran  ter- 
reno  que  ocupa  esta  nacion.'  Garces,  Diario,  in  Doc.  Hist.   Mex.,  serie  ii., 
torn,  i.,  p.  352;  San  Francisco  Evening  Bulletin,  Feb.  18,  1864.     Padilla  men- 
tions the  following  nations  with  the  Apaches:  'Apaches,  Pharaones,  Natagees 
Gilas,  Mescaleros,  Cosninas,  Quartelejos,  Palomas,  Xicarillas,  Yutas,  Moqui- 
nos.'     Conq.  N.  Galicia,  MS.,  p.  785;  Cortez,  Hist.  Apache  Nations,  inPac.  .#. 
fl.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  118-20.      'The  Apaches,  the  Navahoes,  and  the  Lipans, 
of  Texas,  speak  dialects  of  the  same  language.     The  Jicarillas  (Hic-ah-ree- 
ahs),  Mescaleros,  Tontos,  and  Coyotens  are  all  bands  of  Apaches;  and  I  am 
induced  to  think  the  Garoteros  are  also  an  offshoot  from  the  Apache  tribe. ' 
Lane,  in  Sc7ioolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  689. 

62  'A  distancia  de  cinco  leguas,  al  mesmo  rumbo  [north  of  Taos],  esta  una 
Nacion  de  Indies,  que  Hainan  Xicarillas.'    Villa-Seiior  y  Sanchez,  Theatro,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  420;  Davis,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Rept.,  1869,  p.  255.     Xicarillas,  Apache  Indians 
of  northern  New  Mexico.     Their  language  shows  affinity  with  the  great  Atha- 
bascan stock  of  languages.  Buschmann,  Spr.  N.  Mex.  u.  der  Westseite,  des  B. 
Nordamer.,  p.  274;  Id.,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp.  318-19;  Schoolcraf!?  s  Arch., 
vol.  v.,  p.  203. 


596  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

sound,  discovers  a  cadence  in  the  words."  "It  has 
great  poverty,  both  of  expression  and  words."  It 
appears  as  well  that  the  harsh  gutturals  so  constantly 
heard  among  the  northern  members  of  the  Tinneh 
family  frequently  occur  in  the  Apache  dialects.63  Bart- 
lett  writes:  "It  sounds  like  a  combination  of  Polish, 
Chinese,  Choctaw,  and  Dutch.  Grunts  and  gutturals 
abound,  and  there  is  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  Hot- 
tentot click.  Now  blend  these  together,  and  as  you 
utter  the  word,  swallow  it,  and  the  sound  will  be  a 
fair  specimen  of  an  Apache  word." (  Apache  affilia- 
tions have  been  surmised  by  different  writers,  with 
nearly  all  their  neighbors,  and  even  with  more  distant 
nations.  Arricivita  hints  at  a  possible  relationship 
with  the  Otomi,  because  an  Otomi  muleteer  told  him 
that  he  could  converse  with  the  Apaches.65  The 
Shoshone  and  Comanche  dialects  have  also  been 
referred  to  the  Tinneh  trunk,  but  in  reality  they 
belong  to  the  Sonora  vernacular,  a  discovery  first 
made  by  Turner,  and  proved  by  Buschmann. 

Colonel  Cremony  who  was  interpreter  for  the  United 
States  Mexican  boundary  commission,  and  hence  con- 
versant with  the  Apache  language,  gives  some  valua- 
ble grammatical  notes.  "Their  verbs,"  he  says,  "ex- 
press the  past,  present,  and  future  with  much  regularity, 
and  have  the  infinitive,  indicative,  subjunctive,  and 
imperative  moods,  together  with  the  first,  second,  and 
third  persons,  and  the  singular,  dual,  and  plural  num- 
bers. Many  of  them  are  very  irregular,  and  depend 

63  Cortez,  Hist.  Apache  Nations,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  120.  '  Hab- 
lan  un  mismo  idioma,  y  aunque  varia  el  acento  y  tal  cual  voz  provincial,  no 
influye  esta  diferencia  que  dejen  de  entenderse  reciprocamente. '  Orozco  y 
Berra,  Geografia,  p.  369. 

^Bartletta  Letter,  in  Literary  World,  April  24,  1852,  pp.  298-9.  'It 
abounds  equally  with  guttural,  hissing,  and  indistinctly  uttered  mixed  in- 
tonations ....  It  abounds  in  the  sound  of  tz,  so  common  in  the  Shemitic  lan- 
guages, of  zl,  of  d,  and  the  rough  rr ....  It  may  be  suggested  that  its  proper 
affinities  are  to  be  found  in  the  Athpasca.'  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  pp. 
202-3. 

65 '  Le  preguntd  que  si  acaso  entendia  la  lengua  de  los  Apaches,  y  satisfizo 
con  que  era  la  misma  Otomite  que  el  hablaba,  y  solo  con  la  diferencia  de  que 
ellos  variaban  la  significacion  de  muchos  vocables  que  en  la  suya  querian 
decir  otras  cosas:  pero  por  el  contexto  de  las  otras  palabras,  facilmente  se 
entendian.'  Arricivita,  Crdnica  Serdfica,  p.  339. 


APACHE  GRAMMAR. 


597 


upon  auxiliaries,  which  are  few.  In  all  that  relates  to 
special  individuality,  the  language  is  exacting;  thus 
shee  means  I  or  me;  but  shee-dah  means  I  myself,  or 
me  myself;  dee  means  thee  or  thou;  but  dee-dah 
means  you  yourself  especially  and  personally,  with- 
out reference  to  any  other  being.  When  an  Apache 
is  relating  his  own  personal  adventures,  he  never  says 
shee  for  I.  because  that  word,  in  some  sense,  includes 
all  who  were  present  and  took  any  part  in  the  affair, 
but  he  uses  the  word  shee-dah,  to  show  that  the  act 
was  wholly  his  own.  The  pronouns  are  :  shee,  I ;  shee- 
dah,  I  myself;  dee,  thee  or  thou;  dee-dah,  thee  thy- 
self; aghan,  it,  he,  her,  or  they.  The  word  to-dah 
means  no,  and  all  their  affirmatives  are  negatived  by 
dividing  this  word  so  as  to  place  the  first  syllable  in 
front  and  the  second  in  the  rear  of  the  verb  to  be 
negatived.  For  example,  ink-tah  means  sit  down,  but 
to  say,  do  not  sit  down,  we  must  express  it  to-ink-tah- 
dah;  nuest-chee-shee,  come  here;  to-nuest-chee-shee-dah, 
do  not  come  here ;  anah-zont-t$e,  begone ;  to-anah-zont- 
tee-dah,  do  not  begone."66 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  BE,  AH  GHONTAY. 

PRESENT    INDICATIVE. 


I  am,  tak-she 

Thou  art,  tan-dee-ah-aht-tee 

He  is  tah-annah 


I  was, 
Thou  wast, 
He  was, 
We  were, 
You  were, 
They  were, 


We  are,      tan-ah-hee-ah-aht-tee 
You  are,     nah-hee-ah-aht-tee 
They  are,    aghan-day-aht-tee 


IMPERFECT. 

tash-ee-ah-ash-ee 

dee-ah-alt-een 

tah-annah-kah-on-yah 

akannah-sin-kah 

nah-hee-dah-a-kan-nah-dash-shosh 

aghan-do-doh-ah-kah-gah-kah 


FIRST   FUTURE. 

I  shall  be,  she-ah-dosh-'n-dahl 
Thou  wilt  be,  dee-ay -goh-ay-dahl 
He  will  be,  ando-ay-gah-ee-dahl 


We  shall  be,  nah-he-do-gont-ee-dahl 
You  will  be,   nah-he-nah-hat-han-dahl 
They  will  be,  nah-hayt-haii-dahl 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  DO,  AH  GOSH  LAH. 

PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  do,  she-ash-lah 

Thou  dost,   tan-dee-aghon-lah 
He  does,       tah-pee-ay-il-1ah 


We  do,      tah-nah-hee-ah-ghont-lah 
You  do,     nah-hee-ah-ghast-lah 
They  do,   tah-goh-pee-ah-goh-lah 


™Cremony's  Apaches,  p.  239;  Id.,  in  Overland  Monthly,  Sept.  1868,  pp. 
306-7. 


598 


HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 


IMPERFECT. 


I  did, 

Thou  didst, 
He  did, 


tah-she-ash-lah 

dee-and-lah 

pee-ind-lah 

I  shall  do, 
Thou  wilt  do, 
He  will  do, 
We  shall  do, 
You  will  do, 
They  will  do, 


We  did, 
You  did, 
They  did, 


tah-nah-kee-and-lah 

nah-hee-alt-lah 

goh-pee-ah-goh-nind-lah 


FIRST   FUTURE. 


tash-ee-ah-dosh-leel 

dee-ah-goh-dont-leel 

tah-pee-aye-dahl-teel 

tah-nah-he-ah-go-dont-leel 

nah-he-ah-dash-leel 

go-pee-ah-guill-dah-leel 


}RESENT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 


If  I  do,          she-ash-lah-nah-ah 

If  thou  do,  dee-alt-in-dahl 

If  he  do,       tah-pee-ayilt-in-dahl 


If  we  do,      tah-nah-hee-ant-lah 
If  you  do,     nah-hee-alt-lah 
If  they  do,   go-pee-ah-wilt-ee 


Do  thou, 
Doing, 


IMPERATIVE. 

eah-and-lah 

PRESENT   PARTICIPLE. 

ah-whee-lah 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  EAT,  ISH  SHAN. 


I  eat, 

Thou  eatest, 
He  eats, 


she-ish-shan 
deah-in-nah 
aghan-iz-yan 


PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 

We  eat, 
You  eat, 
They  eat, 


tah-nah-de-hit-tahn 
nah-he-naloh-in-day 
goh  -pee-goo-iz-yan 


I  have  eaten, 
Thou  hast  eaten, 
He  has  eaten, 
We  have  eaten, 
You  have  eaten, 


PERFECT. 

she-ohz-yan 

dee-schlee-ohn-nah 

aghan-ohnz-yan 

tah-nah-hee-al-ke-dah-ohn-tan 

nah-he-ahz-yan 


They  have  eaten,    goh-pee-go-yohnz-yan. 


I  shall  eat, 
Thou  wilt  eat, 
He  will  eat, 
We  shall  eat, 
You  will  eat, 
They  will  eat, 


FIRST  FUTURE. 

she-go-ish-shan 

dee-doh-in-mah-dahl 

aghandoh-iz-yan 

tah-nah-hee-hin-tahn-dahl 

nah-he-goh-an-shan 

goh-pee-goh-iz-yan-dahl 


IMPERATIVE. 

Eat  thou,         tan-dee-in-nah  |    Let  them  eat,  tah-goh-pee-niz-yan 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  SLEEP,  IL  HOOSH. 


I  sleep, 

Thou  sleepest, 
He  sleeps, 


PRESENT  INDICATIVE. 

she-ish-hoosh  We  sleep, 

dee-ilt-hoosh  You  sleep, 


tah-nah-he-il-hoosh 
nah-he-il-hoosh 


aghan-it-hoosh  They  sleep,  goo-pee-will-hoosh 

PERFECT. 

I  have  slept,  she-al-kee-dah-ish-hash 

Thou  hast  slept,  dee-al-kee-dah-ish-hash 

He  has  slept,  aghando-ish-hash 

We  have  slept,  tah-nah-he-al-kee-dah-il-gash 

You  have  slept,  nah-he-al-kee-dah-al-hoosh 

They  have  slept,  go-pee-al-kee-dah-go-il-gash 


GRAMMAR  OF  THE  APACHE  MESCALERO. 


599 


I  shall  sleep, 
Thou  wilt  sleep, 
He  will  sleep, 
We  shall  sleep, 
You  will  sleep, 
They  will  sleep, 


FIRST  FUTURE. 

she-do-ish-hoosht-tahl 

dee-do-dohl-goosh 

aghando-il-hoosht-dahl 

tah-nah-he-do-il-goosh-tahl 

nah-he-doh-al-hoosh-tahl 

go-pee-go-will-hoosh-tahl 

IMPERATIVE* 


Sleep  thou,  dee-ilh-hoosh 

Sleep  you,  nah-hee-doh-al-hoosh 

Sleep  they,  go-pee-go-il-hoosh 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  LOVE,  IN  KAY  GO  ISHT  LEE. 


PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  love, 

sheah-in-kay-go-isht-lee       We  love,    tan-ah-hee-in-kay-go-it-lee 

Thou  lovest,  deah-vick-kay-go-int-lee       You  love,  nah-he-vick-kay-at-lee 

He  loves, 

aghan-ee-kay  -go-it-lee          They  love,  goh-pee-vick-kay-go-it-lee 

IMPERFECT. 

I  loved,                        she-in-kay-go-isht-leeth4ay 

Thou  lovedst,              dee-vick-kay-go-int-leeth-lee 

He  loved,                     aghan-vick-kay-go-it-leelth-lee 
We  loved,                    tan-ah-hee-vick-kay-int-leelth-lee 

You  loved,                   nah-he-vick-kay-at-leelth-lee 

They  loved,                 go-pee-vick-kay-go-leelth-lee 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

Thou  wilt  love            dee-vick-kay-go-isht-lee-dahl 

He  will  love,                aghan-vick-kay-go-it-lee-dahl 
I  shall  love,                  she-in-kay-go-isht-lee-dahl 

We  shall  love,             tah-nah-he-vick-kay-go-it-tlee-dahl 

You  will  love,            nah-he-vick-kay-at-tlee-dahl 

They  will  love,            goh-pee-vick-kay-go-it-tlee-dahl 

IMPERFECT   POTENTIAL. 

I  should  love,              she  'dn-vick-kay-go-isht-leel-dan. 
Thou  shouldst  love,  dee  'dn-vick-kay-go-isht-leel-dahl 

He  should  love,           aghan-vick-kay-ich-klee-dahl 

We  should  love,          tah-nah-he-vick-kay-go-in-klee-dahl 

You  should  love,         nah-he-vick-kay-go-in-klee-dahl 
They  should  love,       goh-pee-vick-kay-go-in-klee-dahl 

IMPERATIVE. 

Love  thou,                    vick-kay  -go-it-lee 

Love  you,                     nah-he-vick-kay-at-lee 

Let,  them  love,            goh-pee-vick-kay-go-it-lee 

NUMERALS. 

One 

tash-ay-ay                           Sixteen              host-kon-sah-tah-hay 

Two 

nah-kee 

Seventeen          host-ee-sah-tah-hay 

Three 

kah-yay 

Eighteen            tan-pee-sah-tah-hay 

Four 

in-yeh 

Nineteen           'n-ghost-ah-sah-tah-hay 

Five 

ashiwlay 

Twenty             natin-yay 

Six 

host-kon-nay 

Thirty               kah-tin-yay 

Seven 

host-ee-day 

Forty                tinsh-tin-yay 

Eight 

hah-pee 

Fifty                  asht-lah-tin-yay 

Nine 

'n-ghost-ay 

Sixty                 host-kon-tin-yay 

Ten 

fo-nay  -nan-nay 

Seventy            host-ee-tin-yay 

Eleven 

lats-ah-tah 

Eighty               san-vee-tin-yay 

Twelve 

nah-kee-sah-tah 

Ninety              'n-ghost-ah-tin-yay 

Thirteen 

kah-yay-sah-tah 

One  hundred    tah-len-too-ooh 

Fourteen 

tin-sah-tah-hay 

One  thousand  go-nay-nan-too-oofa. 

Fifteen 

asht-lay-sah-tah-hay 

Two  thousand  nah-tin-ee-too-ooh. 

600  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

The  following  sentences  will  serve  as  specimens  to 
show  the  construction  of  this  language  : 

Whence  come  }^ou  ?  hash-ee-ohn-dahl? 

I  come  from  afar,  an-dah-she-oh-lhal. 

I  am  a  friend,  tah-in-joon-ay-ish-lee. 

What  do  you  want  ?  ee-ya-althe-ee  'n  f 

There  are  wood,  water,  and  grass,  tooh-tlo-chee-gon-lee. 

Go  and  watch  the  enemy,  nin-dah-bin-naht-hah-aden- 
he. 

Take  notice  of  them,  gon-joon-ay-go-hah-den-ee. 

Of  what  nation  are  they  ?  yah-indah-aht-ee  f 

Where  is  their  camp  ?  hah-ay-vee-goat-hahf 

Note  well  their  position,  gon-joon-ay-go-nel-he- 
hayago-ah-iay-na-lee. 

They  are  near  by,  goh-pee-ach-han-nay-she-go. 

I  do  not  believe  it,  too-vah-osht-lah-dah. 

Show  me  the  road,  in-tin-dee-she-chee-toh-golt-chee. 

Mine,  shee. 

It  is  mine,  es-shee. 

Thine,  dee. 

It  is  his  or  hers,  ah-Jcoon-pee. 

It  is  not  mine,  too-she-dah. 

It  is  not  thine,  too-in-dee-dah. 

It  is  not  his  or  hers,  too-pee-dah. 

These,  tee-hay-ah. 

Those,  ah-wayh-hay-yah. 

As  a  further  illustration,  I  give  a  speech  made  by 
General  Carleton  during  an  interview  with  the  Mesca- 
leros,  which  was  translated  and  written  down  at  the 
time  by  Colonel  Cremony. 

Nah-heedn  day  nah  goodnltay ;  toogo  take  head  ah  ; 

Your  people  are  bad;  they  have  not  kept  faith; 

bay  ay  geah    gontay;    schlee  nahhah  goh   in  ay  een; 

they  are  treacherous;  they  have  stolen  our  horses; 

nabgah  godilt  say;  nahhannah  gwinheay  endah  ah  tay ; 

they  have  murdered  our  people;  they  must  make  amends; 

too  nahhan  neet  ee  dah ;  tah  nakee  ahendah  adenh  dee; 

they  must  cease  troubling  us;  they  must  obey  our  orders; 


SPEECH  IN  THE  MESCALERO  DIALECT.  601 

nah    schleen   nahhannah   weedah   ayl;    ban    eganday 

they  must  restore  our  animals;  they  must 

nahhannah    goee    dalt   yeal;    enday   nahhah    hitjash 

give  up  the  murderers;  they  must  give  us 

toohayago  andadah ;  alkeedah  llaynah  ildee ;  eschlanay 

hostages;  let  them  remember  past  times;        they  were 

vaygo  daht  eel;  saylth  lee  goh-pee;  taat  hooay  takee 

numerous  and  powerful;  they  held  all  the  sierras;  they  occupied  all 

anah   goh  kah;    tah  golkahay  takay  ikay  goon    lee; 

the  water-holes;  they  were  masters  of  the  plains; 

tash  lainah    too  nelchedah.     Ako  ahn   day  hahdah? 

none  made  them  afraid.  Where  are  they  now  ? 

Eeyah  veeahkah  tsay  nogoshee  'n  nilt  ee  ?    Nakay  eeah 

Why  do  they  hide  behind  rocks  ?  Where  is  their 

haddah?     Bahyay  kay'n  nilt  ee?     She  aghan  iltisch 

possession  ?          Why  do  they  hide  like  coyotes  ?  I  will  tell 

in  dee;     taykay  indah  nash  lee;    taykay  ay 

them  why;       they  have  been  enemies  to  all  other  people;       they  have  made 

veeakah  nah  hindah;     tahnahhe  elchindah  nah  hee; 

all  other  people  their  enemies;  they  have  made  enemies  of  each  other; 

tannahee  eedaltsay  ay  veeahkah  hee  nahindah;  too  nah 

they  have  lived  by  robbery  and  murder;  they  have 

yah  seedah;  tah  nalkoneeay  vickaygo  tee  en  nahseego; 

not  worked;  idleness  breeds  want; 

tee  en  nahseego  chin  nah  hilt  yeeay;  chevilheeaygo 

want  breeds  hunger;  hunger 

vilkonyeago  takhoogo  ont  yeal ;  yont  hooaygo  anaht  eel ; 

and  icdeness  breed  crime;  they  have  committed  crimes; 

takhoogo  ninis  yah ;  aghon  ahltay  koohaygo  naht  lee ; 

the  punishment  has  fallen  on  them;   their  thousands  have  become  hundreds; 

elchinalcheego  vickeah  golt    seel;    nahee  vah   ah  tee 

we  speak  harsh  truths;  we  speak  so  only  for 

elchinahtee ;         naschayhay      too       ahnah     lahdah; 

their  good;  we  have  no  vengeance  in  our  hearts; 

Elchinalcheego    inklees  andah  'n  June;    nah    kashee 

Our  talk  is  hard  but  good;  let  them 

vanan  an  keeays;  anahtay  kahdayah  too  wakhahdah; 

reflect  upon  it;  let  them  change  their  ways; 

innee  nahl  ash  lah ;  ilk  jeel  eego  andah  'n  June.67 

let  them  cultivate  the  earth;  Ijt  them  be  a  strong  but  a  good  people. 

67  Prepared  at  Fort  Sunnier,  Bosque  Redondo,  on  the  Pecos  River,  New 
Mexico,  in  18G3,  <u  certifi  •<!  by  Brig. -Gen.  James  H.  Carleton,  U.  S.  A.,  and 


602  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

Mr  Dorr,  writing  in  the  Overland  Monthly,  makes  an 
erroneous  assertion  that  the  Apache  and  Zuni  lan- 
guages are  the  same,  "differing  only  in  accent,  intona- 
tion, and  cadence,  they  understand  each  other  without 
difficulty.  The  Zuni  or  Apache  language  is  very 
flexible  and  suave,  and  may  at  some  time  have  been 
the  court  language  of  the  ancient  races.  It  is  often 
as  expressive  of  fine  shades  of  distinction  as  even  the 
Greek  itself.  It  preserves — in  the  adyta  of  its  wonder- 
ful radicals — the  traditional  duality  of  the  human 
race;  its  dual,  as  well  as  singular  and  plural,  forms 
of  speech."68 

Vater  intimates  a  relationship  between  the  Apaches 
and  the  Pawnees,  and  that  chiefly  on  the  ground  of 
a  similarity  in  the  names  Pawnees  and  Lipanes.69 

Pimentel  gives  a  Lord's  Prayer  in  the  Lipan  dia- 
lect, which  will  serve  as  a  specimen  of  the  language. 

"  Cutall  nezllo  ezlla"  anel  ti  qui  Llata";  setezdanela 
net  agd,  nautela;  nosesene  nda  tendaje  lie  agd  tande: 
tanzanenda  agtl  atanclaju,  senegui  ti  ezllza  glezi,  aj 
ullu  ti  lie  lata;  Lie  tulatan  nezlle  ja  lage  tatichi  ani- 
zane  tatichi  en  gucecen  de  joulle  vandaezhe  lenegui 
ajulhi  da  ye  nachezonlle  tenage  vandaezhec  en  ne  zto 
agatenja"  tendd  tlez  ti  tezchupanen  da  glicoa  genechi  te 
najacengli  Gaache  lye  net."70 

The  Navajos,  or  Apache  Navajos,  of  New  Mexico, 
like  the  northern  Tinneh,  call  themselves  Tennai,  men. 
Their  dialect  approaches  the  Xicarilla  Apache,  and 
Mr  Eaton  even  asserts  that  it  is  about  the  same.71 
Pike  mentions  the  Nanahaws,  which  name  is  probably 
intended  for  Navajos,  as  no  other  account  can  be 
found  of  such  a  people. 

the  only  Apache  grammar  known  to  exist  at  this  date.     Cremony's  Vocabu- 
lary and  Grammar  of  the  Mescakro  Apache  Language,  MS. 

^Dorr's  Ride  with  the  Apaches,  in  Overland  Monthly,  vol.  vi.,  p.  343. 

&  Vater,  Mithndates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  179. 

70  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  p.  251,  and  in  Colecdon  Polidi6mica  Mexicana 
que  contiene  La  Oracion  Dominical;  por  la  Sotiedad  Mex.   Geog.  y  Estad., 
Mexico,  1860. 

71  "j-he  Apaches    call    the  Navajoes  Yii-tah-kah.      The    Navajoes  call 
themselves,  as  a  tribe,  Tenuai  (man).     The  appellation  Navajo  was  unques- 
tionably given  them  by  the  Spaniards.'   Eaton,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol. 
iv.,  pp.  217-18;  Mollhausen,  Tagelmch,  p.  229.     'Gehort  ebenfalls  zur  Farnilie 
der  Apaches.'  Id.,  Reisen,  torn,  ii.,  p.  236. 


TENTH  VOCABULARY. 


CDi^ert-^KPC'-vq-       »  W    P    J*    S    K'H    fr    * 

•  rfr*l?  •:':?!.&  B4r'iV:: i';» :  i:i 


ggir-s  a 

i-*J   P  .   N      fc^J          r« 


I        »h.    g,    . 


I 

a 
ft 


2          £*$ 


fir 


?      K-. 
o     o 


o        S- 

fi        ° 


f'f 

g-  g- 


5-    r  P:  ^  I 

C          O      IT-J   I— " 


£  5  i 

o      Cr' 


E  g   E 

g.    |f  || 

1°"  H 


p'    §      g 


EX* 
CD     P     ! 


|  FSi1 


jr    v->  p^ 

if!  88 111 

«^   o   3   o  CS.  oo   go   Cj 

«?.  tr1  X   M-  as   P         P^ 


i  E?£ 


flff  I    ft    & 

|^§S§    1    P 

«:  o'0  pi'e    ^'  *< 


5  ffj 


III    -2.S 
"&•§•         CP 


.  . 

llttlf 


el" 


.ErEEviV. 


r 


CHAPTER  III. 

COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

THE  HAIDAH,  ITS  CONSTRUCTION  AND  CONJUGATION — THE  NASS  LANGUAGE 
AND  ITS  DIALECTS — BELLACOOLA  AND  CHIMSYAN  COMPARISONS  —  THE 
NOOTKA  LANGUAGES  or  VANCOUVER  ISLAND — NANAIMO  TEN  COMMAND- 
MENTS AND  LORD'S  PRAYER — AZTEC  ANALOGIES — FRASER  AND  THOMPSON 
RIVER  LANGUAGES  —  THE  NEETLAKAP AMUCK  GRAMMAR  AND  LORD'S 
PRAYER — SOUND  LANGUAGES — THE  SALISH  FAMILY — FLATHEAD  GRAM- 
MAR AND  LORD'S  PRAYER — THE  KOOTENAI — THE  SAHAPTIN  FAMILY 
— NEZ  PERCE  GRAMMAR — YAKIMA  LORD'S  PRAYER — SAHAPTIN  STATE 
AND  SLAVE  LANGUAGES — THE  CHINOOK  FAMILY — GRAMMAR  OF  THE 
CHINOOK  LANGUAGE — AZTEC  AFFINITIES — THE  CHINOOK  JARGON. 

RETURNED  from  the  south,  whither  we  were  led  by 
the  Apache  branch  of  the  Tinneh  family,  let  us  ex- 
amine the  languages  of  our  Columbian  group.  Next 
along  the  seaboard  south  of  the  Thlinkeets  are  the 
Haidahs  and  Kaiganies,  whose  language  is  spoken  on 
the  southern  part  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  Archipelago, 
and  on  Queen  Charlotte  Island.  This  language  is 
sometimes  called  Haidah,  and  sometimes  Kaiganie/ 
and  although  many  tribes  belong  to  these  nations, 
I  find  among  them  no  dialectic  difference,  except  that 
between  the  Haidahs  of  Queen  Charlotte  Island  and 
the  Kaiganies  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  Archipelago. 

Marchand  claims  that  this  language  is  understood  by 
the  Thlinkeets  and  other  eastern  tribes;2  Captain 
Dixon  thinks  it  is  a  distinct  and  separate  tongue  ;3 

1  'Die  Kaigan-Sprache  wird  auf  der  Insel  Kaigan  und  den  Charlotten 
Inseln. , . , gesprochen.  Veniammoff.  in  Erman,  Archiv,  torn,  vii,,  No.  1, 
p.  128. 

604 


THE  HAIDAH  AND  KAIGANIE.  605 

Scouler  makes  one  large  northern  family,  which  he 
says  spreads  "from  the  Arctic  Circle  to  the  northern 
extremity  of  Quadra  and  Vancouver's  Island  ;"4  Rad- 
loff's  comparative  researches  incline  him  to  the  opin- 
ion that,  although  there  may  be  a  few  similarities 
in  words  between  this  and  other  idioms,  as  for  exam- 
ple, the  Thlinkeet,  they  are  yet  insufficient  to  prove 
identity.5 

Some  of  those  who  have  heard  the  Haidahs  speak 
say  that  their  language  is  uncouth  and  difficult  to  ar- 
ticulate, abounding  in  consonants,  and  with  a  labial  and 
dental  pronunciation;6  others  affirm  that  it  does  not 
possess  the  hard  aspirated  consonants  so  frequently 
found  in  the  Thlinkeet  language,  that  it  is  richer  in 
vowels  and  softer,  though,  like  the  Thlinkeet,  it  is 
wanting  in  labials,  in  the  dental  r,  and  in  the  guttural 
Z,  while  the  Haidah  has  the  clear  I.1  The  Haidah  lan- 
guage lacks  the  letters  6,  p,  f,  and  the  dental  r;  neither 
its  substantives  nor  adjectives  have  any  gender,  and  to 
express  the  feminine  the  word  dshetta,  woman,  is  added. 
Itlk  dshetta,  wife  of  the  chief;  ha,  dog;  ha  dshetta,  slut. 

2 'En  parlant  du  langage  de  TchinJdtdine',  j'ai  rapporte  d'avance  les 
termes  numeriques  employes  aux  lies  de  Queen-Charlotte,  tels  que  le 
capitaine  Chancd  a  pu  les  recueillir  d  Cloak-Bay;  il  observe  que  quelques- 
uns  de  ces  termes  sont  communa  aux  autres  parties  de  ces  isles  qu'il  a 
visitees,  ainsi  que  quelques  autres  termes  qu'il  a  pu  saisir,  et  par  lesquels 
les  Naturels  expriment  les  objets  sui vanes ....  Cette  similitude  des  termes 
numeriques  et  d'autres  termes,  employes  egalement  par  les  diverses  Tribus, 
separees  les  unes  des  autres,  qui  occupent  la  partie  de  cotes  des  iles  de 
Queen-Charlotte  que  le  Capitaine  C'hanal  a  visitee,  me  semble  demontrer,  centre 
1'opinion  hasardee  du  Bedacteur  du  Journal  de  Dixon,  que  ces  Tribus  com- 
muniquent  habituellement  entre  elles:  cette  identite  du  langage  pourroit 
encore  prouver  que  les  Peuplades  qui  habitent  ces  iles  ont  une  origine  com- 
mune.' Marchand,  Voyage,  torn,  ii.,  p.  216. 

3  '  There  are  at  least  two  or  three  different  languages  spoken  on  the  coast, 
and  yet  probably  they  are  all  pretty  generally  understood;  though  if  we  may 
credit  the  old  Chief  at  Queen  Charlotte's  Islands,  his  people  were  totally 
ignorant  of  that  spoken  by  the  inhabitants  to  the  Eastward.'  Dixon's  Voy., 
p.  240. 

*  Scouler,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  218,  220. 

5  Radloff,  Sprache  der  Kaiganen,  in  Mel.  Russes,  torn,  iii.,  liv.  v.,  p.  575; 
Green,  inAmer.  Antiq.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  302. 

6  Dixon  s  Voy.,  p.  240.  9 

1  '  Es  fehlen  dem  Kaigani  [Haidah]  jene  harten  aspirirten  Consonanten, 
die  dem  Thlinkit  so  gelaufig  sind,  es  ist  vocalreicher  und  weicher.  Dagegen 
theilt  est  mit  dem  Thlinkit  den  Mangel  der  Labialen,  des  dentalen  r,  wie 
auch  der  Verbindung  des  1  mit  Dentalen,  Gutturalen  und  Sibilanten,  wahrend 
jenem,  dagegen  das  reine  1  des  Kaigani  ganz  fremd  ist.'  Radloff,  Sprache  der 
Kaiganen,  in  Mel.  Russes,  torn,  iii.,  liv.  v.,  pp.  575-6. 


606  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

Neither  is  there  any  particular  expression  for  the 
plural.  Kjeganei,  my  house;  Jcjeganei  tljonxl  lagun, 
my  three  houses  are  good;  ton  dsha,  thy  wife;  ton 
dsha  s'tong  hana,  thy  two  wives  are  both  pretty.  Two 
exceptions  have  been  mentioned:  gjea,  mast;  gjeang 
hlohnhl,  three  masts;  hata,  man  (homo);  hatei,  men. 
Substantives  are  not  declined,  but  remain  unchanged 
in  all  cases.  Hantl,  water;  hall  hantl,  bring  water; 
tlu,  boat ;  tlu  ton  gistasa,  I  give  thee  a  boat ;  Jcatt,  deer ; 
Icatt  hutsu  ziggin,  I  have  a  small  deer ;  slei,  hand ;  hall 
ton  slei,  give  thy  hand.  Pronouns  are  either  distinct 
words,  or  are  prefixes  to  substantives  and  verbs.  Pre- 
fixes also  denote  the  possessive  case.  To  the  former 
class  belong  htla,  I;  and  tonga,  thou.  To  the  latter 
belong  te,  ti,  de,  di,  zi,  Jcje,  teea,  tl,  t,  mine,  all  of  which 
are  used  in  the  first  person  singular.  Second,  person 
singular,  tong,  ton,  ten,  thine ;  second  person  plural,  toll- 
ong,  yours. 

Of  the  conjugation  of  the  verb,  the  following  may 
serve  as  example :  Present  indicative — I  am  hungry, 
tekutke;  thou  art  hungry,  tong  Ichuttus;  he  is  hungry, 
law  Ichuttung;  we  are  hungry,  ill  Jchuttung;  you  are 
hungry,  tollong  Ichuttus;  they  are  hungry,  unnas  Ichut- 
tung. Root  words  are  not  of  great  length.  The  larger 
part  are  words  of  one  or  two  syllables;  some  are  of 
three  or  four,  but  these  are  rare ;  nevertheless,  words 
may  be  agglutinated  to  any  length.8 

The  Nass  language  is  spoken  with  very  slight  differ- 
ences by  the  Nass,  Hailtzas,  and  Sebassas,  who  dwell 
around  Observatory  Inlet,  Millbank  Sound,  and  the 
islands  of  Pitt  Archipelago,  respectively.  Harsh 
sounds  and  gutturals  predominate.9  The  personal 
pronouns  are — noolcwa,  I ;  cusho,  thou  ;  nesho,  mine ; 
cusho,  thine;  nookwintoJc,  we;  Icycusko,  ye;  caigh  qua, 
he;  elee  caigh  qua,  they.10 

Dunn  gives  a  few  sentences,  which  I  insert  as  speci- 

* 

8/rf.,  pp.  569-607. 

9 Green,  in  Amer.  Antlq.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  iL,  p.  302.  'Nass in 

custom  and  language,  resemble  the  Sabassa.'  Dunn's  Oregon,  p.  279;  Busch- 
mann,  Spr.  J^.  Mex.,  u.  der  Westseite  des  b.  Nordamer,  pp.  398  et  seq. 

10/S'cowfer,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  ix.,   p.  234. 


BELLACOOLA  AND  CHIMSYAN.  607 

mens :  'whealey  lowels  Icussu,  where  are  you  going  ? 
howmithlem  pooquialla  iltsouk,  do  you  understand  our 
language?  lowels,  cah  cunter  cah  millah,  go  shoot 
deer.11 

In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Nass  are  two  other 
languages,  the  Bellacoola  and  Chimsyan,  of  which 
hardly  anything  is  known.  Tolmie  supposes  the 
Chimsyan  to  be  related  to  the  Tacully  language,  but 
Buschmann,  on  comparing  the  vocabularies,  could  not 
find  the  affinity.  The  Rev.  Mr  Good  informs  me 
that  the  Chimsyan  tongue  extends  inland  as  far  as 
Eraser  and  Stuart  Lake.12  Compare  the  following 
words : 

BELLACOOLA.  CHIMSYAN. 

I  untsh  newyo 

Thou  eno  noone 

Mine  untshil  nawhawae 

We  unshto  neuhami 

Ye  enooh  neumi 

He  teechtil  taigh  qua 

They  teech  til  tin  no  mo  taight  queet 

Man  tlimsdah  tzib 

Woman  chinash  unaach 

Knife  teech  tah  ilth-a-peesh 

Water  kull  ah  use 

Stone  quils  tolomick  loap 

Sun  skin  nueh  kium  uk 

Moon  tlooki  kium  ugum  aat  uk 

Good  teeah  aam 

Bad  ushee  atuchk 

The  Hailtzas  and  the  Bellacoolas  have  the  following 
words  in  common:  luatz,  dog;  poe,  halibut;  tlah,  black 
bear;  nun,  grizzly  bear.13 

On  Vancouver  Island  a  multitude  of  dialects  are 
spoken,  and  various  and  contradictory  classifications 
have  been  made,  none  of  which,  in  my  opinion,  are 
correct.  From  the  evidence,  dialectic  diversity  pre- 
vails to  such  an  extent  that  almost  every  petty  tribe 
has  its  idiom;  so  that,  even  if  affinities  do  exist,  suffi- 
cient to  justify  a  classification  into  languages  and 
dialects,  so  meagre  is  our  knowledge  that  it  is  impos- 
sible in  many  instances  to  say  which  are  languages 
and  which  dialects.  Hence  in  my  classification  I  can- 

11  Dunn's  Oregon,  p.  358. 

l*Scouler,  in  *Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  ix.,  p.  221. 

12  Id.,  pp.  230  et  seq. 


608  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES.  v 

not  do  better  than  to  make  of  the  Nootka  one  lan- 
guage, and  give  a  list  of  the  dialects  on  the  island, 
with  all  the  information  concerning  them  at  my  com- 
mand. Four  languages  of  the  island — the  Quackoll 
in  the  north,  the  Cowichin  on  the  east,  the  Clallam  at 
the  south,  and  the  Makah  on  the  west,  are  said  to  be 
"totally  distinct  from  each  other,  both  in  sound,  forma- 
tion, and  modes  of  expression."  The  one  last  men- 
tioned is  said  to  bear  some  affinity  to  the  language 
spoken  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,14  and  is 
called  by  Sproat  the  Aht  language,  for  which  he  claims 
in  like  manner  that  it  "can  be  traced  through  all  the 
tribes  on  the  ocean  coast,  as  far  south  as  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia."  The  Comux,  which  people  he 
locates  on  the  east  coast  between  the  Cowichins  and 
Quackolls,  migrated  thither,  he  says,  from  the  main 
land,  and  the  tribes  "do  not  readily  understand  one 
another's  language;"  from  all  of  which  we  may  infer 
that  in  reality  there  is  only  one  language,  of  which 
these  four  are  the  chief  dialects.16  Yet  this  is  par- 
tially contradicted  by  Grant,  who  affirms  that  the 
Cowichins  and  Clallams  can  communicate  with  each 
other,  though  not  very  easily,  but  that  the  Makahs 
and  Quackolls  cannot  converse  with  each  other  or 
with  any  of  the  other  nations.16  Another  authority, 
who  certainly  ought  to  be  entitled  to  an  opinion,  hav- 
ing been  a  captive  among  these  nations  for  some  years, 
also  intimates  that  in  reality  there  was  only  one  lan- 
guage dominant  on  the  island.  After  enumerating  the 
different  tribes,  he  concludes:  "  All  of  whom  speak  the 
same  language.  But  the  Newchemass  who  come 
from  a  great  way  northward,  and  from  some  distance 
inland,  speak  quite  a  different  language,  although  it  is 
well  understood  by  those  of  Nootka." 17 

M  Grant's  Vane.  Isl,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xxvii.,  pp.  295-6. 

15  Sproat' s  Scenes,  p.  311. 

16 Grant 's  Vane.  LI,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xxvii.,  p.  295. 

17  "xhe  inhabitants  of  Nootka  Sound  and  the  1  laoquatch,  who  occupy  the 
south-western  points  of  the  island,  speak  the  same  language.'  Scouler,  in 
Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xi.,  p.  224;  Jewitt's  Nar.,  pp,  74-77;  Hate's 
Ethnog.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,vol.  vL,  p.  220;  Meares'  Toy.,  pp.  229-32;  Douglas' 
Report,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xxiv.,  p.  246.  At  Point  Discovery, 


LANGUAGES  ON  VANCOUVER  ISLAND.  609 

National  differences  appear  to  consist  more  in  pro- 
nunciation than  in  grammatical  construction.  Thus 
the  articulation  of  the  Klaizzahts  is  hoarser  and  more 
guttural  than  that  of  the  people  of  Nootka  Sound.18 
Dialectic  differences  sometimes  go  so  far  that  the  sev- 
eral bands  of  the  same  tribe  find  difficulty  in  making 
themselves  understood;  as,  for  instance,  the  Nitinaht 
tribes,  when  conversing  with  one  another,  have  fre- 
quently to  repeat  their  sentences  differently  accented  to 
make  them  intelligible.  The  chief  peculiarity  of  the 
Nitinaht  dialect  is  the  transmutation  of  the  letters  m 
and  n,  which  are  in  universa]  use  throughout  the  island, 
for  which  it  substitutes  b  and  d.  Thus  for  mamoolc,  to 
work,  the  Nltinahts  say  baboilc;  nismah,  country,  they 
pronounce  dissibach,  and  so  on.19 

As  compared  with  that  of  the  Tblinkeets,  the  Nootka 
language  is  neither  harsh  nor  disagreeable.  Its  most 
curious  feature  is  the  predominance  of  labials  and 
dentals  over  gutturals.  The  Nootkas  possess  fine  ora- 
torical powers,  lending  assistance  to  their  words  by 
shaking  their  head,  gesticulating  forcibly,  and  even 
jumping  at  each  other.  A  singular  sound,  and  one 
which  it  is  impossible  to  express  by  any  combination  of 
letters,  happens  in  many  of  their  words.  Spreading 
the  corners  of  the  mouth  to  their  widest  extent,  and 
raising  the  point  of  the  tongue  against  the  palate,  they 
expel  the  air  from  the  sides  of  the  mouth,  at  the  same 
time  bringing  the  tongue  down  strongly,  which  obvi- 
ously produces  a  sound  altogether  foreign  to  the  English 

Vancouver  met  people  some  of  whom  '  understood  a  few  words  of  the  Nootka 
language.'  Voya'je,  vol.  i.,  p.  228.  'The  distinct  languages  spoken  by  the 
Indians  are  few  in  number,  but  the  dialects  employed  by  the  various  tribes  are 
so  many,  that  although  the  inhabitants  of  any  particular  di3trict  have  no 
great  diiuculty  in  communicating  with  each  other, ....  Mayne's  B  (?.,  p.  241; 
Sproat's  Scenes,  p.  311.  The  Rev.  Mr  Good  divides  and  locates  the  language:* 
of  Vancouver  Island  and  the  opposite  shore  on  the  main  land  as  follows.  The 
first  language,  he  says,  runs  along  the  coast  from  Kitinaht  to  Nootka  Sound ; 
the  second  prevails  from  Sooke  to  Nanaimo,  and  across  the  sound  up  to 
L:rd  Inlet  on  the  main  land,  thence  following  up  the  Fraser  River  as  far  as 
Yale;  this  he  names  the  Cowichin.  On  the  island  north  of  Cowichin  he 
locates  the  Comux  and  adjoining  it  the  Ucleta;  finally  starting  at  Fort 
Rupert  and  following  the  north  coast  of  the  island  and  also  on  the  opposite 
shore  of  the  main  land  is  the  Quackoll. 

l8Jeuritt's  jVar.,  p.  75. 

19  Sproat's  Scenes,  p.  132. 
VOL.  in.    33 


610  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

vocabulary.  Captain  Cook  says  of  this  sound:  "It  is 
formed,  in  a  particular  manner,  by  clashing  the  tongue 
partly  against  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  with  considerable 
force ;  and  may  be  compared  to  a  very  coarse  or  harsh 
method  of  lisping/'  and  he  attempts  to  give  the  sound 
by  the  letters  IsztJil.  Many  words  end  with  this  sound, 
and  also  with  a  tl,  z,  or  ss;  as,  opulszthl,  sun ;  onulszthl, 
moon;  kahsheetl,  dead;  teeshcheetl,  to  throw  a  stone ;  kooo- 
mitz,  a  human  skull ;  quahmiss,  fish-roe.  Captain  Cook 
further  remarks  upon  their  language,  that  it  "can  only 
be  inferred,  from  their  method  of  speaking,  which  is  very 
slow  and  distinct,  that  it  has  few  prepositions  or  con- 
junctions: and  as  far  as  we  could  discover,  is  destitute 
of  even  a  single  interjection,  to  express  admiration  or 


surprise."20 


Furthermore,  I  may  add,  there  is  no  case,  nor  gen- 
der, nor  tense,  and  number  is  expressed  only  in  the 
personal  pronoun  and  in  the  inflection  of  verbs.  In 
the  first  persons  singular  and  plural,  verbs  end  in  a  or 
mail;  in  the  second  persons,  huk  or  ayts;  and  in  the 
third  persons,  in  mall,  win,  or  utlma  Sometimes  these 
endings  go  over  to  the  adverb  which  accompanies  the 
verb,  and  they  are  subject  to  phonetic  rules,  according 
to  which  syllables  are  sometimes  changed  or  left  out 
altogether.  We  have  wik.  not ;  and  kumotop,  to  under- 
stand ;  wikahkumotop  or  mmmutomah,  I  do  not  under- 
stand; the  latter  mode  being  a  change  for  the  sake  of 
euphony.  Plurals,  and  particularly  frequentative  plu- 
rals, are  expressed  by  duplication ;  as,  mahte  or  mahs, 
house;  mahtmaJis,  all  the  houses.  Different  classes 
of  words  appear  to  have  different  terminals ;  for  exam- 
ple, instruments  end  with  ik — hukkaik,  a  knife ;  hissik, 
a  saw.  Colors  end  in  uk  or  ook — eyyohquk,  green ;  kis- 
tokkuk,  blue;  May  hook  t  purple;  kleesookj  white;  toop- 

20  '  El  idioma  de  estos  naturales  es  tal  vez  el  mas  aspero  y  duro  de  los  cono- 
cidos.  Abundan  mucho  en  el  las  consonantes,  y  las  terminaciones  en  tl  y  tz, 
constando  el  intermedio  y  el  principle  de  los  vocables  de  aspiracioiies  inuy 
fuertes. '  Sutil  y  Mexicana,  Viage,  p.  147.  '  Their  language  is  very  guttural, 
and  if  it  were  possible  to  reduce  it  to  our  orthography,  it  would  very  much 
abound  with  consonants.'  Sparks'  Life  of  Ledyard,  p.  72;  Cook's  Voy.  to 
Pac.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  334-6. 


NANAIMO  COMMANDMENTS.  611 

Jcook,  black.  Plissil,  red,  forms  an  exception.  Trees 
and  plants  end  in  pt — Jcowwhipl,  seewhipl,  oolsmupl, 
klakkupt,  etc.  Verbs  end  in  shill,  shell,  and  chill,  al- 
though some  exceptions  occur.  Another  distinctive 
ending  is  up — chdlayup,  to  cut  off  with  a  knife ;  Jcdd- 
sup,  to  hurt  or  wound;  hyyusalyup,  to  diminish; 
ashsup,  to  break  a  string  or  cord;  quoyup,  to  break  a 
stick,  etc.21  As  a  specimen  of  the  language,  I  give 
the  first  three  of  the  Ten  Commandments,  and  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  in  the  dialect  of  the  Nanaimos.22 

NUTSA. 

Owa  tonowp,  quinet  ta  eesaila  tseetsel  seeam,  ohi 
tanca  tseetsel  seeam. 

EESAILA. 

Owa  tanowa  seeise  ta  seeathl  sta  ta  stem  nay  quo 
tseetsel,  sta  ta  stem  aitna  tomuck,  e  sta  ta  stem  nay  ta 
ka,  kokoo  taswa  tseetsel  seeam  owa  tanowa  cappausom 
e  stayweeil  ta  sta,  ohi  tanca  tseetsel  seeam.  Towhat 
oyas  kullstuck,  tanca  ouseete  tanca  quaquat  e  towhat 
ighstuck  tanca  e  oyas  shatlm  tanswan  squell  oseete 
tanca  igh  lalamat. 

TLEEUGH. 

Owa  tanowa  heewaulim  ta  squish  quo  tseetsel  seearn 
oseete  tseetsel  seeam  quaquasaum  towhat  oyas  sta. 

TA    KALHEM    TA   JESUKIT. 

Saulth  man  nay  quo  tseetsel  igh  telneemelth  oyas 
stlay  stuck  ta  statsn  squish.  Tel-neemelth  ohi  stlay 
tanowa  sthee  seeam  nay  toumuck  tomuck.  Igh  taswa 
mestiu  shatlm  ta  squell  aitna  tomuck  sta  ta  tseetsel 
inestiu.  Tana  quial  e  muck  squial  mistook  ta  saulth 
saulthan.  Igh  tanowa  nahi  tataeuk  whawa  telneemelth 
e  ta  saulth  kull  squiaxits  sta  telneemelth  nahi  tataeuk 
whunem  toumuck  mestiu  kull  squiaxits  whawa  telnee- 

^Sproat's  Scenes,  pp.  124  et  seq. 

22  For  a  copy  of  which  I  am  indebted  to  the  late  proprietor  of  the  Overland 
Monthly  of  San  Francisco. 


612  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

melth.  Igh  telneemeltli  owanam  ethlkalth  ta  kull,  igh 
tanowa  awistuck  etha  igh.  Ohi  tanowa  oonans  sthee 
seeam,  tanowa  ohi  sthee  quamqum  telneemelth  ohi 
cappausom  high  quo  tanowa  oyas  oyas.  Amen. 

From  certain  interpretations  placed  upon  the  ancient 
Aztec  manuscripts,  it  was  by  some  inferred  that  the 
origin  of  that  people  must  be  sought  in  the  north; 
hence  speculative  philologists  have,  from  time  to  time, 
discovered  many  fancied  resemblances  between  the  lan- 
guage of  the  aboriginal  Mexicans  and  those  of  various 
northern  nations.  Thus  in  the  speech  of  the  Nootkas, 
a  distinct  phonetic  resemblance,  and  the  frequent  oc- 
currence of  the  ending  tl,  were  sufficient  evidence  to 
Vater  and  others  that  a  relationship  exists  between 
the  Aztecs  and  the  Nootkas..  Prescott,  following  his 
predecessors,  fell  into  the  same  error.  HumboJdt,  al- 
though struck  with  the  similarities  mentioned,  yet 
pronounced  them  different  tongues,23  while  Busch- 
mann,  who  has  examined  the  subject  more  than  all 
others  combined,  denies  all  such  relationship.24 

Coming  over  to  the  main  land,  we  find,  for  the  most 
part,  in  each  of  the  many  inlets  and  canals  a  separate 
language.  Between  these  languages,  from  perpetual 
intertribal  intercourse,  it  is  impossible  to  determine,  in 

23  '  En  examinant  avec  soin  des  vocabulaires  formes  a  Noutka  et  h  Mon- 
terey, j'ai  etc  frappe  de  1'homotonie  et  des  desinences  mexicaines  de  plusieurs 
mots,  comme,  par  exemple,  dans  la  langue  des  Noutkiens ....  Cepeudaiit,  en 
general,  les  langues  de  la  Nouvelle-Californie  et  de  File  de  Quadra,  different 
essentiellement  de  1'azteque.'  Humboldt,  Essai  Pol.,  torn,  i.,  p.  321.  '  Sprach- 

ahnlichkeiten hat   man,    wie   auch  nachher    bey   der    Betrachtung    der 

Maxikanischen  Sprache  aus  einander  gesetzt  werden  soil,  an  dieter  Nor  Jwest- 


and  general  sound  of  the  words,  bear  considerable  resemblance  to  the  Mexi- 
can.' Prescott' 's  Mex.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  399. 

24 '  So  gewinnt  die  Nutka-Sprache,  durch  eine  reiche  Zahl  von  Wortern 
und  durch  grosse  Ziige  ihres  Lautwesens,  einzig  vor  alien  anderen  fremden 
...  .in  einem  bedeutenden  Theile  eine  tauscheiide  Ahnlichkeit  mit  der  azte- 
kischen  oder  mexicanischen;  und  so  wird  die  ihr  schon  friiher  gewidmete 
Aufmerksamkeit  vollstandig  gerechtf  ertigt.  Ihrer  mexicanishen  Erscheinung 
fehlt  aber,  wie  ich  von  meiner  Seite  hier  ausspreche,  jede  Wirklichkeit. ' 
JBuschmann,  Spr.  N.  Mex.  u.  der  Wesikuste  des  b.  Nordamer,  p.  371. 


LANGUAGES  OF  BRITISH  COLUMBIA.  613 

some  instances,  what  relationship,  if  any,  exists.  Sev- 
eral of  the  languages  of  the  island  we  find  also  on  the 
main  land  adjacent.  The  Clallams  are  found  on  both 
sides  of  Juan  de  Fuca  Straits;  and  nearly  related  to 
the  Cowichins,  who  are  found  as  well  on  the  main 
land  near  the  mouth  of  Eraser  River  as  on  the  island, 
are  the  Noosdalums  of  Hood  Canal,  one  language  be- 
ing but  a  dialect  of  the  other. 

Respecting  the  languages  spoken  in  the  interior  of 
British  Columbia,  the  Rev.  Mr  Good,  who  has  spent 
fifteen  years  among  the  inland  nations,  and  who  is 
fully  conversant  with  their  languages,  gives  me  the 
following  information:  From  Yale  to  Lilloet,  on  the 
Fraser  River,  thence  from  Bonaparte  to  Nicola  River? 
the  Neetlakapamuch,  or  Thompson  River,  language  is 
spoken.  From  Douglas,  along  the  Harrison  River 
and  lake,  to  its  confluence  with  the  Fraser,  as  far  as 
Chilicothe,  and  again  from  Lillooet  northward  to  Clin- 
ton, the  Stlatelemuck,  or  Lillooet,  language  prevails. 
Next,  from  Bonaparte  River  northward  to  William 
Lake,  to  Shushwap  Lake,  around  Lake  Kamloops, 
and  for  some  distance  on  the  Thompson  River,  the 
Suwapamuck,  or  Shushwap,  tongue  prevails;  and 
finally,  from  Nicola  Lake  to  Kamloops,  and  southward 
as  far  as  Columbia  River,  the  Chitwout,  or  Similka- 
meen,  language  is  used.  Mr  Good  further  asserts 
that,  although  there  are  four  distinct  languages,  they 
are  nevertheless  in  some  degree  affiliated.  From  the 
same  gentleman,  I  also  obtained  the  following  gram- 
matical notes  and  specimens  of  the  Neetlakapamuch 
tongue;  Personal  pronouns  are:  I,  ens;  thou,  awee; 
he,  cheneelt;  we,  nemeemult;  you,  aweepeeaps;  they, 
cliinkoast. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  GIVE. 


PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  give,  ens  nahktinna 

Thou  givest,  awee  nahktatta 
He  gives,        choaeelt  nahktass 


We  ,jjive,     nemeemult  nahktam 
You  give,    aweepeeaps  nahktattose 
They  give,  chinkvast  nahkteeiks 


IMPERFECT. 

I  gave,  huinahktlam 


614  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

I  shall  give,    huinahkchin 

IMPERATIVE. 

Give  me,         nahkchams  |    Give  us,  nahkteea 

Mamans  inserted  in  a  word  signifies  a  desire  to  do 
a  thing ;  thus,  winaskin  means  to  go ;  and  vrinasmam- 
ankin,  I  am  wishing  to  go.  The  syllable  weltin  affixed 
to  a  word  expresses  that  a  thing  has  been  done  effect- 
ively; tlokhtinnaweltin,  I  have  fastened  it  well,  or 
thoroughly.  Tata  is  a  negative  preposition. 

THE  LORD'S  PRAYER. 

Takamote     nemeemult     skatzazact    whohakn     nil 

Our  Father  who  art  in 

kakhtomew.     Axseeas  chutam  clas  squest  awee.  Eyah 

heaven.  Good         to  be  done     the         name       thine.         Good 

huntohs  stakums  asait  cunamah  axclahaks  swonakum 

make  haste  all  men  come  truly 

eah  tuksmite  Jesu  Cree  huntoseamal.     Awee  kaseah 

good     children  of      Jesus     Christ         make  haste.  Thy  will 

eah  ah  chuwo  naanatomew,  clah  seeatahah  L'angels 

good  done  on  earth,  as  the  angels 

archkhwamo    incheah  nilkahtomew.     Takamose   nuk 

do  there  heaven.  All  and 

stakuin  a  tseetlekut  nahkteea  nemeemult  stakums  as 

every  day  give  us  all          our 

skhlayans.     Altla  quonquonstyea  nemeenult  takamote 

food.  And  forgive  us  all 

nemeemult  outkest,  tseeah  nemeemult  quonquonstama 

our  evil  as  we  forgive 

takamote  tooal  saitcunamaaks  weetsikteesetekest  whoa 

all  of  men  who         accomplish         any  evil       to 

nemeemult.     Atahmose    tab.    hoshaman   as    masteel 

us.  Never  let  the  evil  one  lead 

nemeemult  axkhokestumtum  a  quonteese  akest.  Kamult 

us  to  wish  to    lay  hold  of    any  evil.         But 

akklokpistyip  nemeemult  takamote  too  a  kest  wilkakow. 

deliver  us  all  that  is  evil       far  from  us. 

Shutenmeenwawee  takamose  atomew.  Shutenmeenwa- 

Thine  all  the  world.  Thine 


PUGET   SOUND  DIALECTS.  615 

wee  takamose  azozoht.     Shutenmeenwawee  takamose 

all  strength.  Thine  all 

asyameet.          Taeah     asklakameemus     astinansouse, 

worship.  Good  evermore  to  come, 

asklakameemus  astinansouse.     Axseahs. 

evermore  to  come.  Amsn. 

Proceeding  southward  to  Puget  Sound,  we  have 
the  Shimiahmoo,  Nooksak,  Lummi,  Samish,  Snohom- 
ish,  and  others ;  and  around  Cape  Flattery,  the  Classet. 
The  Makah,  Classet,  or  Klaizzaht,  I  have  spoken  of 
already,  in  connection  with  the  language  of  Vancouver 
Island,  and  it  also  appears  that  the  Clallam  S'klalum, 
or,  as  they  call  themselves,  Nusklaiyum,  is  also  con- 
nected with  the  Vancouver  Island  language.25  It  is 
probably  the  same  which  Dr  Scotfler  has  called  the 
Noosdalum.  The  Lummi,  or  Nukhlumi,  and  the 
Shimiahmoo  have  also  some  affinity  with  the  Sanetch 
dialect  of  Vancouver  Island,  and  the  languages  of  the 
Skagits  and  Samish  approach  that  of  the  Nisquallies. 
Yet  while  the  Clallam  and  Lummi  show  certain  affini- 
ties to  the  Nootka  dialect,  they  nevertheless  clearly 
belong  to  the  Salish,  or  Flathead  family.26 

We  now  come  to  the  great  interior  Salish  family, 
although  I  shall  have  occasion  again  to  refer  to  the 
coast  language  in  this  vicinity.  The  northernmost 
Salish  language  is  the  Shush wap,  or  Atnah,  which 
approaches  near  to  its  neighbor,  the  Salish  proper;27 
then  there  are  the  Kullespelm,  or  Pend  d'Oreille,  the 

25  They  spoke  the  same  language  as  the  Nootkas.  Vancouver's  Voy.y  vol. 
i.,  p.  218. 

26 '  The  affinities  of  the  Clallam  and  Lummi  are  too  obvious  to  require 
demonstration.'  Gibbs*  Clallam  and  Lummi  Vocab.,  p.  vii.  'The  Tsihaili- 
Selish  languages  reach  the  sea  in  the  part  opposite  Vancouver's  Island.  Per- 
haps they  touch  it  to  the  north  also.'  Latham's  Comp.  Phil.,  vol.  viii.,  p.  401; 
Gairdner,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xi.,  p.  255. 

27 '  Les  Indiens  de  la  c6te  ou  de  la  Nouvelle  Cale'donie,  les  Tokalis,  les 
Chargeurs  (Carriers),  les  Schouchouaps,  les  Atnas  appartiennent  tous  a  la 
nation  des  Chipeouaians. '  Mofras,  Explor.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  337.  'The  Atnah 
language  has  no  affinity  to  any  with  which  I  am  acquainted.'  Mackenzie's 
Voyages,  p.  258. 


616  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

Spokane,  the  Soaiatlpi,  and  the  Okanagan,  which  with 
others  spoken  on  the  Columbia  show  close  affinities. 

The  Salish  proper,  or  Flathead,  is  harsh  and  guttural. 
The  letters  b,  d,  /,  r,  v,  do  not  exist  in  this  language. 
The  plural  of  substantives  is  formed  in  different  ways : 
first,  by  duplicating  the  root — skoi,  mother;  skoikoi, 
mothers :  second,  by  duplicating  and  dropping  a  vow^el 
from  the  root — skaltmigu,  man;  sklkaltmigu,  men; 
esnwck,  mountain;  esmokmck,  mountains:  third,  by 
duplicating  a  consonant  in  the  middle  of  the  word — 
skolchemtis,  eyelid;  skokhammus,  eyelids:  fourth,  by 
prefixing  the  syllable  ul — nackoemen,  thief;  ulnakoe- 
men,  thieves :  and  lastly,  there  are  divers  formations, 
as  es'schite,  tree;  szklil,  trees,  forest;  sWem,  woman 
(mulier) ;  pblplgui,  women.  Diminutives  are  expressed 
by  placing  I  before  the  root,  as  s  Wem,  woman ;  slmem, 
small  woman;  lick,  wood;  llul'lJc,  a  small  piece  of  wood. 
Augmentatives  are  formed  by  prefixing  the  syllable 
kutn,  or  Jcuti,  when  the  word  commences  with  an  s  or 
I,  thus,  skagae,  horse ;  kuti-skagae,  a  great  horse ;  sm'of, 
smoke ;  kuti-sm'ot,  a  great  smoke.  There  are  pronouns, 
personal,  possessive,  demonstrative,  relative,  interroga- 
tive, and  indefinite.  According  to  Mengarini,  the 
personal  pronoun  has  two  forms,  absolute  and  copula- 
tive, the  exact  meaning  attached  to  these  terms  not 
being  explained. 

ABSOLUTE.  COPULATIVE. 

I  koie  ko 

Thou  anui  ku 

He  znilz 

We  kaempile  kae 

You  mpilepstemp  p,  or  mp 

They  zni'ilz 

As  examples  of  the  others  there  are  possessives— 
mine,  in;  thine,  an;  his,  s;  ours,  kao;  yours,  mp; 
theirs,  s:  demonstratives — this,  ie;  that,  zi:  inter- 
rogative— who,  suet:  and  indefinite — some  one,  chndksi. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  BE  ANGRY. 


PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  am  angry,  tnes  aitnt-i 

Thou  art  angry,     kues  aimt-i 
He  is  angry,  es  aimt-i 


We  are  angry,  kaes  aimt-i 

You  are  angry,  pes  aimt-i 

They  are  angry,          es  aiimt-i 


SALISH  DIALECTS.  617 

PERFECT. 

I  have  been  angry,         tn-aimt  or  tnes  aimt 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

I  shall  be  angry,  nem  tn  aimt 

IMPERATIVE. 

Be  angry,  aimt  sch 

PRESENT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 


If  I  be  angry,  tiks  aimt-i 

If  thou  be  angry,     kuks  aimt-i 
If  he  be  angry,         ks  aimt-i 


If  we  be  angry,      kaeks  aimt-i 
If  you  be  angry,     pks  aimt-i 
If  they  be  angry,  ks  aiimt-i 


IMPERFECT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 

If  I  were  angry,  k  neu  tn  aimt 

OPTATIVE. 

If  I  might  be  angry,      komi  tn  aimt 

Following  is  a  Lord's  Prayer,  the  nationality  not 
given: 

Kae  Feu   l's'chichmd,skat  u  ku  1'zii,  asku  est  kuks 

Our  father  in  heaven  who      liveth,          thy     name  of  thee 

gamenchltm ;  ku  kl  cheltich  s  esik  sp'us;  aszntels  ks 

be  loved;  thou   be          Lord  of  all    hearts;          thy  will 

kolli    ie   1  stoligu,  ezgail  I's'chichmaskat.     Kae  guizlilt 

be  done  this  on     earth,  as  in  heaven.  Us  give  to-day 

ie  tlgoa  lu  kaesiapzinm.    Kaelkolgoellilt  lu  kae  gulguilt 

what  we  need.  Us  forgive  our     '        debts, 

ezgail  lu  tkaempile  kaes  kolgoelltm,  lu  e  epl  gulguilt  1 

as  we  forgive  (those)  who  have        debts  with 

kaempile.     Kae  olkschililt  ta  ka  keskuestm  lu  teie ;  u 

us.  Us  assist  not  at    any  time  receive         evil;  but 

kai  gulguililt  lu     tel     tei&     Komi  ezgail. 

us     preserve  uninjured  from         evil.  Be  it  so.28 

The  above  is  taken  from  the  grammar  of  Mengarini, 
written  in  Latin;  following  is  a  Lord's  Prayer  of  the 
Pend  d'Oreilles,  from  Father  De  Smet,  who  wrote  in 
French : 

Kyleeyou,  Itchitchemask,  askwees  kowaaskshamen- 

Our  father  of  heaven,         that  your  name  be  respected 

shem  ailetzemilkou  yeelskyloog;  ntziezie  telletzia  spoo 

by  all  the  earth;  reign  in  all          the 

oez.       Assinteels       astskole,       yelstoloeg      etzageel 

hearts.        That  your  will  be  done  on  earth  as  also 

28  Mengarini,  Selish  Gram. 


618  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

Itchichemask.  Hoogwitzilt  yettilgwa  lokaitssiapetzim. 

in  heaven.  Give  us  now  all  our       necessaries. 

Knwaasksmeemiltem    klotayie    kloitskeyen    etzageel 

Forgive  us  the  evil     which  we  have  done,         as 

kaitsskolgwelem     klotoiye     kloitskwen    klielskyloog. 

we  forgive  (the  evil)  to  those  who         us  have  offended. 

Koaxalock        shitem       takaakskwentem       klotaiye; 

Accord  to  us  assistance  to  evade  evil; 

kowaaksgweeltem  klotaiye.     Komieetzegeel. 

but  deliver  us  from  evil.  So  be  it.29 

Also  belonging  to  this  family  are  the  languages 
spoken  by  the  Skitsuish,  Pisquouse,  Nsietshaws,  Nis- 
quallies,  and  Chehalis.  The  Nsietshaw  differs  more 
than  the  others  from  the  Salish  proper,  which  is  the 
stock  language  of  this  family,  and  particularly  in  not 
possessing  any  labials;  the  letters  m  and  b  being- 
changed  to  w,  and  p  to  h.  Thus  in  the  Chehalis  and 
Nlsqually  languages  we  have  numan,  son;  tomokh, 
earth;  pansototsi,  winter;  which,  in  the  Nsietshaw, 
are  pronounced  respectively  nuwon,  tawekh,  and  han- 
sotolsi.  The  Chehalis  is  spoken  in  three  dialects,  the 
Chehalis  proper,  the  Quaiantl,  and  the  Queniauitl.80 

The  languages  of  the  Salish  family,  particularly  that 
of  the  Chehalis,  are  rich  in  words,  by  means  of  which 

29 '  Nationes  que  radicaliter  linguam  Selicam  loquuntur  sunt  saltern 
decem:  Calispelm  (vulgo),  Pends  cCoreilles  du  Lac  Inferieur.  Slkatkomlchi, 
Pends  d'oreilles  du  Lac  Superieur.  Selish,  Tetes  Plattes.  Sngomeiiei,  Snpoils- 
chi,  Szk'eszilni,  Spokanes.  S'chizni,  Cceurs  d'atene.  Sgoielpi,  Chaudieres. 
Okinakein,  Stlakam  Okanagan.'  Mengarini,  Selish  Gram.,  p.  120.  '  Their 
language  is  the  same  as  the  Spokeins'  and  Flatheads'.'  Parker's  Explor. 
Tour,  p.  307.  '  The  Spokanes  speak  the  same  dialect  as  the  Flatheads  and 
Pend  d'Oreilles.'  Chapman,  in  2nd.  Aff.  Rept.,  1866,  p.  201;  De  Smet,  Voy., 
p.  237.  'The  Flatheads  are  divided  into  numerous  tribes,  each  having  its 
own  peculiar  locality,  and  differing  more  or  less  from  the  others  in  language, 
customs,  and  manners. '  '  The  Spokan  Indians  are  a  small  tribe  differing 
very  little  from  the  Indians  at  Colville  either  in  their  appearance,  habits, 
or  language.'  Kane's  Wand.,  pp.  173,  307.  'The  Pend'  d'Oreilles  are  gen- 
erally called  the  Flatheads,  the  two  clans,  in  fact,  being  united Still, 

the  two  races  are  entirely  distinct,  their  languages  being  fundamentally 
different.  The  variety  of  tongues  on  the  west  side  of  the  (Rocky)  Moun- 
tains is  almost  infinite,  so  that  scarcely  any  two  tribes  understand  each 
other  perfectly.  They  have  all,  however,  the  common  character  of  being 
very  guttural;  and  in  fact,  the  sentences  often  appear  to  be  mere  jumbles 
of  grunts  and  croaks,  such  as  no  alphabet  could  express  in  writing.'  Simp- 
sons  Overland  Jour.,  vol.  i.,  p.  146. 

30  Hale 's  Ethnog.,  in  U.  8.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  535-7. 


SALISH  LANGUAGES.  619 

everything  coming  within  their  knowledge  may  find 
expression;  they  are  not  easily  acquired  by  strangers; 
it  is  difficult  for  the  different  nations  and  tribes  to 
make  themselves  understood  to  one  another.  This  is 
owing  principally  to  the  many  localisms  in  vogue 
among  them,  of  which  there  is  a  good  specimen  in 
the  Chehalis  language.  Thus  tolneuch  means  west- 
wind,  off  shore,  toward  the  sea,  or  to  the  west.  Now, 
if  the  Chehalis  are  leaving  the  shore  in  a  canoe,  and 
one  of  them  wants  to  tell  his  mate  to  put  her  head  off 
shore,  he  will  say  tolneuch,  but  if  in  a  hurry,  neuch 
neuch.  Claathlum  signifies  east-wind,  also  ashore;  this 
they  transpose  into  clath  clath.31  The  Clallum  and 
Lummi  languages  have  another  peculiarity,  which  is 
a  certain  nasal  sound  at  the  commencement  and  end- 
ing of  words,  like  a  strong  nasal  ns;  also  a  broad  a 
sound  as  in  far,  path.  The  sounds  of  the  letters  v,  r, 
z,  are  wanting.32  The  frequently  occurring  ending  tl 
has  also  led  to  speculation,  and  to  a  search  for  Aztec 
affinities  among  these  languages,  but  nothing  except 
this  phonetic  similarity  has  been  discovered.  This  tl 
ending  is  very  common.  Swan  says  that  "  sometimes 
they  will,  as  if  for  amusement,  end  all  their  words 
with  tl;  and  the  effect  is  ludicrous  to  hear  three  or 
four  talking  at  the  same  time,  with  this  singular 
sound,  like  so  many  sitting  hens."33  East  of  the  Salish, 
the  Kitunaha,  Kootenai,  or  Coutanie  language  is 
spoken.  Authorities  differ  widely  in  describing  this 
language.  Parker  calls  it  "open  and  sonorous,  and 
free  from  gutturals,  which  are  common  in  the  language 
of  the  surrounding  tribes ; "  while  Captain  Palliser  affirms 
that  it  is  "most  guttural  and  unpronounceable  by  a 
European,  every  word  appearing  to  be  brought  from 

81  Swan's  N.  W.  Coast,  p.  315. 

32  Gibbs'  Clallam  and  Lummi  Vocab.,  p.  7. 

3 '  In  the  northern  districts  of  the  great  chain  of  Rocky  Mountains  which 
were  visited  by  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  there  are  several  nations  of  unknown 
language  and  origin.  The  Atnah  nation  is  one  of  them.  Their  dialect  ap- 
pears, from  the  short  vocabulary  given  by  that  traveller,  to  be  one  of  those 
languages  which,  in  the  frequent  recurrence  of  peculiar  consonants,  bears  a 
certain  resemblance  to  the  Mexican.'  Prichard's  Nat.  Hist.  Man,  vol.  ii.,  p. 
550;  Swans  N.  W.  Coast,  pp.  315-16. 


620  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

their  lowest  extremities  with  difficulty."34  The  fol- 
lowing Lord's  Prayer,  taken  by  a  Frenchman  will 
give  a  better  idea  of  the  language  than  any  description : 

Katitoe     naitle     naite,     akiklenais      zedabitskinne 

Our  father,       who  art  in  heaven,  may  thy  name  be  great 

wilkane.     Ninshalinne  oshemake  kapaik  akaitlamam. 

and  honored.  Be  thou  the  master  of  all  hearts. 

Inshazetluite    younoamake    yekakaekinaitte.      Kom- 

May  thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 

nakaike   logenie   niggenawaishne   naiosaem  miaiteke. 

Grant  us       this  day  all  our  wants 

Kekepaime  nekoetjekoetleaitle  ixzeai,  iyakaikakaaike 

Forgive  us  all  the  evil  we  have  done,  as  we  forgive 

iyazeaikinawash    kokakipaimenaitle.      Amatikezawes 

all  the  evil  done  unto  us.  Strengthen  us 

itchkestshimmekakkowelle     akatakzen.          Shaeykia- 

against  all  evil,  and  deliver  us  from  it.  May  it 

kakaaike. 

be  so.35 

The  languages  of  the  Sahaptin  family  are  spoken 
along  the  Lewis  and  Snake  rivers  and  their  tribu- 
taries, as  far  as  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
The  Walla  Walla,  Palouse,  Yakima,  Kliketat,  and 
Sahaptin  proper,  some  of  them  widely  divergent  from 
the  mother  tongue,  are  of  this  family.36  The  Walla 
Walla  differs  from  the  Sahaptin  proper  not  more  than 

34  'Der  Prinz  bezeugt  (Bd.  ii.,  511)  dass  der  behauptete  Mangel  an  Gurgel- 
lauten  ein  Irrthum  ist;  er  bemerkt;  dass  die  Sprache  durch  den  ihr  eignen 
' '  Zungen-schnalz  "  fiir  das  Aussprechen  schwierig  werde,  und  dass  sie  eine 
Menge  von  Gutturaltonen  habe.  Man  spreche  die  Worter  leise  und  undeut- 
lich  aus;  dabei  gebe  es  darin  viele  schnalzende  Tone,  indem  man  mit  der 
Zuiigenspitze  anstosst;  auch  gebe  es  darin  viele  dumpfe  Kehllaute.'  Prince 
Max  zu  Wied,  in  Buschmann,  Spurender  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  661.  'Their  language 
bears  no  affinity  whatever  to  that  of  any  of  the  western  nations.  It  is  infi- 
nitely softer  and  more  free  from  those  unpronounceable  gutturals  so  common 
among  the  lower  tribes. '  Cox's  Adven.,  p.  233  j  Blakistons  Rept.,  in  Palliser's 
Explor.,  p.  73;  Parkers  Explor.  Tour,  p.  307. 

35 De  Smet's  Oregon  Miss.,  p.  409. 

36  'Tribes  speaking  the  Kliketat  language :  Whulwhypum,  Tait-inapum,  Ya- 
kima,  Walla  Wallapum,  Kyoose,  Umatilla,  Peloose,  Wyampam;  the  Yakimas 
and  Kliketats  or  Whulwhypum ....  speaking  the  Walla- Walla  language,  other- 
wise known  as  the  Kliketat.'  Lord's  Nat.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  244,  232.  '  The  Kyeuse 
resemble  the  Walla- Wallas  very  much ....  Their  language  and  customs 
are  almost  identical.'  Kane's  Wand.,  p.  280.  The  Pend  d'Oreilles  'speak 
the  same  language'  (Nez  Perce).  HutcMns,  in  Ind.  A/.  Kept.,  1863,  p.  456. 


SAHAPTIN  LANGUAGES.  621 

the  Portuguese  from  tlie  Spanish.  Father  Pandosy 
made  a  grammar  of  the  Yakima  language,  under  which 
he  ranges  the  whole  Sahaptin  family,  dividing  it  into 
dialects,  as  the  Walla  Walla,  the  Tairtla,  the  Roilroil- 
pam,  or  Kliketat,  and  the  Palouse.37 

In  the  Nez  Perce  language,  the  following  letters 
only  are  found :  A,  lc,  I,  m,  n,  p,  s?  t,  w,  ay  e,  i,  o,  u ;  but 
the  missionaries  having  introduced  some  new  words, 
it  was  found  necessary  to  add  5,  d,  f,  g,  v,  z.  Agglu- 
tination is  carried  to  a  great  length,  and  long  words 
are  very  frequent.  In  fact,  wherever  a  sentence  can 
be  expressed  by  joining  one  word  to  another,  it  is 
done,  leaving  out  letters  in  places  for  the  sake  of 
euphony.  The  following  is  a  fair  illustration :  hitau- 
tualawihnanhauna,  he  travelled  past  in  a  rainy  night. 
Analyzed,  hi  expresses  the  third  person  singular;  tau, 
a  thing  done  at  night;  tuala,  something  done  in  the 
rain;  wihnan,  to  travel  on  foot;  lean  is  derived  from 
the  verb  Icokauna,  to  pass  by;  no,  expresses  the  indica- 
tive mood,  aorist  tense,  direction  from  the  speaker. 
The  plural  of  substantives  is  formed  by  duplicating 
the  first  syllable:  pitin,  girl; pipitin,  girls.  Or  when 
the  word  commences  with  a  vowel,  the  vowel  is  some- 
times repeated :  atwai,  old  woman ;  aatwai,  old  women. 
Exceptions  to  this  rule  are  made  in  words  expressing 
family  relations,  the  prefix  ma  being  employed  in  such 
cases,  as  pika,  mother;  pikama  mothers.  If  p  ter- 
minates the  word,  it  is  omitted,  as  askap,  plural 
askama.  To  express  gender,  the  words  hama,  male, 
and  aiat,  female,  are  employed,  but  the  substantive 

The  Palouse  Indians  'speak  the  same  language.'  Cain,  in  Id.,  1860,  p,  210. 
'The  Wallah-Wallahs,  whose  language  belongs  to  the  same  family.' 
'The  Wallah- Wallahs  and  Nez  Perces  speak  dialects  of  a  common  lan- 
guage and  the  Cayuses  have  abandoned  their  own  for  that  of  the  latter/ 
Gibbs,  in  Pac.  It.  It.  Sept.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  416,  425;  Hole's  Etlmog.,  in  U.  8,  Ex. 
Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  213,  542.  'The  nation  among  v/hich  we  now  are  call  them- 
selves Sokulks;  and  with  them  are  united  a  few  of  another  nation,  who  reside 
on  a  western  branch,  emptying  itself  into  the  Columbia  a  few  miles  above  the 
mouth  of  the  latter  river,  and  whose  name  is  Chimnapum.  The  language 
of  both  these  nations  differs  but  little  from  each  other,  or  from  that  of  the 
Chopunnish  who  inhabit  the  Kooskooskee  and  Lewis's  river.'  Lewis  and 
Clarice's  Trav.,  p.  12.  'The  language  of  the  Walla- Wallas  differs  from  the 
Nez  Perces.'  Parker's  Explor.  Tour,  p.  137. 
37  Pandosy' s  Ydkama  Lang. ,  p.  9. 


622 


COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 


remains  unchanged.     Nouns   are   declined  either  by 
changing  their  terminals,  or  by  affixes : 

Ncm.  a  house  init 

Gen.  of  a  house  ininm 

Ace.  house  inina 

1st  Dat.  to  or  for  a  house  initph 

2d  Dat.  in,  on,  or  upon  a  house  initpa 

1st  Abl.  with  a  house  initki 

2d  Abl.  from  a  house  iiiitpkinih 

3d  Abl.  for  the  purpose  of  a  house      initain 

Comparison — tahs,  good;  tahs  JcanmaJcanm,  better; 
tahmi,  best.  Personal  pronouns — in,  I;  im,  thou; 
ipi,  he  or  she;  nun,  we;  ima,  ye;  imma,  they.  Of 
the  verb  numerous  variations  are  made.  They  are 
divided  into  three  classes,  neuter,  active  transitive, 
and  active  intransitive.  The  two  neuter  verbs  are 
wash,  to  be ;  and  witsasha,  to  become.  Active  intran- 
sitive verbs  cannot  be  followed  by  any  accusative. 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  BE. 


PRESENT  INDICATIVE. 
DIRECTION    FROM. 

in  wash 

im  a  wash 

ipi  hiwash,  ipnim  ush 

nun  washih 

ima  ath  washih 


I  am, 

Thou  art, 

He  is,  it  is  his, 

We  are, 

You  are, 

They  are,  it  is  theirs,      imma  hiushih,  imman  aushih 


I  have  just  been, 
Thou  hast  just  been, 
He  has  just  been, 
it  has  just  been  his, 
We  have  just  been, 
You  have  just  been, 
They  have  just  been, 
it  has  just  been  theirs, 


RECENT   PAST   TENSE. 

waka 
a  waka 

hiwaka,  awaka 
washeka 
ath  washeka 

kinsheka,  ausheka 


DIRECTION   TOWARD. 


im  a  warn 
ipi  hiwam 

ima  ath  washinm 
imma  hiushinm 


wamka 
a  wamka 

hiwamka 
washinmka 
ath  washinmka 

hiushinmka  38 


The  following  grammatical  notes  will  serve  to  illus- 
trate the  Yakima  and  some  of  the  other  languages  of 
the  Sahaptin  family: 

SINGULAR. 

Nom.  the  horse  kussi-nan 

Gen.  of  the  horse  kussi-nmi 

Dat.  to  the  horse  kussi-ow 

Ace.  the  horse  kussi-nan 

Voc.  O  horse  na-kussi 

Abl.  for  the  horse  kussi-ei 

™  Hale' s  Ethnog.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  542  et  seq. 


YAKIMA,  WALLA  WALLA,  AND  PALOUSE.  623 

PLURAL. 

Nom.  the  horses  kussi-ma 

Gen.  of  the  horses  kussi-ma  mi 

Dat.  to  the  horses  kussi-ma-miow 

Ace.  the  horses  kussi-ma-man 

Voc.  0  horses  na-kussi-ma 

Abl.  for  the  horses  kussi-ma-miei 

In  the  Palouse  and  Walla  Walla  languages,  the 
affix  nan  is  changed  into  na.  Personal  pronouns — I, 
ink,  nes,  nesh,  or  sh;  of  me,  enmi;  to  me,  enmiow;  me, 
inak;  for  me,  enmiei;  we,  namak,  nates,  nanam,  aates, 
or  namtk;  of  us,  neemi;  to  us,  neemiow;  us,  nemanak; 
for  us,  neemiei,  The  Walla  Wallas  leave  off  the  k 
from  the  affix  ok;  thus,  instead  of  inak,  me,  they  say 
ina,  and  instead  of  namak,  we,  nama. 

YAKIMA.  WALLA  WALLA   AND   PALOUSE. 

He  penk  penk 

Of  him  pin-mink  pinmin 

To  him  pin-miwk  pinmiow 

Him  pin-nim  piiimimian 

For  him  pin-mikaiei  piniriei 

They  pmak  pma 

Of  them  pe-mink  pamin 

To  them  pe-miwk  pamiwk 

Them  pe-minak  pamanak 

For  them  pe-mikaiei  pamikaiei 

In  one  dialect  the  terminal  ak  is  changed  into  ei. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  HAVE. 

PRESENT  INDICATIVE. 

I  have,  nesh  wa,  or  wash  nesh 

Thou  hast,  mesh  wa,  or  wash  mesh 

He  has,  penk  awa,  or  pinmink  awu, 

We  have,  natesh  wa,  or  wash  natesh 

You  have,  matesh  wa,  or  wash  matesh 

They  have,  pa  wa,  or  pemink  awa 

PERFECT  AND   PLUPERFECT. 

I  had,  or  have  had,         nesh  wacha 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

I  shall  have,  nesh  wata 

As  a  specimen  of  agglutination,  there  is  the 
word  ipinashapatawtrahliktamaivarslia,  he  himself 
makes  night  disagreeably  tiresome  long  wait;  that 
is,  he  keeps  one  long  waiting  for  him  at  night. 

YAKIMA  LORD'S  PRAYER. 

Neemi    Psht,  imk  nam    wamsh         Roiemich-nik; 

Our          Father      thou      who  art        high  on  the  side  (heaven); 


C24 


COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 


shir  nam  'manak  p'a  t-maknani  tarnei  wanicht;  shir 

well  thou     they  (indef.)  should  respect         the   name;     well 

ewianawitarnei  emink  miawarwit;  shir  nammanak  pa 

should  arrive  thy  chieftainship;         well  thee  they 

twanenitarnei,     ichinak     techampa,        tenma,     prw, 

should  follow  here  earth  (on)        inhabitants  (the)     will 

amakwsrimmanak     pa     twanenishamsh     roiemipama 

thou  as  thyself  they  follow  high  of  the  (heaven) 

tenma.  Nemanak  nim  t-kwatak  kwalissim  maisr 

inhabitants  (the).  Our  (us)       give  us       food  always     to-morrow 

maisr.          Nemanak  laknanim  chelwitit:  aateskwsri 

to-morrow.  Our  (us)  forget  sins:  us     as 

namak  t'normaman  laknanisha  chelwitit  anakwnkink 

we  others  forget  sins  have  by  which 

neemiow         pa   chelwitia.     R-t-to  anianim  nemanak 

us  have         offended.  Strong          make  our  (us) 

temna;  t-kraw  krial.       Nemanak  eikrenkem  chel wit- 
heart;          that  it  fall  not.  Us  snatch  bad  from 

knik.     Ekws  iwa  neemi  temna 

the  side.         So         it  is          our        heart.39 

The  Nez  Perces  make  use  of  two  languages,  one  the 
native  language  proper,  or,  as  a  European  might  say, 
the  court  language,  and  the  other  a  slave  language  or 
jargon.  They  differ  so  much  that  a  stranger  fully 
conversant  with  one  cannot  understand  the  other. 
This  jargon  originated,  probably,  from  intermixing 
prisoners  of  war  of  different  nationalities  who  were 
enslaved,  and  their  languages  mingled  with  each  other, 
and  with  that  of  their  conquerors.  The  pure-blooded 
Nez  Perces  all  understand  the  jargon,  learning  it  when 
children,  together  with  their  own  proper  language. 
Nor  is  this  all.  The  jargon  is  more  or  less  modified 
by  each  of  the  several  languages  or  dialects  in  which 
it  is  spoken.  The  employes  of  the  fur  companies, 
who  first  came  in  contact  with  the  Sahaptins,  were 
greatly  annoyed  by  this  multiformity;  as,  for  exam- 
ple, one  Nez  Perce  coming  to  sell  a  beaver  skin  would 
say,  tammecess  taxpool,  I  wish  to  sell  a  beaver;  an- 
other would  say,  toweyou  weespoose,  I  wish  to  trade  a 

39  Pandosifs  Yakama  Lang. 


COURT  LANGUAGE  OF  THE  SAHAPTINS.  625 

beaver;  and  a  third  would  say,  e'towpa  e'yechse,  I  wish 
to  trade  a  beaver. 

The  following  short  vocabulary  will  show  some  of 
the  differences  between  the  Nez  Perce  language  and 
the  jargon  : 

NEZ   PERCE.  JARGON. 

Man  kewas  winch 

Woman  eyatt  tealacky 

Boy  tachnutsem  tuchnoot 

Girl  tochanough  peten 

No  waatown  tsya 

Knife  waltz  whapallmeh 

Horse  she  came  koosy 

Hair  tootanick  kookoo 

Eyes  shelaw  Atchass  *° 

Professor  Rafinesque,  out  of  twenty-four  Sahaptin 
words,  claims  to  have  found  six  bearing  close  affinities  to 
the  English,  but  Buschmann  says  that  of  these  twenty- 
four,  many  are  not  Sahaptin  at  all.41  The  Waiilatpu 
language,  conterminous  with  the  Sahaptin,  is  spoken 
in  two  dialects,  the  Cayuse  and  Mollale.  The  Cay- 
uses  mingle  frequently  with  the  Sahaptins,  and  there- 
fore many  words  of  the  latter  have  been  adopted  into 
their  tongue.  They  mostly  understand  and  speak  the 
Sahaptin,  and  frequently  the  \Valla  Walla,  and  this 
not  from  any  relationship  in  the  several  languages, 
but  from  intercourse.42 

Like  their  neighbors,  the  Cayuses  employ  two  lan- 
guages: one  in  the  transaction  of  the  common  affairs 
of  life,  and  the  other  on  high  state  occasions,  such  as 
when  making  speeches  round  the  council-fire,  to  deter- 
mine questions  of  war  and  peace,  as  well  as  all  other 
intertribal  affairs.  That  is  to  say,  the  Sahaptins  use 
their  court  language  on  all  ordinary  as  well  as  extra- 
ordinary occasions,  keeping  the  jargon  for  their  ser- 
vants, while  the  Cayuses  employ  the  baser  tongue  for 
common,  and  the  higher  for  state  occasions. 

49  Ross'  Fur  Hunters,  vol.  i.,  pp.  313  et  seq. 

^Rafinesque,  Atlantic  Jour.,  p.  133,  quoted  in Buschmann,  Spurender  AzteL 
Spr.t  p.  615.  'Ich  habe  diese  Worter  Rafinesque's  zu  einem  Theil  ganz  ver- 
schioden  von  den  Sahaptan  gef unden. '  Jb. 

42 Hate's  Ethnog.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  561. 
40 


626  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

The  Cayuses  were  eloquent  speakers ;  their  language 
abounded  in  elegant  expressions,  and  they  well  knew 
how  to  make  the  most  of  it.  When  first  known  to 
Europeans  it  was  fact  fading  away,  and  subsequently 
merged  into  the  Sahaptin ;  so  fleeting  are  these  native 
idioms.43 

The  Chinook  language  is  spoken  by  the  different 
tribes  inhabiting  the  banks  of  the  Lower  Columbia 
and  adjacent  country.  This  family  is  divided  into 
many  dialects,  which  diverge  from  the  mother  tongue 
as  we  ascend  the  river ;  in  fact,  the  upper  tribes  have 
mostly  to  employ  an  interpreter  when  they  communi- 
cate with  those  on  the  lower  part  of  the  river.  The 
chief  diversities  of  this  language  are  the  Chinook 
proper,  the  Wakiakum,  Cathlamet,  and  Clatsop,  and 
the  various  dialects  mentioned  by  Lewis  and  Clarke 
as  belonging  to  those  inhabiting  this  region  at  the 
time  of  their  expedition,  but  which  cannot  now  be 
positively  identified  with  any  of  the  languages  known 
to  us.  Two  of  the  last- mentioned  dialects,  the  Mult- 
nomah  and  the  Skilloot,  the  explorers  describe  as 
belonging  to  the  Chinook.44  Among  all  the  languages 
of  north-western  America,  except  perhaps  that  of  the 

43  'The  Skyuse  have  two  distinct  languages:  the  one  used  in  ordinary  in- 
tercourse, the  other  on  extraordinary  occasions;  as  in  war  counsels,  etc.' 
Farnhams  Travels,  p.  153.  '  The  Cayuses  have  abandoned  their  own  for 
that  of  the  "Nez  Perces.'  Gibbs,  in  PGC.  R.  R.  Sept.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  416,  425. 
'Their  language  bears  some  affinity  to  the  Sahaptin  or  Nez-Perce  language.' 
Liidewigs  Ab.  Lang.,  p.  199;  Coke's  Rocky  Nts.,  p.  295;  Kane's  Viand.,  p.  279. 
'  Their  original  language,  now  almost  extinct . . .  having  affinity  to  that  of 
the  Carriers  of  North  Caledonia,  and  the  Umpqua  Indians  of  Southern  Ore- 
gon.' Lord's  Nat.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  249-50. 

44 '  The  language  of  the  bands  farther  up  the  river  departed  more  and  more 
widely  from  the  Chinook  proper,  so  that  the  lower  ones  could  not  have  un- 
derstood the  others  without  an  interpreter.'  Gibbs'  Chinook  Vocab.,  p.  4. 
'  The  vocabulary  given  by  Dr  Scouler  as  "Chenook"  is  almost  altogether 
Chihalis.  His  "Cathlascon  "..,,is  Chinook.'  Id.,  p.  5.  'Des  Tchinooks, 
d'ou  est  sortie  la  laiigue-mere  de  ces  saitvages.'  Saint- Amant,  Voyages,  p.  381. 
'Cathlamahs  speak  the  same  language  as  the  Chinnooks  and  Clatsops.'  Lewis 
and  Clarke s  Travels,  p.  424.  Chinooks  'in  language resemble  the  Clat- 
sops, Cathlamahs,  and  indeed  all  the  people  near  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia. ' 
Id.,  p.  426.  'The  Chinooks,  Clatsops,  Wahkiacums,  and  Cathlamahs...^. 
resembled  each  other  in  person,  dress,  language.'  Irving' s  Astoria,  pp.  85, 
333.  '  Chinooks,  Clatsops,  Cathlamux,  Wakicums,  Wacalamus,  Cattleputles, 

Clatscanias,  Killimux,  Moltnomas,  Chickelis, resemble  one  another  in 

language.'  Xoss'  Adven.,' yip.  87-8.  'The  Chinook  language  is  spoken  by  all 
the  nations  from  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  to  the  falls.'  FrancMre's  Nar., 
p.  262. 


DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE  CHINOOK.  627 

Thlinkeets,  the  Chinook  is  considered  in  its  construc- 
tion the  most  intricate ;  and  in  its  pronunciation  the 
most  difficult.  No  words  are  to  be  found  in  the  Eng- 
lish vocabulary  which  can  accurately  describe  it.  To 
say  that  it  is  guttural,  clucking,  spluttering,  and  the 
like  conveys  but  a  faint  conception  of  the  sound  pro- 
duced by  a  Chinook  in  his  frantic  effort  to  unburden 
his  mind  of  an  idea.  He  does  not  appear  to  have  yet 
discovered  the  use  of  the  lips  and  tongue  in  speaking, 
but  struggles  with  the  lower  part  of  the  throat  to  pro- 
duce sounds  for  the  expression  of  his  thoughts.  Some 
declare  that  the  speech  of  the  Thlinkeets,  whose  lan- 
guage, like  that  of  the  Chinook,  contains  no  labials,  is 
melody  in  comparison  to  the  croakings  of  the  Chinook s. 
Ross  says  that  "to  speak  the  Chinook  dialect,  you 
must  be  a  Chinook."45  Indeed,  they  appear  to  have 
become  tired  of  their  own  language  and  to  have  vol- 
untarily abandoned  it,  for  to-day  the  youthful  Chi 
nook  speaks  almost  wholly  Chehalis  and  the  jargon. 
The  employes  of  the  fur  companies,  voyageurs?  trap- 
pers, and  traders,  who  were  accustomed  to  master  with 
little  difficulty  the  aboriginal  tongues  which  they  en- 
countered, were  completely  nonplussed  by  the  Chinook. 
A  Canadian  of  Astor's  company  is  the  only  person 
known  to  have  acquired  it  so  as  to  speak  it  fluently. 
During  a  long  illness  he  was  nursed  by  the  Chinooks, 

45 '  The  language  spoken  by  these  people  is  guttural,  very  difficult  for  a 
foreigner  to  learn,  and  equally  hard  to  pronounce.'  Boss'  Adven.,  p.  101. 
'  Decidedly  the  most  unpronounceable  compound  of  gutturals  ever  formed  for 
the  communication  of  human  thoughts,  or  the  expression  of  human  wants. ' 
Cox's  Adven.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  133.  'I  would  willingly  give  a  specimen  of  the  bar- 
barous language  of  this  people,  were  ib  possible  to  represent  by  any  combina- 
tion of  our  alphabet  the  horrible,  harsh,  spluttering  sounds  which  proceed 
from  their  throats,  apparently  unguided  either  by  the  tongue  or  lip.  Kane's 
Wand.,  p.  182.  'It  is  hard  and  difficult  to  pronounce,  for  strangers;  being 
full  of  gutturals,  like  the  Gaelic.  The  combinations  thl,  or  tl  and  U,  are  as 
frequent  in  the  Chinook  as  in  the  Mexican.'  Franchere's  Nar.,  p.  262.  'After 
the  soft  languages  and  rapid  enunciation  of  the  islanders,  the  Chinooks  pre- 
sented a  singular  contrast  in  the  slow,  deliberate  manner  in  which  they 
seemed  to  choke  out  their  words;  giving  utterance  to  sounds,  some  of  which 
could  scarcely  be  represented  by  combinations  of  known  letters. '  Pickering's 
Race*,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  ix.,  p.  23.  'It  abounds  with  gutturals  and 
"^clucking"  sounds  almost  as  difficult  to  analyze  as  to  utter.'  Gibbs'  Chinook 
Vocab.,  p.  5. 


628  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 


and  during  his  convalescence  devoted  his  entire  time 
to  perfecting  himself  in  their  tongue.46 

Here  the  sounds  of  the  letters/,  r,  v,  and  z  do  not  ex- 
ist, the  pronunciation  is  generally  very  indistinct,  and 
£  and  s,  k  and  g,  d  and  £,  are  almost  always  confounded. 

In  the  first  person  of  the  dual  and  plural  of  pro- 
nouns, the  person  present  and  addressed  is  either  in- 
cluded or  excluded  according  to  the  form  used. 

Personal  pronouns  in  the  Watlala  dialect  are : 

SINGULAR.  DUAL.  PLURAL. 


Thou       maika 
He  iakhka 


We  (two)  (exc.)  ndaika 
We  (two)  (incl.)  tkhaika 
You  (two)  mdaika 

They  (two)  i?takhka 


We  (ex. )  n<?taika 

We  (incl.)  olkhaika 

You  mdaika 

They  tkhlait?ka 


Of  the  possessive  pronouns  the  following  will  serve 
as  examples.  They  are  joined  to  the  noun  itukutkhle, 
or  itukwutkhle,  house. 

SINGULAR. 

My  house  kukwutkhl 

Thy  house  meokwitkhl 

His  house  iakwitkhl 

DUAL.  PLURAL. 

Our  house  (exc.)  ndakwitkhl  ntcakwitkhl  (exc.) 

Our  house  (incl.)  tkhakwitkhl  olkhakwitkhl  (incl.) 

Your  house  mdakwitkhl  ndakwitkhl 

Their  house  i9takwitkhl  tkhlakwitkhl 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  BE  COLD. 

PRESENT   INDICTATIVE,    SINGULAR. 

I  am  cold,  naika  t9inokhkeakh 

Thou  art  cold,  maika  tcicomkeakh 

He  is  cold,  iakhka  t^ikeakh 

DUAL. 

We  (two)  are  cold  (exc.),  ndaika  t9icontkeakh 

We  (two)  are  cold  (incl.),  tkhaika  t?ictkeakh 

You  (two)  are  cold,  mdaika  t9imokeakh 

They  (two)  are  cold,  ictakhka  t9i9tkeakh 

PLURAL. 

We  are  cold  (exc. ),  nt9aika  t9icont9keakh 

We  are  cold  (incl.),  olkhaika  t9ilokeakh 

You  are  cold,  ndaika  t9i9oni9keakh 

They  are  cold,  tkhlait9ka  t9i9otkhlkeakh 

46  *  The  ancient  Chenook  is  such  a  guttural,  difficult  tongue,  that  many 
of  the  young  Chenook  Indians  cannot  speak  it,  but  have  been  taught  by 
their  parents  the  Chehalis  language  and  the  Jargon. '  Swan's  N.  W.  Coast,  p. 
306;  Hole's  Ethnoa.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  562.  "The  very  difficult 
pronunciation  and  excessively  complicated  form  of  the  Chinook  has  effectu- 
ally prevented  its  acquisition,  even  by  missionaries  and  fur-traders.'  Gibbs 
Chinook  Vocab.t  p.  5. 


CALAPOOYA  PRONOUNS. 


IMPERFECT. 

Yesterday  I  was  cold,  takotkhl  naika  t9inotkeakh 

FIRST  FUTURE. 

By  and  by  I  shall  be  cold,         atkhlke  naika  tcifonkhatka 
I  shall  be  cold,  naika  o^khatka  ^919 

THE  VERB  TO  KILL. 

I  kill  thee,  aminowagua 

I  kill  him,  t9inowagua 

I  kill  you  (dual),  oratkinowagua 

I  kill  them  (dual),  O9tkinowagua 

I  kill  you  (pi.),  om9kinowagua 

I  kill  them,  otkhlkinowagua 

You  kill  him,  on^kiwagua 

You  kill  them,  otkhlkiwagua 

Dialectic  differences,  particularly  among  the  upper 
Chinooks,  or  Watlalas,  are  found  principally  in  words; 
grammatical  forms  being  alike  in  both.47  Kane  re- 
marks as  a  peculiarity  that  this  language  contains  "no 
oaths,  or  any  words  conveying  gratitude  or  thanks/'43 

Moving  again  southward  to  the  Willamette  Valley, 
I  find  the  Calapooya  language,  and  for  the  first  time  a 
soft  and  harmonious  idiom.  Although  the  guttural 
Ich  sometimes  occurs,  it  is  more  frequently  softened  to 
h.  The  consonants  are  g  or  s,  f,  j,  k,  I,  m,  n,  ng,  p  or 
b,  t  or  d,  q,  and  w.  Unlike  the  Sahaptin  and  Chinook 
there  are  neither  dual  nor  plural  forms  in  the  Cala- 
pooya language. 

The  personal  pronouns  are : 

I  t'si,  or  tsii 

Thou  maha,  or  maa 

He  koka,  or  kak 

We  soto 

You  miti 

They  kinuk 

My  father  tsi  simna 

Thy  father  maha  kaham 

His  father  kok  iiiifam 

Our  father  soto  tufam 

Your  father  miti  tifam 

Their  father  kinuk  inifam 

My  mother  tsi  sinni 

Thy  mother  maha  kanni 

His  mother  kok  ininnim 

Our  mother  soto  tunnim 

Your  mother  miti  tinnim 

Their  mother  kinuk  ininnim 

47  Hale' s  Ethnog.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  562  et  seq. 
48 Kane's  Wand.,  p.  183. 


630  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  BE  SICK,   ILFATIN. 

PRESENT   NEUTER. 

I  am  sick,  tsi  ilfatin 

Thou  art  sick,  intsi  ilfatin 
He  is  sick,  ilfatin 

We  are  sick,  tsiti  ilfaf 

You  are  sick,  intsip  ilfaf 

They  are  sick,  kinuk  in  ilfaf 

NEGATIVE. 

I  am  not  sick,  wangk  tsik  ilfatit 

IMPERFECT. 

I  was  sick  yesterday,  ilfatin  tsi  kuyi 

Thou  wast  sick  yesterday,  imku  ilfatin 

He  was  sick  yesterday,  hu  ilfatin 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

To-morrow  I  shall  be  sick,  midji  tailfit  tsii 

The  following  example  will  serve  to  illustrate  the 
great  changes  verbs  undergo  in  their  conjugations: 
ksitapatsitup  maha,  I  love  thee;  tsitapintsuo  kok,  I  love 
him;  himtapintsiwata  tsii  kak,  he  loves  me;  hintsitapint- 
siwata  tsii,  dost  thou  love  me  ?49 

The  Yamkally  is  spoken  at  the  sources  of  the  Wil- 
lamette River.  A  comparison  of  the  Yamkally  and 
Calapooya  vocabularies  shows  a  certain  relationship 
between  them.50 

I  have  said  that  certain  affinities  are  discovered  be- 
tween the  Waiilatpu  and  Mollale,  and  also  between 
the  Watlala  and  Chinook;  in  these,  as  well  as  in  the 
Calapooya  and  Yamkally,  Buschmann  discovers  faint 
traces  of  the  Aztec  language.  Others  have  discovered 
a  fancied  relationship  between  the  language  of  the 
Mexicans  and  those  of  more  northern  nations,  but  Mr 
Buschmann  believes  that,  descending  from  the  north, 
the  peoples  mentioned,  whose  lands  are  drained  by 
the  Columbia,  are  the  first  in  which  the  Aztec,  in  dim 
shadows,  makes  its  appearance.  These  similarities  he 
discovered  not  alone  by  direct  comparisons  with  the 
Aztec,  but  also  by  detecting  resemblances  between 
these  Columbian  dialects  and  those  of  certain  nations 


^Hale's  Ethnog.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  566  et  seq. 

59  '  Yamkallie,  Kallapuiah.  Oregon  Indians  of  the  plains  of  the  Walla-» 
mette,  speaking  a  language  related  to  that  of  the  Cathlascons  and  Haeeltz  ik. ' 
Ladewiys  Ab.  Lang.,  p.  202.  'Gross  die  Verwandtschaft  der  Kalapuya  und 
cles  Yamkallie;  aber  an  verschiedenen  Wortern  fehlt  es  nicht.'  Buschmann, 
Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  628. 


COLUMBIAN  AND  MEXICAN  COMPARISONS. 


631 


WATLALA. 

CHINOOK.        CALA- 

AZTEC.            SONC 

POOYA. 

FAMI 

a 

ah                he,  aw 

e,  ha 

tanti 

tlantli 

tkhlpal 
ikkhala 

tkhlpolpol 
itskhakh     ikhala 

tlapalli 
ehecatl  heicala 

tkhlol 

tkhlalukh 

tlilli 

weinatkhl 

webatkhl 

atl 

naika          nee 

ne 

which  he  calls  his  Sonora  group  and  its  affiliations,  all 
of  which  contain  elements  of  the  Aztec  tongue.  Yet 
Mr  Buschmann  does  not  therefrom  claim  any  rela- 
tionship between  the  Aztecs  and  Columbians,  but  only 
notices  these  few  slight  assimilations.51 

Herewith  is  a  comparative  table,  containing  a  few 
similar  words  : 

COMPARATIVE  TABLE,  SHOWING  SIMILARITIES  BETWEEN  THE  COLUMBIAN  AND 
MEXICAN  TONGUES. 

ENG-       WAII-     MOL- 

LISH.     LATPU.     LALE. 

Yes       i  ia 

Tooth    ';enif 

Red 

Wind 

Black 

Water 

I 

Chief    iatoiang  iakant  iout,  iauta 

The  Chinook  jargon  is  employed  by  the  white  peo- 
ple in  their  intercourse  with  the  natives,  as  well  as  by 
the  natives  among  themselves.  It  is  spoken  through- 
out Oregon,  Washington  Territory,  on  Vancouver  Is- 
land, and  extends  inland  into  Idaho  and  some  parts  of 
Montana.  It  is  more  than  probable  that,  like  other 
languages  de  convenance,  it  formed  itself  gradually, 
first  among  the  natives  themselves,  and  that  in  the 
course  of  time,  in  order  to  facilitate  their  intercourse 
with  the  aborigines,  trappers  and  traders  adopted  and 
improved  it,  until  it  was  finally  brought  into  its  pres- 
ent state.  Indeed,  so  great  was  the  diversity  of  lan- 
guages in  this  vicinity,  and  so  intricate  were  they,  that 
without  something  of  this  kind  there  could  have  been 
but  little  intercourse  between  the  people. 

A  somewhat  similar  mixture  I  have  already  men- 
tioned as  existing  in  Alaska.  Father  Paul  Le  Jeune 
f'ves  a  short  account  of  a  jargon  in  use  between  the 
rench  and  the  Indians,  in  the  north-eastern  part  of 


1 '  Hochst  merkwiirdig  sind  einzelne  unlaugbare  astekische  und  zweitens 
einzelne  sonorische  Worter,  welche  ich  in  diesen  Sprachen  aufgef unden  habe. ' 
Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  629. 


632  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

America,  as  early  as  the  year  1633.52  In  Europe,  a 
similar  mixture,  or  patois,  prevails  to  this  day,  the 
lingua  franca,  used  by  the  many  nationalities  that 
congregate  upon  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean.  In 
China,  and  in  the  East  Indies,  the  so-called  pigeon 
English  occupies  the  same  place ;  and  in  various  parts 
of  Central  and  Southern  America  neutral  languages 
may  be  found.  To  show  how  languages  spring  up  and 
grow,  Vancouver,  when  visiting  the  coast  in  1792, 
found  in  various  places  along  the  shores  of  Oregon, 
Washington,  and  Vancouver  Island,  nations  that  now 
and  then  understood  words  and  sentences  of  the  Nootka 
and  other  tongues,  some  of  which  had  been  adopted 
into  their  own  language. 

When  Lewis  and  Clarke,  in  1806,  reached  the  coast, 
the  jargon  seems  to  have  already  assumed  a  fixed  shape, 
as  may  be  seen  from  the  sentences  quoted  by  the  ex- 
plorers. But  not  until  the  arrival  of  the  expedition 
sent  out  by  John  Jacob  Astor  does  it  appear  that 
either  English  or  French  words,  of  which  it  contains 
a  large  percentage,  were  incorporated.  Very  few,  if 
any,  of  the  words  of  which  the  jargon  is  composed 
retain  their  original  shape.  The  harsh,  guttural,  and 
unpronounceable  native  cackling  was  softened  or  omit- 
ted, thus  forming  a  speech  suited  to  all.  In  the  same 
manner,  some  of  the  English  sounds,  like  f  and  r,  un- 
pronounceable by  the  native,  were  dropped,  or  trans- 
ferred into  p  and  /,  while  all  grammatical  forms  were 
reduced  to  the  fewest  and  plainest  rules  possible.53 
But  even  in  this  jargon,  there  are  what  may  be  called 

62 '  This  system  of  jargons  began  very  early,  and  has,  doubtless,  led  to 
many  errors.  As  early  as  1633,  the  Jesuit  Father  Paul  Le  Jeune  wrote:  "I 
have  remarked,  in  the  study  of  their  language,  that  there  is  a  certain  jargon 
between  the  French  and  Indians  which  is  neither  French  nor  Indian;  and  yet, 
when  the  French  use  it,  they  think  they  are  speaking  Indian,  and  the  Indians 
using  it  think  they  speak  good  French."  '  Hist.  May.,  vol.  v.,  p.  345. 

^Gibbs'  Chinook  Die.,  p.  6;  San  Francisco  Evening  Bulletin,  June 
15,  1866.  'Chinook  is  a  jargon  which  was  invented  uy  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  communication  with  the  dif- 
ferent Indian  tribes.  These  were  so  numerous,  and  their  languages  so 
various,  that  the  traders  found  it  impossible  to  learn  them  all,  and  adopted 
the  device  of  a  judicious  mixture  of  English,  French,  Russian,  and  several 
Indian  tongues,  which  has  a  very  limited  vocabulary;  but  which,  by  the 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CHINOOK  JARGON.  633 

dialectic  differences ;  for  instance,  many  words  used  at 
the  Dalles  are  quite  unintelligible  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  and  at  Puget  Sound.  It  has  often  been  as- 
serted that  the  jargon  was  invented  or  originated  by 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  but  although  the  fur 
company  undoubtedly  greatly  aided  its  development, 
and  assisted  in  perfecting  it,  it  is  well  known,  first,  that 
this  jargon  existed  before  the  advent  of  Europeans, 
and  secondly,  that  languages  are  not  made  in  this  way. 
Mr  Gibbs  states  the  number  of  words  to  be  nearly 
five  hundred,  and  after  a  careful  analysis  of  the  lan- 
guage, has  arrived  at  the  following  conclusion  as  to 
the  number  contributed  by  the  several  nationalities : 54 

Chinook  and  Clatsop 200     words 

Chinook,  having  analogies  with  other  languages  ....  21 

Interjections  common  to  several 8 

Nootka,  including  dialects 24 

Chehalis,  32,  and  Nisqually,  7 39 

Kliketat  and  Yakima 2 

Cree   2 

Chippeway  (Ojibway) 1 

Wasco  (probably) 4 

Calapooya  (probably) 4 

By  direct  onomatopoeia 6 

Derivation  unknown,  or  undetermined 18 

French,  90,   Canadian,  4 94 

English 67 

As  before  mentioned  foreign  words  adopted  into 
the  jargon  vocabulary  are  changed  to  suit  the  taste  of 
the  speaker,  as  in  the  word  Fran^ais,  being  unable  to 

help  of  signs,  is  readily  understood  by  all  the  natives,  and  serves  as  a  com- 
mon language.'  Milton  and  Cheadle's  N.  W.  Passage,  p.  344.  'The  jargon 
so  much  in  use  all  over  the  North  Pacific  Coast,  among  both  whites  and 
Indians,  as  a  verbal  medium  of  communicating  with  each  other,  was  origi- 
nally invented  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  in  order  to  facilitate  the  pro- 
gress of  their  commerce  with  Indians.'  Stuart's  Dictionary  of  Chinook  J.tn/on, 
p.  161  '  Chinook  is  a  jargon,  consisting  of  not  more  than  three  or  four  hun- 
dred word.3,  drawn  from  the  French,  English,  Spanish,  Indian,  and  the  fancy 
of  the  inventor.  It  was  contrived  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  for  the 
convenience  of  trade.'  Brunot,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Rept.,  1871,  p.  124.  Sproat  dis- 
putes the  invention  of  the  jargon,  and  says:  'Such  an  achievement  as  the 
invention  of  a  language  is  beyond  the  capabilities  of  even  a  chief  factor.' 
Scenes,  p.  139.  'I  think  that,  among  the  Coast  Indians  in  particular,  the 
Indian  part  of  the  language  has  been  in  use  for  years. '  Swans  N.  W.  Coast, 
p.  307;  Hole's  EJtnor/.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  635  et  seq. 

^Gibfo1  Chinook  Die.,  pp.  vii.-vlii.  'All  the  words  thus  b-ought  together 
and  combined  in  tl-is  singularly  constructed  speech  are  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  in  number.'  Hole's  Ethno'j.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  636. 
'  Words  undoubtedly  of  Japanese  origin  are  still  used  in  the  jargon  spoken 
on  the  coast,  called  Chinook.'  Lord's  Nat.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  217. 


634  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

pronounce  the  /,  r,  and  n,  for  Frenchman  they  say 
pasaiuks,  and  for  French,  pasai.  The  few  words 
formed  by  onomatopoeia  are  after  this  fashion :  turn- 
turn,  heart,  an  imitation  of  its  beating;  tintin,  bell; 
tiktik,  watch ;  liplip,  to  boil,  from  the  sound  of  bftiling 
water;  and  so  on. 

Neither  article  nor  inflections  are  employed.  Okok, 
this,  at  times  takes  the  place  of  the  English  the.  As 
a  rule,  plurals  are  not  distinguished,  but  sometimes 
the  word  haiu,  many,  is  used.  Adjectives  precede 
nouns,  as  in  English — lasuai  hakaishum,  silk  handker- 
chief; masatsi  tilikum,  bad  people.  The  comparative 
is  expressed,  for  example,  in  the  sentence,  I  am 
stronger  than  thou,  by  wek  maika  skukum  kakwa  naika, 
thou  not  strong  as  I.  Superlative — haias  oluman 
okok  kanem,  very  old  that  canoe.  There  are  only  two 
conjunctions,  pi,  derived  from  the  French  puis,  which 
denotes  and  or  then;  and  pos,  from  suppose,  meaning 
if,  in  case  that,  provided  that.  The  particle  na  is  at 
times  used  as  an  interrogative.55 

The  Lord's  Prayer  in  the  Chinook  jargon  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

Nesika  papa  klaksta  mitlite  kopa  saghalie,  kloshe 

Our         Father         who  stayeth         in          the  above,         good 

kopa  nesika  turn  turn  mika  nem;   kloshe  mika  tyee 

in  our          hearts  (be)         thy        name;          good          thou         chief 

kopa   konoway  tilikum;    kloshe    mika  tumtum  kopa 

among  all  people;  good  thy  will  upon 

illahie,  kahkwe  kopa  saghalie.     Potlatch  konaway  sun 

earth,  as  in         the  above.  Give  every  day 

nesika  muckamuck.     Spose  nesika  mamook  masahchie, 

our  food.  If  we  do  ill, 

wake  mika  hyas  solleks,  pe  spose  klaksta  masahchie 

(be)  not      thou       very         angry,       and        if          any  one  evil 

kopa  nesika,  wake  nesika  solleks  kopa  klaska.    Mahsh 

towards       us,  not  we  angry      towards     them.        Send  away 

siah  kopa  nesaika  konaway  masahchie.  Kloshe  kahk  wa. 

far       from  us  all  evil.56 

55  Hale 's  Ethnog.,  in  U.  8.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  636  et  seq. 
'  Chinook  Die.,  p.  44. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CALIFORNIA!*  LANGUAGES. 

MULTIPLICITY  or  TONGUES — YAKON,  KLAMATH,  AND  PALAIK  COMPARISONS — 
PITT  RIVER  AND  WINTOON  VOCABULARIES — WEEYOT,  WISHOSK,  WEIT- 
SPEK,  AND  EHNEK  COMPARISONS — LANGUAGES  OF  HUMBOLDT  BAY — POT- 
TER VALLEY,  RUSSIAN  AND  EEL  RIVER  LANGUAGES — POMO  LANGUAGES 
— GALLINOMERO  GRAMMAR  —  TRANSPACIFIC  COMPARISONS  —  CHOCUYEM 
LORD'S  PRAYER — LANGUAGES  OF  THE  SACRAMENTO,  SAN  JOAQUIN,  NAPA, 
AND  SONOMA  VALLEYS — THE  OLHONE  AND  OTHER  LANGUAGES  OF  SAN 
FRANCISCO  BAY — RUNSIEN  AND  ESLENE  OF  MONTEREY — SANTA  CLARA 
LORD'S  PRAYER — MUTSUN  GRAMMAR — LANGUAGES  OF  THE  MISSIONS  SANTA 
CRUZ,  SAN  ANTONIO  DE  PADUA,  SOLEDAD,  AND  SAN  MIGUEL — TATCHE 
GRAMMAR — THE  DIALECTS  OF  SANTA  CRUZ  AND  OTHER  ISLANDS. 

NOTWITHSTANDING  the  great  diversity  of  tongues  en- 
countered in  the  regions  of  the  north,  the  confusion 
increases  tenfold  on  entering  California.  Probably 
nowhere  in  America  is  there  a  greater  multiformity  of 
languages  and  dialects  than  here.  Until  quite  recently, 
no  attempt  has  been  made  to  bring  order  out  of  this 
linguistic  chaos,  owing  mainly  to  a  lack  of  grammars 
and  vocabularies.  Within  the  last  few  years  this 
want  has,  in  a  measure,  been  supplied,  and  I  hope  to 
be  able  to  present  some  broader  classifications  than 
have  hitherto  been  attempted  Through  the  researches 
of  Mr  Powers,  who  has  kindly  placed  his  materials  at 
my  disposal,  and  the  valuable  information  communi- 
cated by  Judge  Roseborough,  the  dialects  of  northern 
California  have  been  reduced  to  some  sort  of  system, 
yet  there  remains  the  fact  that,  in  central  and  south- 

(635  • 


636  CALIFORNIA^  LANGUAGES. 

ern  California,  hundreds  of  dialects  have  been  per- 
mitted to  die  out,  without  leaving  us  so  much  as  their 
name.1 

In  attempting  the  classification  of  Californian 
tongues,  no  little  difficulty  arises  from  the  ambiguity 
of  tribal  names.  So  far  as  appearances  go,  some  peo- 
ples have  no  distinctive  name;  others  are  known  by 
the  name  of  their  chief  alone,  or  their  rancheria;  the 
affiliation  of  chief,  rancheria,  and  tribe  being  identical 
or  distinct,  as  the  case  may  be.  Some  writers  have  a 
common  name  for  all  tribes  speaking  the  same  or  dia- 
lects of  the  same  language ;  others  name  a  people  from 
each  dialect.  Last  of  all,  there  are  nations  and  tribes 
that  call  themselves  by  one  name,  while  their  neighbors 
call  them  by  another,  so  that  the  classifier,  ethnologic 
or  philologic,  is  apt  to  enumerate  one  people  under 
two  names,  while  omitting  many.2 

We  have  seen  in  the  Columbian  languages,  as  we 
approach  the  south,  that  they  become  softer  and  less 
guttural ;  this  is  yet  more  observable  among  Califor- 
nians,  whose  speech,  for  the  most  part,  is  harmonious, 
pronounceable,  and  rich  in  vowels;  and  this  feature 
becomes  more  and  more  marked  as  we  proceed  from 
northern  to  southern  California.  On  this  point,  Mr 
Powers  writes :  "  Not  only  are  the  California  languages 
distinguished  for  that  affluence  of  vowel  sounds  which 
is  more  or  less  characteristic  of  all  tongues  spoken  in 
warm  climates,  but  most  of  them  are  also  remarkable 

1  Roseboroiigtis  Letter  to  the  Author,  MS.;  The  Shastas  and  their  Neighbors, 
MS.  '  The  diversity  of  language  is  so  great  in  California  that  at  almost  every 
]  5  or  20  leagues,  you  find  a  distinct  dialect. '  Boscana,  in  Robinson's  Life  in 
G.iL,  p.  240.  'II  n'est  peut-etre  aucun  pays  ou  les  differens  idiomes  soient 
aussi  multiplies  que  dans  la  Calif oruie  septentrionale. '  La  Perome,  Voy., 
torn,  ii.,  p.  323.  '  One  might  spend  years  with  diligence  in  acquiring  an  In- 
dian tongue,  then  journey  a  three  hours'  space,  and  find  himself  adrift  again, 
so  multitudinous  are  the  languages  and  dialects  of  California. '  Powers'  North 
Cal,  Intl.,  in  Overland  Monthly,  vol.  viii.,  p.  328.  '  The  diversity  is  such  as  to 
preclude  almost  entirely  all  verbal  communication.'  Hutchings1  Cal.  Mag., 
vol.  iii.,  p.  159.  'Languages  vary  from  tribe  to  tribe.'  Pickering's  Races,  in 
U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  ix.,  p.  106.  'In  California,  there  appears  to  be  spoken 
two  or  more  distinct  languages.'  McCtilloh's  Researches  in  Amer.,  p.  37; 
Kotzebue's  Voyage,  vol.  iii.,  p.  48;  Id.,  New  Voy.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  98;  Taylor,  in 
Bancroft's  Handbook  Almanac,  1864,  p.  29. 

aSee  vol.  i.,  p.  325;  Roseborougtis  Letter  to  the  Author,  MS.;  The  Shastas 
and  their  Neijhbors,  MS.;  Hutchings1  Cal.  May.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  159. 


RULES  OF  EUPHONY  IN  CALIFORNIA.  637 

for  their  special  striving  after  harmony.  There  are  a 
few  languages  found  in  the  northern  mountains  which 
are  harsh  and  sesquipedalian,  and  some  on  the  coast 
that  are  guttural  beyond  the  compass  of  our  American 
organs  of  speech;  but  with  these  few  exceptions,  the 
numerous  languages  of  the  state  are  beautiful  above 
all  their  neighbors  for  their  simplicity,  the  brevity  of 
their  words,  their  melody,  and  their  harmonious 


sequences."3 


Throughout  California,  much  attention  is  paid  to 
the  euphony  of  words;  and  if,  in  the  inevitable  manu- 
facturing process,  a  syllable  does  not  sound  well,  or 
does  not  exactly  harmonize  according  to  the  native 
ear,  it  is  ruthlessly  sacrificed.  In  many  languages 
these  elisions  are  made  in  accordance  with  fixed  rules, 
while  others  obey  no  other  mandate  but  harmony. 

Concerning  the  languages  of  northern  California, 
Judge  Roseboro ugh  writes :  "In  an  ethnological  view, 
the  language  of  these  various  tribes  is  a  subject  of 
great  interest.  They  seem  to  be  governed  by  the 
geographical  nature  of  the  country,  which  has  had 
much  influence  in  directing  the  migrations  and  settle- 
ment of  the  various  tribes  in  this  state,  where  they 
have  been  found  by  the  whites;  and  there  have  been 
in  remote  times  at  least  three  currents,  or  lines  of 
migration,  namely — first,  one  along  the  coast  south- 
ward, dispersing  more  or  less  towards  the  interior  as 
the  nature  of  the  country  and  hostile  tribes  permitted. 
In  so  broken  and  rough  a  country  the  migrations  must 
have  been  slow,  and  the  eddies  numerous,  leaving 
many  fragments  of  aboriginal  tribes  here  and  there 
with  language  and  customs  wholly  dissimilar.  Second, 
that  along  the  Willamette  Valley,  over  the  passes  of 
the  Calapooya,  across  the  open  lands  of  the  Umpqua, 
southward  through  Rogue  River  Valley  into  Shasta 
and  Scott  valleys.  As  an  evidence  of  this  trace,  I  may 
mention  that  all  the  tribes  on  this  line,  from  the  Cala- 
pooya Mountains  southward  to  the  head  of  Shasta  and 
Scott  valleys,  speak  the  same  language,  and  were  con- 

*  Powers' Porno,  MS. 


638  CALIFORNIAN  LANGUAGES. 

federate  in  their  wars  with  the  tribes  on  Pitt  River, 
who  seem  to  have  arrested  their  progress  southward. 
In  this  connection  I  may  mention  two  facts  worthy  of 
remark,  namely,  first,  in  this  cataclysm  of  tribes  there 
have  been  some  singular  displacements;  for  instance, 
the  similarity  of  language  and  customs  of  the  Cum- 
batwas  and  other  cognate  tribes  on  Pitt  River  denotes 
a  common  origin  with  a  small  tribe  found  on  Smith 
River,  on  the  north-west  coast;  and  secondly,  the 
traditions  of  the  Shastas  settled  in  Shasta  and  Scott 
valleys,  the  advance  of  this  line  of  migrations,  show 
that  a  former  tribe  had  been  found  in  possession  of 
those  valleys  and  mountains,  and  had  been  driven  out. 
The  remains  of  their  ancient  villages,  and  the  arrange- 
ments still  visible  in  their  excavations  confirm  the 
fact,  and  also  the  further  fact  that  the  expelled  tribes 
were  the  same  or  cognate  to  those  which  the  whites 
found  in  occupation  of  the  Sacramento  Valley.  For 
instance,  in  all  of  these  ancient  villages,  there  was  one 
house  of  very  large  dimensions,  used  for  feasts,  cere- 
monies, dances,  etc.,  just  as  we  found  on  the  settle- 
ment of  California,  in  the  valley  of  Sacramento.  The 
existing  tribes  in  those  mountains  have  no  such  domicile 
and  no  public  houses.  They  say,  when  asked,  that 
the  villages  were  built  and  inhabited  by  a  tribe  that 
lived  there  before  they  came,  and  that  those  ancient 
dwellers  worshipped  the  great  snowy  Mount  Shasta, 
and  always  built  their  villages  in  places  from  which 
they  could  behold  that  mountain.  Thirdly,  another. 
wave  of  migration  evidently  came  southward  along  the 
Des  Chutes  River,  upon  the  great  plateau  of  the  lakes, 
which  conclusion  is  borne  out  by  a  similarity  of  lan- 
guages and  customs,  as  well  as  by  traditions."4 

In  support  of  this  theory,  Judge  Roseborough  states 
that  the  languages  spoken  on  Smith  River,  and  ex- 
tending thence  forty  miles  along  the  coast,  are  radically 
and  wholly  different  from  those  of  the  neighboring 
tribes.  The  former  are  harsh,  guttural,  irregular,  and 
apparently  monosyllabic,  while  on  the  other  hand,  the 

*  Rosebwougtis  Letter  to  the  Author,  MS. 


LANGUAGES  OF  NORTHERN  CALIFORNIA.  639 

neighboring  tribes  inhabiting  the  coast  southward  to 
Humboldt  Bay,  and  along  the  Klamath  as  far  up  as 
the  mouth  of  the  Trinity,  speak  a  language  very 
regular  in  its  structure;  copious  in  its  capacity  for 
expressing  ideas  and  shades  of  thought,  and  not  un- 
pleasing  to  the  ear,  being  free  from  harsh  and  guttural 
sounds.  Of  all  the  languages  spoken  in  this  part,  that 
which  prevails  along  the  Klamath  River  as  far  up  as 
Happy  Camp,  and  along  the  Salmon  to  its  sources,  is 
by  far  the  most  regular  and  musical.  In  fact,  for  its 
regular  and  musical  accents  it  occupies  among  the 
Indian  tongues  of  the  continent  the  same  preeminence 
that  the  Spanish  does  among  the  Caucasian  languages. 
For  instance,  their  proper  nouns  for  persons  and  places 
are  very  euphonious;  as,  euphippa,  escassasoo,  names 
of  persons,  and  tahasoofca,  cheenich,  panumna,  chimi- 
canee,  tooyook,  savorum,  names  of  noted  localities  along 
the  river. 

As  an  example  of  the  copiousness  and  richness  of  the 
coast  languages  above  Humboldt  Bay,  Judge  Rose- 
borough  cites  the  following:  for  one,  two,  three,  four, 
they  say,  Jcor,  nihhi,  naxil,  chohnah;  so  for  to-morrow 
they  say  kohchamol;  for  the  day  after  to-morrow, 
nahamohl;  three  days  hence,  naxamohl;  four  days 
hence,  chohnahamol  Nor  do  they  stop  here;  mare, 
being  five,  and  marunimicha,  fifteen ;  the  fifteenth  day 
from  the  present  is  marunimichdhamohl. 

Mr  George  Bancroft  in  his  Indianology  erroneously 
asserts  that  the  sound  of  our  letter  r  does  not  occur  in 
any  of  the  aboriginal  languages  of  America.  A  sim- 
ilar assertion  has  been  made  with  regard  to  Asiatic 
tongues,  that  there  is  not  a  people  from  the  peninsula 
of  Hindostan  to  Kamchatka  who  make  use  of  this 
sound.  Although  this  idea  is  now  exploded,  evidence 
goes  to  show  the  rarity  of  the  use  of  the  letter  r  in 
these  regions;  yet  Judge  Roseborough  assures  me 
that  in  these  northern  Californian  dialects  the  sound 
of  this  letter  is  not  only  frequent,  but  is  uttered  with 
its  most  rolling,  whirring  emphasis;  that  such  words 


640 


CALIFORNIAN  LANGUAGES. 


as  arrarra,  Indian;  carrook,  or  cahroc,  up;  euroolc,  or 
euroc,  down;  seearrook,  across  and  up;  micarra,  the 
name  of  a  village;  tahasoofcarrah,  that  is  to  say  the 
village  of  upper  Tahasoofca — are  brought  forth  with 
an  intensity  that  a  Frenchman  could  not  exceed. 

On  both  sides  of  the  Oregon  and  Californian  boun- 
dary line  is  spoken  the  Klamath  language;  adjoining 
it  on  the  north  is  the  Yakon,  and  on  the  south  the 
Shasta  and  the  Palaik.  A  dialect  of  the  Klamath  is 
also  spoken  by  the  Modocs.  Herewith  I  give  a  short 
comparative  table,  and  although  no  relationship  be- 
tween them  is  claimed,  yet  many  of  the  words  which 
I  have  selected  are  not  without  a  similarity.5 


YAKON. 

KLAMATH. 

SHASTA. 

PALAIK. 

Man 

kalt 

hisuatsos 

awatikoa 

yaliu 

Woman 

tkhlaks 

snawats 

taritsi 

omtewitsen 

Mouth 

qai 

sum 

au,  or  aof 

ap 

Leg 

sia 

tsoks 

halaway,  or  hatis 

atetewa 

Water 

kilo 

ampo 

atsa 

as 

Blood 

pouts 

poits 

ime 

ahati 

Earth 

onitstoh 

kaela 

tarak 

kela 

Stone 

kelih 

kotai 

itsa 

olisti 

Wood 

kukh 

anko 

awa 

hau 

Beaver 

kaatsilawa 

pum 

tawai 

pum 

Dog 

tskekh 

watsak 

hapso 

watsaqa 

Bird 

kokoaia 

lalak 

tararakh 

lauitsa 

Salmon 

tsutais 

tsialus 

kitari 

tsialas 

Great 

haihaiat 

moonis 

kempe 

wawa 

Along  Pitt  River  and  its  tributaries  are  the  Pitt 
River  Indians  and  the  Wintoons,  of  which  languages 
short  vocabularies  are  given. 


PITT   RIVER.' 


Man 

Woman 

House 

Tree  (pine) 

Water 

Stone 

Sun 


Hair 

Eyes 
Nose 
Mouth 
Teeth 


teee 
ossa 
yarne 
yanena 


I1  ire 


etasa 
saya 
mallis 


t'elyou 

emmetowchan 
teoomchee 
oswoo 

OSS 

alliste 
tsool 

5  '  The  Lutuami,  Shasti,  and  Palaik  are  thrown  by  Gallatin  into  three  sepa- 
rate classes.    They  are  without  doubt  mutually  unintelligible.     Nevertheless, 
they  cannot  be  very  widely  separated. '  Latham's  Comp.  Phil.,  vol.  viii.,  p. 
407.     The  T-ka,   Id-do-a,  Ho-te-day,  We-o-how,  or  Shasta  Indians,   speak 
the  same  language.  Steele,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Rept.,  18G4,  p.  120.     The  Modocs  speak 
the  same  language  as  the  Klamaths.    Palmer,  in  Id.,   1854,  p.  262;  Hale's 
Uthnog.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.,  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  218;  Berghaus,  Geograp/mckes  Jahrbuch, 
torn,  iii.,  p.  48;  Taylor,  in  Cal.  Farmer,  June  8,  1860.      'A  branch  of  the  lat- 
ter (Shoshone)  is  the  tribe  of  Tlamath  Indians.'  Ruxtoris  Adven.  Mex.,  p.  244. 

6  The  Shasta*  and  their  Neighbors,  MS. 


THE  WINTOON,  EUROC,  AND  CAHROC. 


641 


Moon 

Crow 

Dog 

Deer 

Bear 


Yes 

Woman 

House 

I,  or  me 

Water 

Rain 

Sun 

Moon 

Night 

Dog 

Deer 

Bear 


tchool 

owwicha 

chahoom 

doshshe 

loehta 


ummina 
darcus 


WINTOON.7 


net 

mem 

luhay 


chamitta 

kenavina,  or  peno 

suco 

nope 

chilch,  or  weemer 


Little 
Dead 
Mountain 
Fish 


Warm 

Eyes 

Nose 

Mouth 

Teeth 

Talk 

To  kill 

Large 

£T 

North 
South 


walswa 

chowkootcha 

deoome 

akoo 

oil 


pela 

toomb 

sono 

all 

see 

teene 

kloma 

bohama 

cluckapooda 

menil 

wy 

nora 


On  the  lower  Klainath,  the  Euroc  language  pre- 
vails. As  compared  with  the  dialects  of  southern  Cali- 
fornia, it  is  guttural ;  there  being  apparently  in  some 
of  its  words,  or  rather  grunts,  a  total  absence  of  vow- 
els— mrprh,  nose;  chlh,  earth;  ynx,  child.  Among 
other  sounds  peculiar  to  it,  there  is  that  of  the  II,  so 
frequent  in  the  Welsh  language.  Mr  Powers  says 
that  "in  conversation  they  terminate  many  words 
with  an  aspiration  which  is  imperfectly  indicated  by 
the  letter  h,  a  sort  of  catching  of  the  sound,  immedi- 
ately followed  by  the  letting  out  of  the  residue  of 
breath,  with  a  quick  little  grunt.  This  makes  their 
speech  harsh  and  halting;  the  voice  often  comes  to  a 
dead  stop  in  the  middle  of  a  sentence."  He  further 
adds  that  "the  language  seems  to  have  had  a  mono- 
syllabic origin,  and  in  fact,  they  pronounce  many  dis- 
syllables as  if  they  were  two  monosyllables. " 

Along  the  upper  Klamath,  the  Cahroc  language  is 
spoken,  which  is  entirely  distinct  from  that  of  the 
Eurocs.  It  is  sonorous,  and  its  intonation  has  even 
been  compared  with  that  of  the  Spanish,  being  not  at 
all  guttural  like  the  Euroc.  The  r,  when  it  occurs  in 
such  words  as  chareya  and  cahroc,  is  strangely  rolled. 
The  language  is  copious;  the  people  speaking  it  hav- 
ing a  name  for  everything,  and  on  seeing  any  article 

7 Jackson's  Vocdb.  of  the  Wintoon  Language,  MS.;  Powers'  Vocabularies,  MS. 
VOL.  III.    41 


642 


CALIFORNIA^  LANGUAGES. 


new  to  them,  if  a  proper  designation  is  not  immedi- 
ately at  hand,  they  forthwith  proceed  to  manufacture 
one. 

Another  guttural  language  is  the  Pataway,  spoken 
on  Trinity  River.  Its  pronunciation  is  like  the  Euroc, 
and  it  has  the  same  curious  abrupt  stopping  of  the 
voice  at  the  end  of  syllables  terminatiDg  with  a  vowel, 
as  Mr  Powers  describes  it.  Related  to  it  is  the  Veeard 
of  lower  Humboldt  Bay.  The  numerals  in  the  latter 
language  are :  Icoh-tseh,  one ;  dee-teh,  two ;.  dee-keh,  three ; 
deeh-oh,  four ;  weh-sah,  five ;  chilokeh,  six ;  awtloh,  seven ; 
owit,  eight;  serokeh,  nine;  lokel,  ten.8 

The  language  known  as  the  Weitspek,  spoken  at  the 
junction  of  the  Trinity  and  Klamath  rivers,  is  proba- 
bly the  same  which  Mr  Powers  has  named  the  Pata- 
way. It  is  also  said  to  have  the  frequently  occurring 
rolling  r.  The  /,  as  in  the  Oregon  languages,  is  want- 
ing. Dialects  of  the  Weitspek  are  the  Weeyot  and 
Wishosk,  on  Eel  and  Mad  rivers.  This  language  is 
understood  from  the  coast  range  down  to  the  coast 
between  Cape  Mendocino  and  Mad  River.9  The 
Ehnek,  or  Pehtsik,  language  is  spoken  on  the  Salmon 
River;  thsnce  in  the  region  of  the  Klamath,  are  the 
Watsahewah,  Howteteoh,  and  Nabiltse  languages. 
COMPARISONS. 


10 


WEEYOT. 

WISHOSK. 

WEITSPEK. 

EHNEK. 

Man 

koeh 

ko-eh 

pagehk 

ah  wunsh 

Arrow 

sahpe 

tsahpe* 

nah  qut 

kha-wish 

Water 

merah  tche 

mer  ah  che 

pa  ha 

iss  shah 

Earth 

let  kuk 

le±kuk 

chahk 

steep 

Dog 

wyets 

wy'ts 

chishe 

chish  ee 

Fire 

mass 

mess 

mets 

ah 

Sun 

taum 

tahm 

wa  noush  leh 

kosh  rah 

One 

koh  tse 

kohtsa 

spinekoh 

issah 

Two 

er  ee  ta 

ritta 

nuh  ehr 

ach  hok 

Three 

er  ee  ka 

rihk 

nak  sa 

kui  rahk 

Four 

re  aw  wa 

ri  yah 

toh  hun  ne 

peehs 

Five 

wessa 

wehsah 

mahr  o  turn 

ti  rah  o 

8  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 

9  Gibbs,  in  SckoplcrajVs  Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  422.     'The  junction  of  the  rivers 
Klamath,  or  Trinity,  gives  us  the  locality  of  the  Weitspek.     Its  dialects,  the 
Weyot  and  Wishosk,  extend  far  into  Humboldt  County,  where  they  are  prob- 
ably the  prevailing  form  of  speech,  being  used  on  the  Mad  River,  and  the 
parts  about  Cape  Mendocino.    From  the  Weitspek  they  differ  much  more  than 
they  do  from  each  other.'  Latliam's  Camp.  Phil.,  vol.  viii.,  p.  40.  '  Weeyot  und 
Wish-osk,  untereinanderverwandt.'.6ttse/i7tta/m,  Spu  render  A  ztek.  Spr.,  p.  575. 

18  Gibbs,  wSclwolcrajVsArch.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  422-3. 


THE  POMO  FAMILY  AND  ITS  DIALECTS.  643 

The  Chillulah,  Wheelcutta,  and  Kailta  were  spoken 
on  Redwood  Creek,  but  before  the  extinction  of  these 
people  their  languages  were  merged  into  that  of  the 
Hoopahs,  by  whom  they  were  subjugated.  The  lan- 
guage of  the  Chimalquays  of  New  River  has  also  been 
absorbed  by  the  Hoopah.  Of  the  Chimalquays  Pow- 
ers hyperbolically  remarks:  " Their  language  was  like 
the  mountain  city  of  California,  beautiful  in  its  sim- 
plicity, but  frail."11 

At  Humboldt  Bay  a  language  called  Patawat  is 
mentioned,  and  in  Round  Valley  the  Yuka.  The 
numerals  in  the  latter  tongue  are :  pongwe,  one ;  opeh, 
two ;  malmeh,  three ;  and  omehet,  four.  In  Potter 
Valley  is  the  Tahtoo  language,  which  Mr  Powers 
thinks  may  belong  to  the  Porno  or  the  Yuka.12  In 
the  Eel  River  and  Russian  River  valleys  as  far  as  the 
mouth  of  Russian  River,  and  in  Potter  Valley,  the 
different  tribes  known  by  the  names  of  Ukiahs  or 
Yokias,  Sanels,  Gallinomeros,  Masallamagoons,  Gua- 
lalas,  and  Matoles  speak  various  dialects  of  the  Porno 
language,  which  obtains  in  Potter  Valley,  and  the 
dialects  of  which  become  more  and  more  estranged 
according  to  the  distance  from  the  aboriginal  centre. 
The  Porno  men  are  good  linguists ;  they  readily  ac- 
quire all  the  different  dialects  of  their  language,  which 
in  places  differ  to  such  an  extent  that  unless  they  are 
previously  learned  they  cannot  be  understood.  Porno 
women  are  not  allowed  to  learn  any  dialect  but  their 
own. 

The  following  comparative  table  of  numerals  will 
illustrate  the  relationship  of  these  tribes,  among  which 
I  include  the  Kulanapo,  spoken  near  Clear  Lake,  and 
of  which  Mr  Gibbs  has  also  noticed  an  affinity  to  the 
Russian  River  and  Eel  River  languages;  also  the 
language  spoken  by  the  natives  of  the  Yonios  Ran- 
cheria  in  Marin  County.13 

11  Powers  Porno,  MS. 

ViRoseborougtis  Letter  to  the  Author,  MS.;  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 
13 Gibbs,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  421-2;  Powers'  Porno,  MS.; 
Taylor,  in  Gal.  Farmer,  March  30,  1860. 


644  CALIFORNIA^  LANGUAGES. 

POMO.          UKIAH.  SANEL.  GALLING-  KULANAPO.  YONIO. 

MERO. 

One      cha  taro  tate  cha          k'hah  lib  kalli 

Two     co  can  co  aco          kots  hotz 

Three  sibbo  sibbo  sibboo  mesibbo  homeka  humka 

Four    tack  duhan  ducho  meta        dol  caddol 

Five     shal  native  mato  tooshuh  leh  ma  lema 

Six       padeh  tsadeh  tsadeh  lancha     tsa  di  sav 

Seven  copah  hoyneit  cdemar  latco        ku  la  hots  kolaus 

Eight  cowal  cogodol  cogodol  cometa    ko  ka  dohl  kadol 

Nine    shalshal  nemgoshum  niimoshum  chaco       hah  da  rol  shum  gin 

Ten      sala  nempotec  navacotec  chasiito  hah  da  rul  tek  hidelema 

On  the  Gallinomero  dialect  I  make  a  few  grammati- 
cal remarks.  In  conversation,  the  Gallinomeros  are 
rather  slovenly,  and  make  use  of  frequent  contractions 
and  abbreviations  like  the  English  can't  and  sha'n't, 
which  makes  it  difficult  for  a  stranger  to  understand 
them.  Another  difficulty  for  the  student  is  the  con- 
vertibility of  a  number  of  letters,  such  as  t  into  ch,  sh 
into  ch,  i  into  ah,  etc.  Nouns  have  neither  number, 
case,  nor  gender;  the  first  being  only  occasionally  in- 
dicated by  a  separate  word — cha  ataboonya,  one  man; 
aco  ataboonja,  two  men.  The  genitive  is  formed  by 
placing  the  words  in  juxtaposition — atopte  meatega,  the 
chief's  brother;  the  governed  word  being  always  pre- 
positive. None  of  the  remaining  cases  are  distin- 
guished; for  example — chaduna  bidacha,  I  see  the 
river;  bidacha  hoalye,  I  go  to  the  river,  or  into  the 
river;  bidacha  hnoduna,  I  come  out  of  the  river; 
didacha  toholeena,  I  go  away  from  the  river;  the  accu- 
sative may  be  recognized  as  being  placed  immediately 
after  the  verb,  but  there  are  many  exceptions  to  this 
rule.  Sometimes  the  accusative  is  also  marked  by  the 
ending  ga  or  gen — chechoanootugen,  I  strike  the  boy ; 
but  this  is  seldom  used.  Verbs  are  always  regular. 
There  are  present,  imperfect,  and  future  tenses,  and 
three  forms  of  the  imperative,  all  distinctly  marked 
by  tense  endings. 

PRESENT  INDICATIVE.         IMPERFECT.  .FIRST  FUTURE. 

Do,  tseena  tseeteena  tseectiwa 

Go,  hoalye  hoaleteena  hoalectiwa 

Break,  matsana  matsanteena  matsanciiwa 

Kill,  matemana  matemanteena  matemanctiwa 

See,  chadtiiia  chaduteena  chaductfwa 

Fight,  mehailme  mehailmootee'na  mehailmooctiwa 


GALLINOMERO  GRAMMAR.  645 

In  some  instances  these  endings  are  changed  for 
the  sake  of  euphony,  certain  letters  being  elided.  The 
endings  may  really  be  called  auxiliary  verbs,  attached 
to  the  principal  verb.  Thus  the  imperfect  reads,  liter- 
ally, l  would  be  I  go  do, '  the  ending  teena  being  noth- 
ing but  the  word  tseena  with  the  s  omitted.  In  like 
manner  the  future  is  formed,  as  in  tuddawa,  to  want, 
which  is  changed  into  cuwa. 

There  is  nothing  to  denote  number  in  the  verb,  as  can 
be  seen  in  the 

CONJUGATION   OF  THE  VERB  TO  BE. 


I  am,  ahwa 

Thou  art,  amawa 

He  is,  hamowa 


We  are,  ayawa 

You  are,          amawa 
They  are,         hamowa 


Of  the  imperative,  the  following  may  serve  as  an 
example :  hoaleluh,  let  me  go;  hoalin,  go  thou;  hoalegun, 
let  him  go.  The  verb  chadicna,  to  see,  may  signify 
either  I  see,  or  seeing,  or  to  see,  or  it  may  be  construed 
as  a  substantive — sight;  or  as  an  adjective  in  aggluti- 
nation, as  chadunatoboonya,  a  watchful  man.  Chanhodin 
is  an  auxiliary  verb,  and  is  always  prepositive.  The 
pronouns  are  ah,  ahto,  or  ahmet,  I;  ama,  thou;  and 
wemo,  waymo,  hamo,  or  amata,  he.  The  first  person  of 
the  pronoun  is  always  omitted,  except  with  the  verb  to 
be,  and  the  second  and  third  persons  frequently.  Pro- 
nominal adjectives  are  quite  irregular,  as  owkey,  from 
ah;  may  key,  from  ama;  webakey,  from  wemo;  and  they 
are  also  used  irregularly  with  nouns.  Thus  in  medde, 
father ;  ahmen,  or  owkahmen,  or  ahmedde,  being  equiva- 
lent to  I  father,  my  father.  Here  also  euphony  steps 
in  and  makes  words  sometimes  wholly  unrecognizable, 
as  ahtotana,  equivalent  to  mehand,  and  still  more  dif- 
ferent, as  mamowJcy,  this  is  for  me.  Your  father  is 
maykemay;  his  father,  webamen.  Thus  it  will  be  seen 
that  medde  is  changed,  or  abbreviated,  into  men  and 
may.  Sometimes  the  personal  pronoun  is  agglutinated 
to  the  verb,  and  sometimes  it  is  not:  chtchoanomdo 
(chechoana  meto),  I  strike  you;  meto  tudawa,  I  love  you. 
As  in  many  other  Pacific  States  languages,  we  have 


646  CALIFORNIA^  LANGUAGES. 

here  a  reverential  syllable,  which  in  this  language  is 
always  prefixed,  whereas  in  others,  for  instance,  the 
Aztec,  it  is  an  affix.  Speaking  of  persons  related,  or 
of  things  belonging,  to  the  chief,  the  reverential  me  or 
jin  is  always  prefixed;  owkeybai,  my  wife;  maykeybai, 
your  wife;  atopte  meetchen,  the  chiefs  wife;  shinna, 
head;  metoshin,  your  head;  webashin,  his  head;  atopte 
jinshinna,  the  chief's  head.  All  adjectives  are  really 
substantives,  and  are  used  for  both  purposes.  Thus 
ootu,  boy,  also  signifies  little,  or  young.  Adjectives 
are  generally  placed  after  nouns — majey  codey,  good 
day;  but  there  are  also  many  exceptions  to  this  rule. 
Comparatives  are  expressed  by  the  particle  pala,  more 
—paleyabata  waymo  ahmet,  he  is  greater  than  I,  pala 
becoming  paleya  in  composition.  This  is  only  used 
by  the  more  intelligent  class.  A  Gallinomero  of  the 
lower  order  would  say,  bata  waymo  ahmet,  great  he  I. 
The  principal  characteristics  of  the  language  are  eu- 
phony and  brevity,  to  which  all  things  else  are  subser- 
vient, but  nevertheless,  as  I  have  shown  already, 
agglutination  is  carried  to  the  farthest  extent.14 

As  will  be  seen  by  the  following  comparative  table, 
the  Porno  language,  or  rather  one  of  its  dialects,  the 
Kulanapo,  shows  some  affinity  to  the  Malay  family  of 
languages.  Of  one  hundred  and  seventy  words  which 
I  have  compared,  I  find  fifteen  per  cent  showing  Ma- 
lay similarities,  and  more  could  perhaps  have  been 
found  if  the  several  vocabularies  had  been  made  upon 
some  one  system.  As  it  is,  I  have  been  obliged  to 
use  a  Malay,  a  Tonga,  and  other  Polynesian  vocabu- 
laries, taken  by  different  persons  at  different  times. 
Without  attempting  to  establish  any  relationship  be- 
tween the  Polynesians  and  Calif ornians,  I  present  these 
similarities  merely  as  a  fact;  these  analogies  I  find  ex- 
isting nowhere  else  in  California,  and  between  them 
and  no  other  transpacific  peoples.15 

14  Powers'  Notes  on  Col.  Languages,  MS. 

I!>6ibb8,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  in.,  pp.  428  et  seq.;  ff ale's  Ethnog.,  in 
U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  342  et  seq.;  Keppets  Exped.,  vol.  i.,  appendix,  pp. 
14  et  seq.;  Martins  Tonga  Isl.,  vol.  ii. 


TRANSPACIFIC  COMPARISONS. 


647 


KITLANAPO. 


MALAY. 


DIALECT  OP  THE 
MALAY. 

Kayan 

Sakarran 

Malay 

Malay 

Malay 

Tonga 

Tonga 

Malay 

Tonga 

Tonga 

Millanow 

Tonga 

Suntah 

Polynesian 

Malay 

Polynesian 

Malay 

Polynesian 

Polynesian 

Malay 

Polynesian 

Malay 

Polynesian 

Tonga 

Tonga 

Tonga 

Malay 

Malay 

Suntah 


The  similarities  existing  between  the  Japanese  and 
Chinese  and  the  Californian  languages,  appearing 
from  a  careful  comparison  of  the  same  one  hundred 
and  seventy"  words,  are  insufficient  to  establish  any 
relationship;  the  few  resemblances  may  be  regarded 
as  purely  accidental.  Of  these  words  I  insert  the  fol- 
lowing, which  are  all  between  which  I  have  been  able 
to  discover  any  likeness : 


Woman 

dah 

do 

Mother 

nihk 

indi,  ini 

Husband 

dah'k 

laki,  lake 

Wife 

Lai  le 

bini 

Head 

kai  yah 

kapala 

Hair 

moo  sooh 

fooloo 

Neck 

mi  yah 

gia 

Foot 

kah  mah 

kaki 

House 

kah  (calli,  Aztec) 

falle 

Sun 

lah 

laa 

Fire 
Water 

poh  (Copeh) 
k'hah 

apoe 
vy,  cawna 

Mountain 

dah  no 

darud 

Black 

keela  keelick 

kele 

Red 

keh  dah  reh  duk 

dadara 

Green 

doh  tor 

ota 

Dead 

mu  dal 

mati 

I 

hah 

au 

One 

k'hah  lih 

tasi' 

ii 

tchah  (Yukai) 

satu 

Four 

dol 

tau 

Five 

leh  ma 

lima 

Eat 

ku  hu 

kai 

Drink 

mill 

mea  inoo 

To  see 
Togo 

el  lih  (Chocuyem) 
le  loom 

ilaw 
aloo 

Bow 

pah  chee 

pana 

Tongue 

Leg 

lehn  teep  (Chocuyem) 
co  yok  (Chocuyem) 

lida 
ku  jak 

Husband 

Teeth 

Knife 

Fire 

Water 

Dog 

Deer 


Japanese 
Chinese 


Chinese 

Japanese 

Japanese 


muko 

chi 

deba 

ho 

sui 

chin 

sfh'ka 


Costanos 

Copeh 

Costanos 

Choweshak 

Costanos 

Weitspek  and 

Ehnek 
Copeh 


makho 
see  ih 
tepah 
ho 

see  ee 
chishe 

siah 


The  Choweshak  and  Batemdakaiee  are  mentioned 
as  being  spoken  at  the  head  of  Eel  River,  and  the 
Chocuyem  in  Marin  County,  near  the  Mission  of  San 
Rafael.  On  Russian  River,  there  yet  remain  to  be. 


648  CALIFORNIAN  LANGUAGES. 

mentioned  the  Olamentke,  and  the  Chwachamaju. 
All  these  may  be  properly  classed  as  dialects  nearly 
related  to  the  Porno  family,  and  some  of  them  may 
even  be  the  same  dialects  under  different  names.16 

Of  theChocuyem  I  give  the  following  Lord's  Prayer: 

Api  maco  su  lilecoe,  ma  nenas  mi  aues  omai  macono 
mi  taucuchs  oy6pa  mi  tauco  chaquenit  opii  neyatto 
chaquenit  opu  liletto.  Tu  maco  muye  genum  ji  nay  a 
macono  sucuji  sulia  macono  masocte,  chague  mat  opu 
ma  suli  mayaco.  Macoi  yangia  ume  omutto,  ulemi 
macono  omu  incapo.  Jfette  esa  Jesus.17 

In  Round  Valley,  northern  California,  there  is  the 
before  mentioned  Yuka  language,  which  is  connected 
with  the  Wapo,  or  Ashochemie,  spoken  near  Calis- 
toga,  and  in  the  mountains  leading  thence  to  the 
Geysers.18 

On  Yuba  and  Feather  Rivers  are  the  Meidoos  and 
Neeshenams,  of  whose  language  Powers  says  that 
"  the  Meidoo  shades  away  so  gradually  into  the  Nee- 
shenam  that  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  draw  a  line 
anywhere.  But  it  must  be  drawn  somewhere,  because 
a  vocabulary  taken  down  on  Feather  River  will  lose 
three  fourths  of  its  words  before  it  reaches  the  Co- 
sumnes.  Even  a  vocabulary  taken  on  Bear  River 
will  lose  half  or  more  of  its  words  in  going  to  the  Co- 
sumries,  which  denotes,  as  is  the  fact,  that  the  Nee- 

16 'Die  Indianer  in  Bodega  verstehen  nur  mit  Miihe  die  Sprache  derje- 
nigen  welche  in  den  Ebenen  am  Slawanka-Flusse  leben;  die  Sprache  der 
nbrdlich  von  Ross  lebenden  Stamme  ist  ihnen  vollig  uiiverstandlich. '  Boer, 
Stat.  u.  Ethno.,  p.  75.  'Die  Bodegischen  Indianer  verstehen  die  nordlichen 
nicht,  sowohl  die  Sprache  als  die  Art  der  Aussprache  ist  verschieden.  Die 
Entfernten  und  die  Steppen-Indianer  sprechen  eine  Menge  Dialecte  oder 
Sprachen,  deren  Eigenthiimlichkeit  und  Verwandtschaft  noch  nicht  bekannt 
sind.'  Kostrormtonow,  in  Id.,  p.  80;  Gibbs,  in  Sclioolcrafi's  Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  p. 
421.  'Kulanapo  und  Yukai,  verwandt:  d.  h.  in  dem  beschrankten  Grade, 
dass  viele  Worter,  zwischen  ihnen  ubereinstimmen,  viele  andere,  z.  B.  ein 

guter-  Theil   der  Zahlworter,  verschieden  sind Choweshak  und  Batem- 

dakaiee  sehr  genau  und  im  vollkommneu  Maasse  unter  einander,  und  wie- 
derum  beide  ganz  genau  mit  Yukai,  undauch  Kulanapo  verwandt . . . .  Wichtig 
ist  es  aber  zu  sagen,  dass  die  Sprache  Tchokoyem  mit  dem  Olamentke  der 
Bodega  Bai  und  mit  der  Mission  S.  Raphael  nahe  gleich  ist.'  Busckmann, 
Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  575.  'The  Kanimares  speak  a  different  dialect 
from  the  Tamalos.  The  Sonoma  Indians  also  speak  different  from  Tamalos. 
The  Sonomas  speak  a  similar  dialect  as  the  Suisuns.  The  San  Rafael  Indiana 
speak  the  same  as  the  Tamalos.'  Taylor,  in  Cal.  Former,  March  30,  18GO. 

17  Mofras,  Explor.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  391. 

18  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 


LANGUAGES  OF  THE  SACRAMENTO  VALLEY.  649 

shenam  language  varies  greatly  within  itself.  In- 
deed, it  is  probably  less  homogeneous  and  more 
thronged  with  dialects  than  any  other  tongue  in  Cal- 
ifornia. Let  an  Indian  go  even  from  Georgetown  to 
American  Flat,  or  from  Bear  River  to  Auburn,  and, 
with  the  exception  of  the  numerals,  he  will  not  at  first 
understand  above  one  word  in  four,  or  five,  or  six. 
But  with  this  small  stock  in  common,  and  the  same 
laws  of  grammar  to  guide  them,  they  pick  up  each 
other's  dialects  with  amazing  rapidity.  It  is  these 
wide  variations  which  have  caused  some  pioneers  to 
believe  that  there  is  one  tongue  spoken  on  the  plains 
around  Sacramento,  and  another  in  the  mountains; 
whereas  they  are  as  nearly  identical  as  the  mountain 
dialects  are.  So  long  as  the  numerals  remain  the 
same,  I  count  it  one  language ;  and  so  long  as  this  is 
the  case,  the  Indians  generally  learn  each  other's  dia- 
lects ;  but  when  the  numerals  change  utterly,  they 
often  find  it  easier  to  speak  the  English  together  than 
to  acquire  another  tongue.  As  to  the  southern 
boundary  of  the  Neeshenam  there  is  no  doubt,  for 
at  the  Cosumnes  the  language  changes  abruptly  and 
totally." 

Along  the  banks  of  the  Sacramento,  two  distinct  lin- 
guistic systems  are  said  to  prevail.  But  to  what  extent 
all  the  languages  mentioned  in  that  vicinity  are  related, 
or  can  be  classified,  it  is  difficult  to  say ;  for  not  only  is 
their  great  confusion  in  names,  but  what  is  more  essen- 
tial, vocabularies  of  most  of  them  are  wanting.  On 
the  eastern  bank  of  the  Sacramento  and  extending 
along  Feather  River,  the  Cosumnes,  and  other  tribu- 

O  7 

taries  of  the  Sacramento,  the  following  languages 
are  mentioned  :  Ochecamne,  Serouskumne,  Chupumne, 
Omochumne,  Siecumne,  Walagumne,  Cosumne,  Solo- 
lumne,  Turealumne,  Saywamine,  Newichumne,  Match- 
em  ne,  Sagayayumne,  Muthelemne,  Sopotatumne,  and 
Talatiu.  In  all  these  dialects  the  word  for  water  is 
kik,  but  in  the  dialects  spoken  on  the  west  bank  it 
is  momi.  On  the  western  bank  are  mentioned  the 
dialects  of  the  Pujuni,  Puzlumne,  Secumne,  Tsamak, 


650  CALIFORNIA^  LANGUAGES. 

Yasumne,  Nemshaw,  Kisky,  Yalesumne,  Huk,  and 
others.19  Undoubtedly  all  these  Sacramento  Valley 
dialects  are  more  or  less  related,  but  of  them  we  have 
no  positive  knowledge  except  that  the  Secumne  and 
Tsamak  are  closely  related,  while  the  Puzlumne  and 
Talatiu  also  show  many  words  in  common,  but  cannot 
be  said  to  affiliate.20  In  the  mountains  south  of  the 
Yuba,  and  also  on  some  parts  of  the  Sacramento,  the 
Cushna  language  obtains.  On  the  latter  river  Wilkes 
mentions  the  Kinkla,  of  which  he  says  that  in  com- 
parison with  the  language  of  the  northern  nations  it 
may  be  called  soft,  "as  much  so  as  that  of  the  Poly- 
nesians." Repetitions  of  syllables  appear  to  be  fre- 
quent ;  as.  wai-wai,  and  hau-hau-hau.21  In  Napa  Valley 
six  dialects  were  spoken,  the  Myacoma,  Calayomane, 
Cayinus,  Napa,  Uluka,  and  Suscol.22  In  Solano 
County  the  Guiluco  language  was  spoken,  of  which 
the  following  Lord's  Prayer  may  serve  as  a  specimen : 

AIM  igame  mutryocuse  mi  zahud  om  mi  yahuatail 
cha  usqui  etra  shou  mur  tzecali  ziam  pac  onjinta  mul 
zhaiige  nasoyate  chelegua  mul  znatzoitze  tzecali  zic- 
matan  zchiitiilaa  chalehua  mesqui  pihuatzite  yteima 
omahud.  Emqui  Jesus.23 

Near  the  straits  of  Karquines,  and  also  in  the  San 
Joaquin  and  Tulare  valleys,  the  Tulare  tongue  pre- 
vailed. In  this  language,  if  we  may  believe  M.  Duflot 
de  Mofras,  the  letters  b,  d,  f,  g,  and  r  do  not  exist,  the 
r  being  changed  into  /,  as  maria,  malia.  Many  gut- 
tural sounds,  like  kh,  tsh,  lm,  tp,  tsp,  th,  etc.,  are  found, 

19  Hate's  Ethnog.,  in  U.  8.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  222,  630;   Wilkes'  Nar., 
in  Id.,  vol.  v.,  p.  201. 

20  '  Puzhune,    Sekamne,  Tsamak  und  Talatui Sekumne   und  Tsamak 

sind  nahe  verwandt,  die  iibrigen  zeigen  gemeinsames  und  fremdes.'  JJusch- 
mann,  Spuren  der  Aztelc.  Spr.,  p.  571.     'Hale's  vocabulary  of  the  Talatiu  be- 
longs to  the  group  for  which  the  name  of  Moquelumne  is  proposed,  a  Moque- 
lumne  Hill  and  a  Moquelumne  River  being  found  within   the  area   over 
which  the  languages  belonging  to  it  are  spoken.     Again  the  names  of  the 
tribes  that  speak  them  end  largely  in  mne,  Chupumne,  etc.     As  far  south  as 
Tuolumne  County  the  language  belongs  to  this  division;  viz.,  1,  the  Mumal- 
tachi;  2,  Mullateco;  3,  Apaugasi;  4,   Lapappu;  5,  Siyante,  or  Typoxi  band, 
speak  this  language.'  Latham's  Comp.  Phil,  vol.  viii.,  p.  414. 

21  mikes'  Nar.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  v.,  p.  201. 

22  Montgomery's  Indianology  of  Napa  County,  MS. 
23 Mofras,  Explor.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  391. 


SPECIMENS  OF  SOUTHERN  LANGUAGES.  651 

yet  softer  than  the  gutturals  of  the  north.  Notwith- 
standing the  above  statement,  M.  de  Mofras  gives  as 
a  specimen  of  the  Tulare  language  the  following 
Lord's  Prayer,  in  which  the  r  frequently  occurs  : 

Appa  macquen  erinigmo  tasunimac  emracat,  jinnin 
eccey  macquen  iunisinmac  macquen  quitti  ene  soteyma 
erinigmo:  sumimac  macquen  hamjamu  jinnan  guara 
ayei:  sunun  macquen  quit  ti  enesunumac  ayacma: 
aquectsem  unisimtac  nininti  equetmini:  jurina'  macquen 
equetniini  em  men. 

Of  the  languages  spoken  at  the  mission  of  Santa 
Inez,  the  following  Lord's  Prayer  is  given  by  M.  de 
Mofras;  and  this  is  very  likely  in  the  true  Tulare 
language  in  place  of  the  one  above. 

Dios  caquicoco  upalequen  alapa,  quiaenicho  opte: 
paqininigug  quique  eccuet  upalacs  huatahuc  itimisshup 
caneche  alapa.  Ulamuhu  ilahulalisahue.  Picsiyug 
equepe  ginsucutaniyug  uquiyagmagin,  canechequique 
quisagin  sucutanagun  utiyagmayiyug  peux  hoyug  quie 
utic  lex  ulechop  santequiyug  ilautechop.  Amen  Jesus.24 

The  Tulare  language  is  probably  the  same  which 
was  known  under  the  name  of  Kahweyah  in  central 
California,  and  may  have  some  connection  with  the 
Cahuillo  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state.25 

Languages  in  the  interior,  of  which  but  little  more 
than  the  name  and  the  region  where  they  were  spoken 
is  known,  are,  on  the  Tuolumne  River,  the  Hawhaw, 
and  another  which  has  no  particular  name;  on  the 
Merced  River,  the  Coconoon,  with  a  dialect  extending 
to  Kings  River  and  to  Tulare  Lake.26  Mr  Powers 
makes  of  the  tribes  inhabiting  Kern  and  Tulare  val- 
leys the  Yocut  nation,  yocut  signifying  an  aggregation 

2i Arroyo,  Gram,  de  la  lenyua  Tularena,  MS.,  quoted  in  Mofras,  Explor., 
torn,  ii.,  p.  388,  see  also  pp.  392-3.  'Malgre  le  grand  nombre  de  dialectes 
des  Missions  de  la  Calif ornie,  les  Franciscains  espagnols  s'etaient  attaches 
a  apprendre  la  langue  generale  de  la  grande  vallee  de  los  Tulares,  dont  pres- 
que  toutes  les  tribus  sont  originaires,  et  ils  ont  rediges  le  vocabulaire  et  une 
sorte  de  grammaire  de  cette  langue  nominee  el  Tulareno.'  Id.,  p.  387. 

*5  Taylor,  in  Cal.  Farmer,  May  25,  1860. 

^Johnston,  in  ScJtoolcraft's  Arch,,  vol.  iv.,  p.  407.  'Die  Sprachen  der 
Coconoons  und  die  vom  King's  Kiver  sind  nahe  verwandt. '  Buschmann,  Spuren 
der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  564. 


652 


CALIFORNIA^  LANGUAGES. 


of  people,  while  myee,  or  nono,  means  man.  "  It  is  a 
singular  fact,"  observes  this  writer,  "that  in  several  of 
the  northern  languages  kiya  denotes  dog,  while  in  the 
Yocut,  Jciya  is  coyote." 

From  Mr  Powers  I  have  also  the  following  vocabu- 
laries, which  have  never  before  been  published. 


Man 

Woman 

Sun 

Earth 

Dog 

Water 

Stone 

Fire 

Head 

Mouth 

Hand 

Big 

Little 

To  eat 

To  give 

To  work 


Man 

Woman 

Sun 

Earth 

Dog 

Water 

Stone 

Fire 

Head 

Mouth 

Hand 

Big 

Little 

To  eat 

To  give 

To  work 


CAHROC. 

awans 

asicitawa 

coosooda 

soosaney 

cheshee 

ahs 

ass 

alih 

huchwa 

apman 

teeik 

nuckishnuck 

neenums 

ohamt 

tanneeh 

ickeeaht 

MEEWOC. 

Meewa 

Osuh 

Watoo 

Toleh 

Chookoo 

Kikuh 

Sawa 

Wookeh 

Hanna 

Awoh 

Tissuh 

Oyaneh 

Toonchickche 

Sowuh 


MEIDOO. 

midoo 

catee 

pocum 

caweh 

seyn 

momeh 

ohm 

sum 

onum 

cumbo 

ma  mah 

haylin 

wedaka 

pin 

meey 

tawale 

YOCUT. 

nono 

mokella 

ope 

hoocheh 

chehca 

ilic 

sileh 

osit 

oochuh 

samah 

poonose 

koteh 

colich 

hatch 

wahneh 

tawhaleh 


PALEGAWONAP. 

anghanil 

coyeem 

tahl 

serwahl 

poongool 

pahl 

tuhnt 

quoat 

koonte 

tawkunte 


NEESHENAM. 

neeshenam  or  maidee 

ciilleh 

ophy 

cow 

sooh 

moh 

oam 

sah 

tsoll 

sim 

mah 

nem 

hunum 


pap 
meh 
towhan 


Information  regarding  the  languages  spoken  where 
the  city  of  San  Francisco  now  stands,  and  throughout 
the  adjacent  country,  is  meagre,  and  of  a  very  indefinite 
character.  On  the  shores  of  San  Francisco  Bay,  there 
are  the  languages  spoken  by  the  Matalans,  Salses,  and 
Quirotes,  which  are  dialects  of  one  mother  language.27 

27 '  Dans  la  baie  de  San  Francisco  on  distingue  les  tribus  des  Matalans, 
Salsen  et  Quirotes,  dont  les  langues  derivent  d'une  souche  commune. '  Hum- 
boldt,  Easai  Pol.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  321-2;  Milhlenpfordt,  Mejico,  torn,  ii.,  pt.  ii.,  p. 


DIALECTS  OF  THE  RUNSIEN  AND  ESLENE.  653 

This  language  has  by  some  been  called  the  Olhone, 
and  although  other  dialects  are  mentioned  as  belonging 
to  it,  it  is  generally  stated  that  but  one  general  lan- 
guage was  spoken  by  all  of  them.28  Southward,  near 
Monterey,  there  are  more  positive  data.  Here  we 
find,  as  the  principal  languages,  the  two  spoken  by  the 
Runsiens  and  Eslenes;  besides  which,  the  Ismuracan 
and  Aspianaque  are  mentioned.29 

But  although  they  are  called  distinct  languages, 
Taylor  affirms  that  the  Eslenes,  Sakhones,  Chalories, 
Katlendarukas,  Poytoquis,  Mutsunes,  Thamiens,  and 
many  others,  spoke  different  dialects  of  the  Runsien 
language,  and  that  over  a  stretch  of  country  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy  miles  in  length,  the  natives  were  all 
able  to  converse  with  greater  or  less  facility  with  each 
other,  and  that  although  "their  dialects  were  infini- 
tesimal and  puzzling,  their  vocal  communications  were 
intelligible  enough  when  brought  together  at  the 
different  missions."  La  Perouse's  Achastliens  and 
Ecclemachs  are  probably  nothing  more  than  other 
names  for  some  of  the  above-mentioned  dialects.30 

28  The  tribes  of  Indians  which  roamed  over  this  great  valley,  from  San 
Francisco  to  near  San  Juan  Bautista  Mission ....  were  the  Olhones.     Their 
language  slightly  resembled  that  spoken  by  the  Mutsuns,  at  the  Mission  of 
San  Juan  Bautista,  although   it  was  by  no  means  the  same.'    Hall's  San 
Jose,  p.  40.      'In   the  single   Mission   Santa   Clara  more   than   twenty  lan- 
guages are  spoken.'  Kotzebue's  New   Voy.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  98;  Kotzebue's   Voyage, 
vol.  iii.,  p.  51;  Beechey's  Voyage,  vol.  ii.,  p.  78;  Choris,  Voy.  Pitt.,  pt.  iii.,  pp. 
5-6;  Gander  s  Mex.  Ouat.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  94-5. 

29  '  La  misma  dif erencia  que  se  advierte  en  los  usos  y  costumbres  de  una 
y  otra  nacion  hay  en  sus  idiomas.'  Sutil  y  Mexicana,  Viage,  p.  172. 

3l} '  Each  tribe  has  a  different  dialect;  and  though  their  districts  are  small, 
the  languages  are  sometimes  so  different  that  the  neighboring  tribes  cannot 
understand  each  other.  I  have  before  observed  that  in  the  Mission  of  San 
Carlos  there  are  eleven  different  dialects.'  Beechey's  Voyage,  vol.  ii.,  p.  73. 
'La  langue  de  ces  habitans  (Ecclemachs)  differs  absolument  de  toutes 
celles  de  leurs  voisins;  elle  a  meme  plus  de  rapport  avec  nos  langues  Europe- 
ennes  qu'avec  celles  de  l'Am6rique. . .  .L'idiome  de  cette  nation  est  d'ailleurs 
plus  riche  que  celui  des  autres  peuples  de  la  Calif ornie.'  La  Perouse,  Voy., 
torn,  ii.,  pp.  324-6.  'La  partie  septentrionale  de  la  Nouvelle-Calif  ornie  est 
habitee  par  les  deux  nations  de  Rumsen  et  Escelen.  Elles  parlent  des  lan- 
gues enti6rement  differentes. '  Hurriboldt,  Essai  Pol.,  torn,  i.,  p.  321.  'Beyde 
Darstellungen  derselben  sind,  wie  man  aus  der  so  bestimmten  Erklarung 
beider  Schriftsteller,  dass  diese  zwey  Volker  die  Bevolkerung  jener  Gegend 
ausmachen,  schliessen  muss,  ohne  Zweifel  unter  verschiedenen  Abtheilungen 
Ernes  Volkes  aufgefasst,  unter  dessen  Zweigen  die  Dialekte,  ungeregelt,  wie 
sie  sind  leicht  grosse  Abweichungen  von  einander  zeigen  werden.'  Vater, 
Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  202;  Taylor,  in  Gal.  Fai-mer,  Feb.  22,  Apr. 
20,  1860. 


654  CALIFORNIA^  LANGUAGES. 

Not  only  do  all  these  before-mentioned  languages 
show  a  relationship  one  with  another,  but  there  are 
faint  resemblances  detected  between  them  and  the  01- 
hone  language  of  San  Francisco  Bay.  Furthermore, 
between  the  latter  and  the  language  spoken  at  La 
Soledad  Mission,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Olamentkes  of 
Russian  River,  which  I  have  already  classed  with  the 
Porno  family,  there  are  faint  traces  of  relationship.31 

MUTSUN.  LA  SOLEDAD.        RUNSIEN.  ACHASTLIEN. 

One  hemethscha       himitsa  enjala  moukala 

Two  usthrgin  utshe  ultis  outis 

Three  cap  j  an  hapkha  kappei  capes 

Four  uthrit  utjit  altizim  outiti 

Five  parnes  paruash  hali  izti  is 

Father  appa  nikapa  appan 

Mother  anan  nikana  aan 

Daughter  ca  nik£  kaana 

Nose  us  us 

Ears  ocho  otsho 

Mouth  jai  hai 

A  further  confirmation  of  this  relationship  is  found 
in  the  statement  of  the  first  missionary  Fathers  who 
travelled  overland  from  Monterey  to  San  Francisco, 
and  who,  although  at  that  time  totally  unacquainted 
with  these  languages,  recognized  resemblances  in  cer- 
tain words.32  The  dialect  spoken  at  the  Mission  of 
Santa  Clara  has  been  preserved  to  us  only  in  the  shape 
of  the  Lord's  Prayer  which  follows : 

Appa  rnacrene  md  saura  saraahtiga  elecpuhmen  im- 
ragat,  sacan  macrene  mensaraah  assueiy  nouman  ourun 
macari  pireca  numa  ban  saraathtiga  poluma  macrene 
souhaii  naltis  anat  macrene  neena,  ia  annanit  macrene 
nieena,  ia  annanit  macrene  macrec  equetr  maccari  nou- 
mabaii  mare  annan,  nou  marote,  jassemper  macrene  in 
eckoue  tamouniri  innam  tattahne  icatrarca  oniet  ma- 
crdne  equets  naccaritkoun  oun  och  d  Jesus.33 

31 '  Es  erhellt  aber  aus  den  Zahlwortern  und  anderen  Wortern,  dass  die 
Sprache  von  la  Soledad,  der  der  Runsien  nahe  gleich  und  der  der  Achastlier 
ahnlichist.'  Buschmann,  Spuren der  AzteL  Spr.,  p.  561;  Turner,  in.  Hist.  Mag., 
vol.  i.,  p.  206, 

32 '  En  estos  indios  repare  que  entendian  mas  que  otros  los  terminos  de 

Monterey  y  entendi  muchos  terminos  de  lo  que  hablaban El  diciendome 

meapam  tu  eres  mi  padre,  que  es  la  misma  palabra  que  usan  los  de  Mon- 
terey.' Palou,  Noticias,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iv.,  torn,  vii.,  pp.  62-3,  59, 
65,  67,  69. 

™Mofras,  Explor.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  392. 


MUTSUN  GRAMMAR.  655 

Of  the  Mutsun  dialect  I  give  the  following  gram- 
matical notes.  Words  of  this  language  do  not  contain 
the  letters  b,  d,  Ic,  f,  v,  x,  and  the  rolling  r. 

DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  APPA,  FATHER.        t 

SINGULAR.  PLURAL. 

Nom.  appa  appagma 

Gen.  appa  appagma 

Dat.  appahuas  appagmahuaa 

Ace.  appase  apagamase 

Voc.  appa  appagma 

Abl.  appatsu     j  «  W£  appag.atsu    |  « 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  ARl,  TO  GIVE. 

PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  give,  can  ara 

Thou  givest,         men  ar£ 
He  gives,  mmissia  ar£ 


We  give,          macse  ara 
You  give,         macam  ar£ 
They  give,       nupcan  ara 


PAST. 

I  gave  (a  very  short  time  ago),  can  itzs  ardn 

I  gave  (a  long  while  ago),  can  cus  aras 

I  gave  (very  long  ago),  can  hoes  ar£ 

I  gave  (from  time  immemorial),  can  munna  araa 

I  gave  (without  mentioning  time),  can  aran 

I  gave  (who  knows  when),  can  ar£s 

I  gave  (some  time  ago),  can  araicun 

I  gave  (already),  can  aragte 

FUTURE. 

I  shall  give  (soon),  can  et  (or  iete)  ar£ 

I  shall  give  (after  many  days),  can  iti  ar£ 

I  shall  give  (after  many  years),  can  mtinna  ar£ 

I  shall  have  given  (perhaps),  can  pin  aran 

IMPERATIVE. 

Give  me,  arat,  or  aratit 

Give  thyself,  araia 

Give  him,  arai,  or  arati 

Give  them,  arais 

SUBJUNCTIVE. 

That  I  give,  cat  ara 

If  I  gave,  imatcum  can  ara,  or  cochop  tucne  can  ara 

The  language  abounds  in  adverbs,  of  which  I  give 
the  following: 

This  day  neppe  tengis  To-morrow  aruta 

Now  naha  Since  yete 

Immediately  inaha  Always  imi 

Never  ecue  et  Before  aru 

Never  more  eue  imi  Much  tolon 

Good  miste,  utin  Very  much  tompe 

Bad  equitseste  Little  cutis 

Gently  *  chequen  Very  little  cuti 

Certainly  amane  Yes  gehe 

No  ecue  Truly  asaha,  eres 

To-day  naha  Look  gire 


656  CALIFORNIA*?  LANGUAGES. 

Adjectives  are  declined  the  same  as  substantives 
when  they  are  declined  alone;  but  they  differ  in  their 
declension  from  substantives  when  they  are  declined  in 
connection  with  them,  because  then  they  do  not  change 
their  terminations,  but  remain  the  same  in  all  the  cases. 
The  rules  of  syntax  are  intricate  and  very  difficult. 

Father  Cornelias  speaks  of  a  language  at  the  Mis- 
sion of  Santa  Cruz,  with  numerous  dialects — in  fact,  so 
many,  that  the  language  changed  nearly  every  two. 
leagues,  and  being  at  times  so  divergent,  that  it  was 
with  difficulty  neighboring  people  could  understand 
one  another.34  In  the  vicinity  of  the  Mission  San 
Antonio  de  Padua,  there  is  a  language  which  has 
been  variously  named  Tatche',  Telame,  and  Sextapay. 
It  appears  to  be  a  distinct  language,  and  Taylor  affirms 
that  the  people  speaking  it  could  not  understand  those 
of  La  Soledad  Mission,  thirty  miles  north.35  In  this 
language  the  letters  b,  d,  r,  do  not  appear;  na  ex- 
presses the  article  the,  and  also  this.  There  are 
many  different  ways  of  expressing  the  plural  of 
nouns.  Some  add  the  syllable  il,  el,  I,  or  li,  others 
insert  ti,  or  t,  while  others  again  add  leg,  aten,  tent  or 
teno,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  following  examples  r36 

SINGULAR.'  PLURAL. 

Counsellor  tayito  tayilito 

Flame  me  a  che  a  liya  me  a  ch  e  a  liliya 

Work  tacato  taqueleato 

My  enemy  zitcho f n  zitcho f  ne  a  1 

Brother  citol  citolanel 

Grass  ca*tz  ca*tza°nel 

Man  tama  tamaten 

Mouse  eazzqui*lmog  eazzqui*lmoco*ten 

Oven  aloconiya  alocotiniya 

Prison  quealucziigne  quealuezugtine 

Fat  cu*pinit  cupinitleg 

Woman  lixii  litzzin 

Bone  ejacd  ejaclito 

34  Cornelias,  in  Cal  Farmer,  April  5,  1860. 

35  Taylor,  in  Id.,  April  27,  1860. 

36  '  Quod  quanquam  hoc  idioma  ineloquens  videatur  et  inelegans,  in  rei 
veritate  non  est  ita:  est  valde  copiosum,  oblongum,  abundans  et  eloquens.' 
Arroyo  de  la  Cuesta,  Alphabs  Rivulus  Obeundus,  preface;  also,  Arroyo  de  la 
Cuesta,  Mutsun  Grammar.     On  the  cover  of  the  manuscript  is  the  following 
important  note:    'Copia  de  la  lengua  Mutsun  en  estilo  Catalan  a  causa  la 
escribid  un  Catalan.     La  Castellana  usa  de  la  fuerza  de  la  pronunciacion  de 
letras  de  otro  modo  en  su  alfabeto.'    The  Catalans  pronounce  ch  hard,  and  j 
like  the  Germans. 


TATCHE  GRAMMAR.  657 

Cases  do  not  appear  to  exist,  the  relations  of  the 
nouns  being  expressed  by  particles.  Adjectives  do 
not  vary  to  show  gender  or  degree.  Personal  pro- 
nouns are  usually  copulative  and  included  in  the  verb, 
whether  subjective  or  objective.  Of  the  use  of  the 
possessive  pronoun,  the  following  examples  will  give 
the  clearest  idea:  Brother,  citolo;  my  brother,  citol; 
thy  brother,  eatsmitol;  brothers,  citolanelo;  my  broth- 
ers, citolanel;  thy  brothers,  eatsmitolanel ;  mother,  epjo; 
thy  mother,  petsmipeg ;  house,  cJficonou;  my  house, 
chvicono° ;  thy  house,  zimchvicono;  blood,  akata;  my 
blood,  ekata;  thy  blood,  cimekata;  father,  ecco;  my 
father,  tili;  thy  father,  cimic;  our  father,  tatilli; 
work,  tacdto ;  my  work,  tacdt;  thy  work,  cimtacdt; 
our  work,  zatacdt;  your  work,  zugtacdt;  mine,  zee; 
thine,  eatsmeamee;  this,  na;  that,  pea, 

Verbs  have  also  a  plural  form.  Co* lorn,  to  teach; 
ca*6lilom,  to  teach  much,  or  to  teach  many. 

SINGULAR.  PLURAL. 

To  desire  quia°lep  quia°lilep 

To  drink  cacheme  cachetem 

To  run  quenole  quenoltec 

To  say  malaco  maloltaco 

To  walk  qui*tipav  qui*lipav 


VERB   AND   PRONOUN. 


I  teach, 
lie  teaches  me, 
Speak  thou  to  me, 
Speak  you  to  me, 
To  give, 

'eca°*lom 
quepa°alac 
pssia°c 
pssitac 
peyaco,  peMco 

Give  me, 
Give  us, 
He  gives  us, 
He  gives  us, 

meaya°c 
maitiltac 
peaya°c 
paitiltac 

Ilovethee,  'epeapa°maqueca 

Thou  lovest  thyself,     mimo  e  atsme  apa  °  mapque*co 

The  following  are  prepositions :  by,  zo  ;  in,  neapea;  to, 
zui,  zuiyo,  zo;  from,  zeapea;  on,  zui;  within,  zineapav. 
A  few  examples  of  adverbs  are:  here,  zopav;  there, 
neape;  to-day,  taha;  to-morrow,  tixjay;  yesterday, 
notcieyo. 

LORD'S  PRAYER. 

Za  tilli,  mo  quixco  neapea  limaatnil.     An  zucueteyem 

Our  father,  thou        art  in  heaven.  Hallowed 

na   etsmatz:    antsiejtsitia   na   ejtmilina.     An   citaha 

the         thy  name:  come  the    thy  kingdom.  Be  done 

natsmalog  zui  lac^  quicha  neapae  lima.     Ma^iltac  taha 

thy  will  on  earth        as  in          heaven.  Give  us  to-dav 

VOL  III.    42 


658  CALIFORNIA^  LANGUAGES. 

zizalamaget    zizucanatel    ziczia.     Za    manimtiltac    na 

o 
our  food  our  daily.  Forgive  us          the 

zanayl,  quicha  na  kac  apaninitilico  na  zananaol.     Zi 

Debts,  as  the       we         forgive  them         the         our  debt. 

quetza   commanatatelnec    za    alimeta    zo    na  ziuxnia. 

Let  not  us         fall  into  the  temptation. 

Za  no  quissili  jom  zig  zumtaylitee.     Amen.37 

Us  from         evil  defend. 

Another  distinct  language  is  found  at  and  near  the 
Mission  of  San  Miguel,  but  of  it  nothing  but  a  short 
vocabulary  taken  by  Mr  Hale  is  known.  The  language 
spoken  at  San  Gabriel  and-at  San  Fernando  Hey,  called 
Kizh,  and  the  Netela  used  at  San  Juan  Capistrano,  I 
shall  not  describe  here,  but  include  them  with  the  Sho- 
shone  family,  to  which  they  are  related.  The  Cheme- 
huevi  and  Cahuillo  I  also  place  among  the  Shoshone 
dialects,  while  the  Diegeno  and  Comeya  will  be  in- 
cluded in  the  Yuma  family.  It  therefore  only  remains 
for  me  to  speak  of  the  languages  of  the  islands  near 
the  coast  of  California.  Of  these,  the  principal,  or 
mother  language,  was  spoken  on  the  island  of  Santa 
Cruz.  The  different  tribes  inhabiting  the  various 
islands  all  spoke  dialects  of  one  language,  which  was 
somewhat  guttural.  I  insert  a  short  vocabulary  of 
the  Santa  Cruz  Island  language  with  that  of  the 
Mission  of  San  Miguel. 

SAN  MIGUEL.  SANTA  CRUZ  ISLAND. 

Man  loai,  or  loguai  alamuiin 

Woman  tlene  hemutch 

Father  tata  ceske 

Mother  apai  osloe 

Head  tobuko  pispulaoah 

Hair  teasakho  toffooll 

Ears  tentkhito  pasthoo 

Eyes  trugento  tisplesoose 

Mouth  treliko  pasaotch 

One  tohi  ismala 

Two  kogsu  ischum 

Three  tlobahi  maseghe 

Four  kesa  scumoo 

**  Sitjar,  Vocahulario  de  la  M.  de  San  Antonio,  The  orthography  em- 
ployed by  Father  Sitjar  is  very  curious:  accents,  stars,  small  letters  above  or 
below  the  line,  and  various  other  marks  are  constantly  used;  but  no  expla- 
nation of  these  have  been  found  in  the  MS.  I  have,  therefore,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, presented  the  original  style  of  writing.  See  also  Mofras,  Explor.,  torn, 
ii.,  pp.  392-3. 


SAN  MIGUEL  AND  SANTA  CLARA  VOCABULARY.    659 

SAN   MIGUEL.  SANTA   CRUZ   ISLAND.38 

Five                                     oldrato  sietisma 

Six                                     paiate  sietischum 

Seven                                  tepa  sietmasshugh 

Eight                                  sratel  malawah 

Nine                                   teditrup  spah 

Ten                                     trupa  kascum 

™Hale's  Ethnog.,  in  V.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  633-4;   Taylor,  in  Cal 
Farmer,  May  4,  1860. 


CHAPTER  V. 

SHOSHONE  LANGUAGES. 

AZTEC-SONORA  CONNECTIONS  WITH   THE    SHOSHONE   FAMILY— THE   UTAH,   Co- 
MANCHE,   MOQUI,  KlZH,  NETELA,  KECHI,  CAHUILLO,  AND  CHEMEHUEVI — 

EASTERN  AND  WESTERN  SHOSHONE,  OR  WIHINASHT— THE  BANNACK  AND 
DIGGER,  OR  SHOSHOKEE— THE  UTAH  AND  ITS  DIALECTS — THE  GOSHTJTE, 
WASHOE,  PAIULEE,  PIUTE,  SAMPITCHE,  AND  MONO — POPULAR  BELIEF  AS 
TO  THE  AZTEC  ELEMENT  IN  THE  NORTH — GRIMM'S  LAW — SHOSHONE, 
COMANCHE,  AND  MOQUI  COMPARATIVE  TABLE — NETELA  STANZA — KlZH 
GRAMMAR — THE  LORD'S  PRAYER  IN  Two  DIALECTS  or  THE  KIZH — CHEM- 
EHUEVI AND  CAHUILLO  GRAMMAR — COMPARATIVE  VOCABULARY. 

IN  this  chapter  I  include  all  the  languages  of  tile 
Shoshone  family,  the  Wihinasht  or  western  Shoshone 
of  Idaho  and  Oregon,  the  Utah  with  its  many  dialects, 
the  Comanche  or  Yetan  of  Texas  and  New  Mexico, 
the  Moqui  of  Arizona,  the  Kizh,  Netela,  and  Kechi 
of  the  San  Fernando  Mission,  and  their  dialects,  and 
the  Cahuillo  and  Chemehuevi  of  south-eastern  Cali- 
fornia. The  six  last  mentioned  do  not  properly  belong 
to  the  Shoshone  family,  but  on  account  of  certain 
faint  traces  of  Aztec,  found  alike  in  them  and  in  all 
Shoshone  idioms,  I  cannot  do  better  than  to  speak  of 
them  in  this  connection.  As  regards  tins  Aztec  ele- 
ment, I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  these  languages  are 
related  to  the  Aztec  language,  in  the  same  sense  that 
other  languages  are  spoken  of  as  being  related  to  each 
other,  for  this  might  lead  those  who  are  searching  for 
the  former  habitation  or  fatherland  of  the  Aztecs  to 

(660; 


*  SHOSHONE  AND  UTAH  DIALECTS.  661 

suppose  that  it  has  been  found.  This  element  consists 
simply  in  a  number  of  words,  identical  or  reasonably 
approximate  to  the  like  Aztec  words,  and  in  the  simi- 
larity, perhaps,  of  a  few  grammatical  rules:  How  this 
Aztec  word-material  crept  into  the  languages  of  the 
Shoshones,  whether  by  intercommunication,  or  Aztec 
colonization,  we  do  not  know.  Nor  do  I  wish  to  be 
understood  as  attempting  to  sustain  the  popular  theory 
of  an  Aztec  migration  from  the  north;  on  the  con- 
trary, the  evidence  of  language  is  all  on  the  other  side. 
Whether  or  not  the  Great  Basin,  or  any  part  of  the 
Northwest,  was  once  occupied  by  the  ancient  Mexi- 
cans, it  is  certain  that  the  Aztec  language,  as  a  base, 
is  found  nowhere  north  of  central  Mexico,  so  that  these 
incidental  or  accidental  word  analogies  if  they  prove 
anything,  indicate  only  a  scattering  from  some  prime- 
val centre,  other  than  the  place  where  they  are  found, 
and  tend  to  show  that  the  language  whose  words  are 
thus  thinly  sprinkled  over  so  broad  an  area  could  not 
have  been  the  aboriginal  stock  language  of  the  country. 
The  Shoshone  and  the  Utah  are  the  principal  lan- 
guages of  the  great  interior  basin;  and  these  may  be 
regarded  as  sisters  of  a  common  mother  language,  the 
Shoshone  preponderating.  Each  has  many  dialects. 
The  Shoshone  language  may  be  divided  into  eastern, 
or  Shoshone  proper,  and  western  Shoshone,  or  Wihi- 
nasht.  Of  the  former,  the  Bannack  and  the  Digger, 
or  Shoshokee,  are  the  chief  variations.  The  Utah 
dialects,  more  numerous,  are  the  Goshute,  Washoe, 
Paiulee,  Piute,  Sampitche,  Mono,  and  a  few  others, 
which  latter  vary  so  little  from  some  one  of  the  others 
that  it  is  unnecessary  to  trace  them  as  separate  dia- 
lects. The  Comanche  dialects  I  shall  not  attempt  to 
classify.1  No  grammar  has  ever  been  written  of  any 

1 '  The  Shoshdni  and  PdnasM  (Bonnaks)  of  the  Columbia,  the  Yutes  and 

SampUches, the   Commandoes  of    Texas,    and    some    other    tribes    along 

the  northern  frontier  of  Mexico,  are  said  to  speak  dialects  of  a  common 
language.'  Bale's  Ethnoy.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  218-19.  'The  great 
Shoshonee,  or  Snake,  family:  which  comprehends  the  Shoshones  proper 

the  Utahs Pah-Utahs the  Kizh the  Netela the  Kechi 

the  Comanches.'  Turner,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  76.  '  Shosh&ries 
ou  Serpents  et  de  Soshocos  ou  Deterreurs  de .  ratines parlent  la  meme 


6C2  SHOSHONE  LANGUAGES. 

of  these  languages.  In  all  of  them  words  are  gener- 
ally accented  on  the  first  syllable,  except  when  a  pos- 
sessive pronoun  is  prefixed.  Words  of  more  than  four 
syllables  generally  have  a  secondary  accent  on  the 
fifth,  as  in  te-ith-tis-chi-ho-no,  valley.2  A  few  words  in 
these  languages  are  found  almost  identical  with  like 
words  of  the  Tinneh  family,  which  have  probably 
found  their  way  into  them  by  intercommunication. 

langue.'  De  Smet,  Voy.,  p.  126.  'The  Shoshone  language  is  spoken  mostly 
by  all  the  bands  of  Indians  in  south-eastern  Nevada.'  Parker,  in  Ind.  Aff. 
Rept.,  1866,  p.  114.  'Their  language  (Shoshones)  is  very  different  from  that 
of  either  the  Bannocks  or  Pi-Utes.'  Campbell,  in  Id.,  p.  120.  Goshautes 
speak  the  same  language  as  Shoshones.  Forney,  in  Id.,  1859,  p.  363.  *  The 
language  is  spoken  by  bands  in  the  gold-mine  region  of  the  Sacramento.* 
Schooler aft's  Arch.,  vol.  i.,  p.  198.  'Paiuches  speak  the  same  language  as 
the  Yutas.'  Farnhams  Life  in  Gal,  pp.  371,  375.  'Pi-Edes,  allied  in  language 
to  the  Utahs.'  Cooky,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Rept.,  1865,  p.  18.  Goships,  or  Gosha 
Utes,  'talk  very  nearly  the  Shoshonee  language.'  Irish,  in  Id.,  p.  144.  Sho- 
shones and  Comanches  'both  speak  the  same  language. '  Sampiches.  'Their 
language  is  said  to  be  allied  to  that  of  the  Snakes. '  Youtas.  '  Their  lan- 
guage is  by  some  thought  to  be  peculiar.'  Wilkes  Nar.,  in  U.  8.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol. 
iv.,  p.  501.  'Pueblan  todas  las  partes  de  esta  sierra  por  el  sueste,  sur  sud- 
oeste  y  oeste,  gran  niimero  de  gentes  de  la  misma  nacion,  idioma,'etc.,3which 
they  call  Timpanogotzis.  Dominguez  and  Escalante,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex. ,  se"rie 
ii.,  torn,  i.,  p.  467.  'The  language  spoken  by  the  Comanches  is  of  great 
antiquity,  and  differs  but  little  from  that  of  the  Incas  of  Peru.'  Maillard's 
Hist.  Tex.,  p.  249;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp.  349,  351.  Yam- 
pah.  '  This  is  what  the  Snakes  call  the  Comanches,  of  which  they  are  either 
the  parents  or  descendants,  for  the  two  languages  are  nearly  the  same, 
and  they  readily  understand  each  other,  and  say  that  they  were  once  one 
people.'  'The  Snake  language  is  talked  and  understood  by  all  the  tribes 
from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  California,  and  from  the  Colorado  to  the  Co- 
lumbia, and  by  a  few  in  many  tribes  outside  of  these  limits.'  Stuart's  Montana, 
pp.  58,  82.  '  The  different  bands  of  the  Comanches  and  Shoshonies,  or  Snakes, 
constitute  another  extensive  stock,  speaking  one  language.'  Gregg's  Com. 
Prairies,  vol.  ii.,  p.  251.  'The  vernacular  language  of  the  Yutas  is  said  to  be 
distantly  allied  to  that  of  the  Navajos,  but  it  has  appeared  to  me  much  more 
guttural,  having  a  deep,  sepulchral  sound  resembling  ventriloquism. '  Id.,  vol. 
i.,  p.  300.  'The  Utahs,  who  speak  the  same  language  as  the  Kyaways.' 
C'onder's  Mex.  Guat.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  74;  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  197.  The 
Goshutes  are  of  different  language  from  the  Shoshones.  Douglas,  in  Ind.  Aff. 
Rept.,  1870,  p.  96.  Diggers  'differ  from  the  other  Snakes  somewhat  in  lan- 
guage.' Wyeth,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  i.,  p.  206;  Berghaus,  in  Buschmann, 
Spuren  der  Aztelc.  Spr.,  p.  371.  The  Kusi-Utahs,  'in  speaking  they  clipped 
their  words. . .  .we  recognized  the  sounds  of  the  language  of  the  Shoshones.' 
Remy  and  Brenchley's  Journey,  vol.  ii.,  p.  412;  Thiimmel,  Mexiko,  p.  359;  Cat- 
tins  N.  Amer.  Ind.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  113.  'Their  native  language  (Comanches)  in 
sound  differs  from  the  language  of  any  other  nation,  and  no  one  can  easily 
learn  to  speak  it.  They  have  also  a  language  of  signs,  by  which  they  con- 
verse among  themselves.'  French's  Hist.  La.  (N.  Y.,  1869),  p.  156.  'The 
primitive  terms  of  the  Comanches  are  short,  and  several  are  combined  for  the 
expression  of  complex  ideas.  The  language  is  very  barren  of  verbs,  the  func- 
tions of  which  are  frequently  performed  by  the  aid  of  gestures  and  grimaces. ' 
Kennedy's  Texas,  vol.  i.,  p.  348. 

2  Turner,  in  Pac.  R.  JR.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  77. 


SHOSHONE  AND  TINNEH  SIMILARITIES.  633 

Of  these,  the  following  are  the  principal  ones,  so  far 
as  designated  by  existing  vocabularies : 

Fire:  Comanche,  Icu-ona;  Shoshone,  kuna;  Che- 
pewyan, counn,  kon,  kone;  Utah,  coon.  Bow:  Com- 
anche, eth;  Shoshone,  atscho;  Wihinasht,  ati;  Che- 
pewyan,  atheike.  Cold:  Comanche,  etscho ;  Shoshone, 
otschoin;  Wihinasht,  izits;  Chepewyan,  edzah.  Eye: 
Comanche,  nachich;  Chepewyan,  nackhay.3 

In  the  Wihinasht,  words  occur  sometimes  in  which 
an  unusual  number  of  vowels  are  combined — paoaiu, 
great;  long  words  are  also  not  infrequent,  like  pima- 
tiyimwaiakin,  salt.4  A  short  comparative  vocabulary 
to  show  the  connection  between  these  languages  is 
given  farther  on. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  often  discussed  but  ill  un- 
derstood question  of  the  Aztec  language  in  the  north. 
Torquemada  and  Vetancurt  narrate  the  expedition  of 
Juan  de  Ofiate,  who  invaded  New  Mexico  during  the 
last  years  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Father  Roque  de 
Figueredo,  who  accompanied  the  expedition,  says  that 
while  searching  for  a  lost  mule,  at  the  Rio  del  Tizon, 
the  Mexican  muleteers  met  certain  natives  who  ad- 
dressed them  in  their  own  language,  and  who,  on 
being  asked  whence  they  came,  answered  that  they 
came  from  the  north,  where  that  language  was  spoken. 
Clavigero,  who  repeats  the  above,  also  asserts  that 
during  the  expedition  made  by  the  Spaniards,  in 
1606,  to  New  Mexico,  when  north  of  the  Rio  del 
Tizon,  they  saw  some  large  houses,  and  near  them 
certain  natives  who  spoke  the  Mexican  language. 
Then  we  have  the  statement  of  Father  Gerdnimo  de 
Zarate,  that  while  searching  for  the  Laguna  de  Co- 
pala,  he  was  informed,  among  other  things,  that  the 
country  in  its  vicinity  was  densely  peopled  by  men 
who  spoke  a  language  similar  to  that  of  his  Aztec 
servants.  Zarate  was  at  this  time  at  the  Rio  del 
Tizon,  and  the  natives,  who  are  close  observers  in  such 
matters,  assured  the  Spaniards  that  they  detected  in 

3  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  AztcL  8pr.,  pp.  402-3. 

4  Id.,  pp.  645  et  seq. 


664  SHOSHONE  LANGUAGES. 

the  speech  of  the  servant  certain  words  common  to 
both  his  own  and  the  language  of  the  people  of  the 
Laguna  de  Copala.  And  again,  in  the  region  toward 
the  east,  Acosta  says  that  "  of  late  they  have  discov- 
ered a  new  land,  which  they  call  New  Mexico,  where 
they  say  is  much  people  that  speake  the  Mexican 
tongue." 

Vater,  in  his  Mithridates,  intimates  that  the  Mexi- 
can language  spread  far  northward,  through  the  roam- 
ings  of  wild  tribes,  particularly  the  Chichimecs;  but 
when  we  remember  that  the  term  Chichimec  was 
applied  by  the  early  Spaniards  to  all  the  immense  un- 
known nomadic  hordes  north  and  west,  this  mention 
carries  with  it  but  little  weight.  Mr  Anderson,  who 
accompanied  Captain  Cook  to  the  northwest  coast  in 
1778,  fancied  he  detected  a  resemblance  between  the 
Aztec  and  the  language  of  the  Nootkas.  "From  the 
few  Mexican  words,"  he  says,  "I  have  been  able  to 
procure,  there  is  the  most  obvious  agreement,  in  the 
very  frequent  terminations  of  the  vowels  in  I,  tl,  or  z, 
throughout  the  language."  And  remarks  the  editor: 
"May  we  not,  in  confirmation  of  Mr  Anderson's  re- 
mark, observe  that  Opulszthl,  the  Nootka  name  of 
the  Sun;  and  Vitziputzli,  the  name  of  the  Mexican 
Divinity,  have  no  very  distant  affinity  in  sound." 
Now,  the  absurdity  of  all  idle  speculations  is  apparent 
when  we  encounter  such  far-fetched  comparisons  as 
this.  In  the  first  place,  there  is  no  affinity  in  the 
sounds  of  the  two  words,  and  in  the  next  place  there 
is  no  such  Aztec  god — Huitzilopochtli  probably  being 
the  god  meant.  Neither  has  this  last  word  any  re- 
semblance to  the  sun ;  it  is  composed  of  the  two  words, 
Imitzilin,  an  abbreviation  of  the  Mexican  huitzitzilin, 
which  signifies  '  humming-bird,'  and  of  opochtli,  that  is 
to  say,  'left/  Vater  also  draws  analogies  between  the 
Aztec  and  the  Nootka,  and  Ugalenze,  which  on  close 
comparison  do  not  hold  good. 

Regarding  the  affinity  of  the  Aztec  language  with 
those  of  the  Pueblos,  Moquis,  Apaches,  Yumas,  and 
others  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  Ruxton  ventures 


AZTEC  TRACES  NORTH   OF   MEXICO.  665 

the  assertion:  "All  these  speak  dialects  of  the  same 
language.  .  .  .  They  likewise  all  understand  each  other's 
tongue.  What  relation  this  language  bears  to  the 
Mexican  is  unknown;  but  my  impression  is,  that  it 
will  be  found  to  assimilate  greatly,  if  not  to  be  iden- 
tical "-  —in  all  of  which  assertions  Mr  Ruxton  is  greatly 
in  error. 

All  this,  as  evidence,  does  not  amount  to  much ;  it 
only  indicates  the  origin  of  a  popular  belief  which 
placed  a  Mexican  language  in  various  parts  of  the 
north,  while  at  the  same  time  it  shows  upon  how  slen- 
der a  thread  hangs  this  belief,  and  how  the  vaguest 
traditionary  rumors  come,  by  repetition,  to  be  accred- 
ited as  fixed  facts. 

Buschmann  asks  himself  the  question  whether  the 
Aztec  words,  in  any  considerable  number,  are  not 
found  in  any  other  languages  of  the  great  Mexican 
empire — in  the  Zapotec,  Miztec,  Tarasco,  Otomi,  or 
Huastec — and  the  answer  is  no;  he  has  discovered  a 
few  accidental  word-similarities,  such  as  may  be  found 
between  the  Aztec  and  other  American  languages,  or 
between  any  two  languages  of  the  world,  but  nothing 
which,  by  any  possibility,  could  denote  relationship. 

From  another  class  of  evidence  we  approach  a  little 
nearer  the.  truth.  Andres  Perez  de  Ribas,  missionary 
to  Sinaloa  writing  about  1640,  says  that  while  study- 
ing the  language  of  his  people,  he  noticed  many  Mexi- 
can words,  particularly  radicals,  and  also  words  which 
appeared  to  have  been  originally  Mexican,  but  which 
had  been  so  altered  that  only  one  or  two  syllables  in 
them  could  be  recognized  as  Aztec. 

Father  Ortega,  in  1732,  wrote  a  vocabulary  of  the 
Cora  language,  in  which  he  says  the  people  had  incor- 
porated in  their  language  many  words  of  the  Mexican 
and  some  few  of  the  Spanish  languages,  and  this  at  a 
period  so  early  that  at  the  time  of  his  writing  they 
were  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  original  language. 

Hervas,  whose  work  appeared  in  1787,  says  that 
the  Tarahumara  language  is  full  of  Mexican  words. 


666  SHOSHC^  LANGUAGES. 

Yater,  writing  early  in  the  nineteenth  century,  affirms 
that  the  Cora  is  remarkable  for  its  relation  to  the 
Mexican,  and  that  the  Tarahumara,  which  is  a  moro 
polished  language  than  its  neighbors,  contains  some 
words  similar  *to  the  Aztec.  In  his  Mithridates, 
Vater  notices  a  relationship  between  the  Cora  and  the 
Aztec,  furthermore  asserting  that  the  conjugations  of 
the  two  are  so  alike  as  plainly  to  prove  the  connection. 

Wilhelm  von  Humboldt  left  us  a  short  manuscript 
grammar  of  the  Cora  and  Tarahumara,  in  which  he 
remarks  that  for  languages  which  are  related,  the 
Cora  and  the  Mexican  have  great  differences  in  their 
sound-systems,  and  although  these  two  languages  cer- 
tainly appear  to  be  related,  yet  he  is  unwilling  to 
assert  that  either  is  derived  from  the  other.  "  There 
are  more  ways  than  one,"  says  the  great  philologist 
Wilhelm  von  Humboldt,  "by  which  languages  are 
connected.  The  impression  left  upon  me  by  the  Cora 
is,  that  it  is  a  mixture  of  two  different  languages :  one 
the  Mexican,  and  the  other  some  older  and  richer  lan- 
guage, but  rougher.  In  the  grammar  of  the  Cora 
there  are  found  very  many  forms  which  strikingly 
call  to  mind  the  Mexican,  yet  at  the  same  time  there 
are  many  forms  wholly  different,  made  by  rules  directly 
opposite,  among  which  are  the  pronouns."  He  further 
remarks  two  other  important  differences  between  the 
Cora  and  the  Mexican,  which  are  the  absence  of  the 
reduplication  of  syllables  and  of  the  reverential  forms. 

Such  was  the  attitude  of  the  subject  when  Mr 
Buschmann  took  it  up.  From  the  prevailing  impres- 
sion of  an  Aztec  origin  in  the  north,  but  more  particu- 
larly from  certain  remarks  of  Alexander  von  Humboldt 
concerning  the  probable  passing  of  the  ancient  Mexi- 
cans through  the  regions  of  the  north,  he  set  himself 
to  work  to  find  this  line  of  migration,  and  the  exact 
relations  of  their  language  in  various  parts.  Com- 
mencing at  the  Valley  of  Mexico,  he  made  a  careful 
analysis  of  every  western  language  north  of  that  place 
of  which  he  could  obtain  any  material.  The  result  of 


AZTEC  TRACES  IN  NORTHERN  MEXICO.  667 

Mr  Buschmann's  researches  was  the  discovery  of 
Aztec  traces  in  certain  parts,  but  nowhere  did  he  find 
the  Aztec  language  as  a  base. 

More  particularly  were  these  Aztec  words  and 
word  analogies  perceptible  in  four  certain  languages 
of  north-western  Mexico:  in  the  Cora,  spoken  in  the 
Nayarit  district  of  Jalisco,  commencing  about  fifteen 
leagues  from  the  coast  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Tolo- 
lotlan,  and  extending  between  tbe  parallels  21°  30' and 
20°  back  irregularly  into  the  interior  about  twenty 
leagues ;  in  the  Tepehuana  of  northern  Sinaloa,  north- 
ern Durango,  and  southern  Chihuahua,  or  as  laid  down 
on  the  map  of  Orozco  y  Berra,  commencing  near  the 
twenty-third  parallel  about  twenty  leagues  from  the 
eastern  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  and  extending 
over  a  horseshoe-shaped  territory  to  about  the  twenty- 
seventh  parallel;  in  the  Tarahumara  spoken  immedi- 
ately north  of  the  Tepehuana  in  the  states  of  Chihua- 
hua and  Sonora,  in  the  centre  of  the  Sierra  Madre; 
and  lastly  in  the  Cahita  spoken  by  the  people  inhabiting 
the  eastern  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  between 
latitude,  26°  and  28°  degrees  north,  and  extending  back 
from  the  coast  irregularly  about  forty  leagues,  being 
almost  directly  west  of  the  Tarahumara,  though  not 
exactly  contiguous.  The  name  Cahita  is  applied  by 
the  missionaries  only  to  the  language,  and  not  to  the 
people  speaking  it.  In  the  license  prefixed  to  the 
Manual  para  administrar  a  los  Indios  del  idioma  Cahita 
los  sanlos  sacramentos  compuesto  por  un  Sacerdote  de  la 
Compania  de  Jesus,  printed  in  Mexico  in  1740,  it  is 
called  the  common  language  of  the  missions  of  the 
province  of  Sinaloa,  spoken  by  the  Yaquis  and  the 
Mayos,  the  latter  extending  far  into  southern  Sonora. 
In  a  vocabulary  of  the  Cahita  given  by  Ternaux-Com- 
pans,  in  the  -Nouvelles  Anncdes,  there  are  likewise 
found  many  Aztec  words.  Neither  of  these  languages 
are  related  to  the  others,  yet  in  all  of  them  is  a  sprin- 
kling of  Aztec  word  material.  The  Aztec  substantive 
ending  tl  and  ill,  in  the  Cora  are  found  changed  in  ti, 
te,  and  t;  in  the  Tepehuana  into  de,  re,  and  sci;  in  the 


663  SHOSHONE  LANGUAGES. 

Tarahumara  into  ki,  he,  ca,  and  la;  and  in  the  Cahita, 
into  ri.  In  all  four  of  the  languages  substantive 
endings  are  dropped,  first,  in  composition  when  the 
substantive  is  united  with  the  possessive  pronoun; 
secondly,  before  an  affix;  thirdly,  in  the  Cora  alone, 
before  the  ending  of  the  plural;  and  before  affixes 
in  the  formation  of  words.  They  are  not  dropped  in 
verbs  derived  from  substantives;  and  when  two  sub- 
stantives are  combined  to  form  a  word,  the  Aztec 
terminal  is  dropped  in  the  first,  and  also  in  the  com- 
bination of  a  substantive  and  verb. 

In  the  Cora,  the  ending  tyahta  has  the  same  mean- 
ing as  the  Aztec  local  ending  tla,  or  tlan,  which  signi- 
fies the  locality  of  a  thing;  as,  acotn,  a  fir-tree  (Aztec, 
ocotl) ;  ocotyahta,  a  fir- forest  (Aztec,  ocotlan).  Another 
striking  similarity  between  these  four  languages  and 
the  Aztec  consists  in  the  use  of  a  postfix  in  the  forma- 
tion of  substantives  of  locality  and  names  of  places. 
Then  come  the  numerals,  in  which  are  fouud  similarities 
in  all  their  formations.  The  Aztec  verb  ca,  to  be, 
and  even  its  irregular  branch,  catqui,  is  found  dissemi- 
nated throughout  all  these  languages.  In  the  'Jarahu- 
mara  dictionary  of  Steffel,  and  in  the  Cora  dictionary 
of  Ortega,  Buschmann  found  the  Aztec  element  even 
stronger  than  he  had  supposed,  and  he  wondered  how 
Callatin,  who  ha'd  Tellechea's  grammar,  could  have 
allowed  these  similarities  to  escape  his  observations. 

Of  these  four  languages,  Buschmann  makes  what  he 
calls  his  Sonora  family;  which  term  is  somewhat  a 
misnomer  as  applied  to  languages  not  related,  and 
spoken  more  without  than  within  the  province  of 
Sonora.  Their  only  bond  of  union  is  this  Aztec  ele- 
ment, which  may  have  found  its  way  into  them  at 
different  times  and  under  different  circumstances.  The 
most  peculiar  feature  of  it  all  is  the  departure  which 
is  made  by  these  Aztec-Sonora  languages,  as  from 
an  original  centre,  and  their  several  appearance,  each 
stamped  alike  with  Aztec  marks,  while  at  the  same 
time  sustaining  its  own  individuality,  in  different  parts 
of  the  great  northern  regions.  It  is  as  though  a  hand- 


AZTEC  MATERIAL  IN  THE  AZTEC-SONORA  FAMILY.      669 

ful  of  Aztec  words  had  been  thrown,  at  intervals,  into 
the  languages  of  each  of  these  four  peoples,  and,  after 
partial  amalgamations  of  these  foreign  words  with 
those  of  the  aboriginal  tongues,  by  some  means  the 
words  so  modified  had  found  their  way  in  greater  or 
less  quantities  into  the  languages  of  other  and  remote 
tribes.  It  is  at  such  times,  when  we  obtain  a  glance 
from  a  distance  at  their  shadowy  history,  that  there 
arise  in  the  mind  visions  of  their  illimitable  unwritten 
past,  and  of  the  mighty  turmoils  and  revolutions 
which  must  forever  remain  as  they  are,  shrouded  in 
the  deepest  mystery. 

In  these  four  Aztec-Sonora  languages,  there  are 
nearly  two  hundred  Aztec  words,  and  the  words  de- 
rived from  them  by  the  respective  native  idioms  into 
which  they  were  projected  swell  the  list  to  four  times 
that  number ;  and  these,  with  other  pure  Aztec  words 
in  every  stage  of  mutilation  and  transformation,  are 
found  re-scattered  throughout  the  before-mentioned 
Pueblo,  Shoshone,  and  other  languages  of  the  north. 
But  again,  let  me  say,  nowhere  does  the  Aztec,  or 
any  of  its  affiliations  appear  as  a  base  north  of  central 
Mexico.5 

5  '  Que  en  casi  todas  ellas  (que  son  muchas  y  varias)  se  hallan  vocables, 
principalmente  los  que  llaman  radicales,  que  o  son  de  la  lengua  Mexicana, 
6  se  deriuan  della,  y  retienen  muchas  de  sus  silabas,  de  que  pudiera  hazer 
aqui  vn  muy  largo  catalago.  De  todo  lo  qual  se  infieren  dos  cosas.  La  pri- 
m  era  que  casi  todas  estas  Naciones  comuiiicaron  en  puestos  y  lenguas  con  la 
Mexicana:  y  aunque  los  Artes  y  Gramaticas  dellas  son  diferentes;  pero  en 
muchos  de  sus  preceptos  concuerdan.'  Ribas,  Hist,  de  los  Trivmphos,  p.  20. 
'Pintaron  esta  laguna  en  tierra  y  muy  poblada  de  gentes,  y  oyendo 
liablar  a  un  indio,  criado  de  un  soldado,  en  el  idioma  mexicano,  pre- 
guntaron  si  era  de  Copala,  porque  asi  hablaban  los  de  alia ....  que  dis- 
taba  de  alii  diez  jornaclas  pobladas.'  Zarate,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie 
iii. ,  torn.  iv. ,  p.  83.  '  El  Padre  Fr.  Roque  de  Figueredo  haze  del  viage 
que  hizo  con  D.  luan  de  Onate  500  leguas  al  Norte  hallaremos  que  dice, 
que  aviendoseles  perdido  vnas  bestias,  buscandolas  el  rio  de  Tizon  arribr.  en- 
contraron  los  mosos  vn  Indio  que  les  habl6  en  lengua  mexicana  que  pregun- 
tado  de  donde  era,  dixo  ser  del  Reyno  adentro. . .  .que  est&  en  las  Provincias 
del  Norte  donde  se  hablaen  esta  lengua  Mexicana  cuyo  es  vocablo.'  Vetancvrt, 
Teatro  Mex.,  pt.  ii.,  p.  11.  'In  un  viaggio,  che  fecero  gli  Spagnuoli  1'anno 
1606.  dal  Nuovo  Messico  fino  al  flume,  che  eglino  appellarono  del  Tizon, 
seicento  miglia  da  quella  Provincia  verso  Maestro,  vi  trovarono  alcuni  grandi 
eclificj,  e  s'abbatterono  in  alcuni  Indiani,  che  parlavano  la  lingua  messicana.' 
Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  iv.,  p.  29.  Tarahumara  'la  cui  lin- 

fua  abbonda  di  parole  Messicane.'  Hervas,  Saggio  Practico  delle  Lingw,  p. 
1.      'Die   Sprache  (Cora)  ist  auch  wegen  ihres  Verhaltnisses  zur  Mexica- 
nischen    merkwurdig.'     'Die   Sprache    (Tarahumara)   welche   eine    gewisse 
Ausbildung  zeigt,  hat  manche  dem  Mexicanischen  ahnliche  Wo'rter.'   Vatert 


670  SI-IOSHONE  LANGUAGES. 

Taking  into  consideration  that  some  Aztec  and 
Shoshone  words  are  almost  identical,  and  that  the 
endings  of  others  are  almost  exactly  alike,  it  is  not 
surprising  if  the  acute  ear  of  the  natives  detected 
phonetic  resemblances.  The  connection  between  these 
languages  may  not  be  in  one  respect  as  positive  as 
that  between  the  languages  which  compose  the  great 
Aryan  family  on  the  Asiatic  and  European  continents, 
but  on  the  other  hand,  it  presents  a  somewhat  anal- 
ogous system,  by  means  of  which  it  becomes  possible 
to  establish  a  connection.  I  allude  to  Mr  Grimm's 
discovery  of  what  has  been  termed  '  Lautverschiebung,' 
or  t Lautveranderung,'  anglice  'Sound-shunting.'6 

This  phenomenon  consists  of  the  changing,  or 
shunting,  of  certain  vowels  or  consonants  in  the  words 
of  one  language,  into  certain  other  vowels  and  conso- 
nants in  the  same  words  of  another  language;  and 
this  not  accidentally,  but  in  accordance  with  fixed  rules. 
Sound-shunting,  originally  discovered  by  Mr  Grimm 
in  the  Aryan  tongues,  has  also  been  found  by  Mr 
Buschmann  in  the  languages  of  his  Sonora  family, 
where  it  is  more  particularly  prominent  in  the  word- 
endings.  In  a  subsequent  place  I  shall  have  occasion 
to  refer  again  to  this  point,  and  particularly  when 
speaking  of  the  North  Mexican  languages,  the  Tam- 
il umara,  Tepehuana,  Cora,  and  Cahita,  where  it  can 
be  clearly  shown,  by  comparison  with  the  Aztec,  that 
such  shunting,  or  changing,  has  taken  place.  In  the 
languages  at  present  under  consideration,  the  Sho- 
shone, Utah,  and  Comanche,  we  have  this  shunting 
system  illustrated  in  the  substantives  and  adjective 
endings  p,  pa,  pe,  pi,  be,  wa,  ph,  pee,  rp,  and  rpe;  and 
more  particularly  in  the  Utah  and  Shoshone  ts,  tse,  tsi, 
all  of  which  may  be  referred  to  the  Aztec  endings  tl, 
ill,  and  others.  In  the  last-mentioned  case  the  end- 
ings have  been  preserved  in  a  purer  form,  while  in 

Litteratur  der  Grammatilcen,  Lexica  und  Worter-Sammlungen  oiler  Sprachen  der 
Erde,  pp.  52,  231;  Cook's  Voy.  to  Pac.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  336;  Ruxtoris  Adven.  Mex., 
p.  194. 

6  Max  Mtiller  simply  names  it  'Grimm's  Law.'  Science  of  Language,  series 
ii.,  pp.  213  et  seq. 


THE  MOQUI  LANGUAGE.  671 

the  former  the  shunting  or  changing  law  is  observed. 
As  illustrating  the  connection  between  the  languages 
under  consideration  and  those  before  mentioned  of 
Sonora,  and  through  them  with  the  Aztec,  I  append 
on  the  next  page  a  short  vocabulary,  in  which  the 
similarities  can  be  easily  observed.7 

The  Moqui,  as  before  observed,  does  not  properly 
belong  to  the  Shoshone  family,  but  shows  a  connection 
with  the  Aztec.  It  is  strange  that  two  permanently 
located  peoples,  the  Moquis  and  the  Pueblos,  both  liv- 
ing in  well-built  towns  not  far  apart,  and  both  showing 
signs  of  a  budding  civilization,  should  speak  languages 
totally  different  from  each  other;  that  one  of  these 
languages  should  show  a  connection  with  the  Aztec 
and  the  other  not;  that  neither  is  related  to  the  tongue 
of  the  Shoshones,  who  nearly  surround  them;  and 
furthermore,  that  in  six  of  the  seven  Moqui  towns 
only,  the  Moqui  language  is  spoken,  while  in  the 
seventh,  Harno,  the  Tegua,  a  language  of  one  of  the 
New  Mexican  Pueblos  is  spoken.  The  people  of 
Harno  can  converse  with  the  Moquis  of  the  six  other 
towns,  but  among  themselves  they  never  make  use  of 
the  Moqui,  always  speaking  the  Tegua.8 

7 '  Indem  ich  die  Urtheile  wegen  der  comanchischen  nnd  schoschonischen 
Verwandschaft  bestatige,  erkliire  ich  die  Yutah-Sprache  fur  ein  Glied  des 
sonorischen  Sprachstammes. '  '  Noch  ehe  ich  zur  Wortvergleichung  iibergehe, 
kaun  ich  die  sonorische  Natur  der  Sprache  nach  den  beiden  Elementen  der 
aztekischen  und  sonorischen  Gemeinschaft,  und  sogar  ihre  besondere  Stel- 
lung  zwischen  der  comanche-schoschonischen  Ligue,  durch  blosse  zwei,  in 
ihr  sich  hervorthuende  Substantiv-Endungen  (ts  und  p)  darlegen.5  'Die 
zwiefache  Schoschonen  Sprache  und  das  Volk  der  Schoschonen  sind  das 
jiusserste  Glied  meiner  Entdeckungen:  des  grossen  Bundes,  durch  ein  mach- 
tiges  eignes  Element  zusammengehaltener  Sprachen,  von  eiiiem  kleinen 
Erbtheil  aztekischen  Wortstoffes  durchdrungen;  welches  ich,  von  Guadala- 
xara  aus  nordwarts  suchend  nach  den  Spuren  des  Azteken-Idioms  und 
seines  Volkes,  angetroffen  habe;  sie  bilden  den  Schlusstein  meines  sono- 
rischen Baues. '  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp.  349,  351,  648,  391,  652, 
et  seq. ;  Sivers,  Mittelamerika,  pp.  291-2. 

8 '  They  all  speak  the  same  language  except  Harno,  the  most  northern 
town  of  the  three,  which  has  a  language  and  some  custom  peculiar  to 
itself.'  Marcy's  Army  Life,  p.  111.  'In  six  of  the  seven  Moqui  pueblos, 

the  same  language  is  said  to  be  spoken ....  Those  of  San  Juan and 

one  Moqui  pueblo  all  speak  the  same  language. . .  .Tay-waugh.'  Lane,  in 
Schoolcrafis  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  689;  Ten  Broeck,  in  Sc/ioolcraff, *  Arch.>  vol. 

iv.,  p.  87.  'The  Moquis do  not  all  speak  the  same  language.  At 

Oraybe  some  of  the  Indians  actually  professed  to  be  unable  to  understand 
what  was  said  by  the  Mooshahiieh  chief,  and  the  latter  told  me  that  the  Ian- 


672 


SHOSHPNE  LANGUAGES. 


•3 


S     .2 


| 


1    i 


a         ~ 

OB  -4-3 


1 


j| 

d       'rf 
re*         O 


S     .2, 


I 

O 

S 
Rl 


II 


I 
I 


f  II 


in 


If 

w 


4§    3^ 


ftPn  PH  N'O 


ja 
S 

i  § 


-S  S 


.1 


W 


a      js  2  r^  s  o-w  P^ 

I  Bfemi 


1  1 

^    3 


.s   JJ 


d   I 

VS     13 


' 


k-sa.- 
>  =°  ^  S  ^  :o 


S  ft  S 


^    -, 


l^xi*iii*if 


•J3      3§ 


S  d  S  PS 

^     ?H     Cg     r^ 
•2    a    PnS 


o  8 


MOQUI  AFFILIATIONS.  673 

No  grammar  has  been  written  of  the  Moqui  lan- 
guage, and  a  few  vocabularies  are  all  we  possess  of  it. 
Governor  Lane,  speaking  of  the  Pueblo  languages  col- 
lectively, writes:  "All  these  languages  are  extremely 
guttural,  and,  to  my  ear,  seemed  so  much  alike,  that  I 
imagine  they  have  sprung  from  the  same  parent  stock." £ 

Some  claim  a  relationship  between  the  Moquis  and 
the  Apaches  and  others,  but  no  such  connection  has 
ever  been  established.10  The  only  positive  statement 
in  this  regard  is  made  by  Buschmann,  who,  by  actual 
comparison  of  vocabularies,  has  determined  its  status.11 

guage  of  the  two  towns  was  different.     At  Tegua  they  say  that  a  third  distinct 

tongue  is   spoken The  people. ..  .have  abandoned  the  habit  of  visiting 

each  other,  till  the  languages,  which  with  all  Indian  tribes  are  subject  to  great 
mutations,  have  gradually  become  dissimilar.'  Ives'  Colorado  Riv.,  p.  127. 
*  Wie  ich  erfuhr,  sollen  die  Moquis  nicht  alle  eine  und  dieselbe  Sprache 
haben,  und  die  Bewohner  einiger  Stadte  nicht  nur  fremde  Dialekte,  sondern 
sogar  fremde  Sprachen  reden.  Mollhausen,  Reisen,  torn,  ii.,  p.  239.  Davis, 
referring  to  a  MS.  by  Cruzate,  a  former  governor  of  New  Mexico,  maintains 
that  the  Moqui  speak  the  Queres  language,  but  at  the  same  time  he  says  '  it 
is  maintained  by  some  that ....  four  of  the  Moqui  villages  speak  a  dialect 
very  nearly  the  same  as  that  of  the  Navajos,  while  a  fifth  speaks  that  of 
San  Juan,  which  is  Tegua The  distance  from  Picoris  to  the  Moqui  vil- 
lages is  about  four  hundred  miles, ....  yet  these  widely  separated  pueblos 

speak the  same  language.'   El  Gringo,  pp.  116-17,   155.     Comparisons  of 

the  vocabularies  in  Simpson,  Davis,  and  Meline  prove  the  Moqui  to  be  a 
distinct  language.  Ward,  in  2nd.  Aff.  Rept.,  1864,  p.  191. 

9 Lane,  in  Schookraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  689. 

10  *  The  language  of  the  Moquis,  or  the  Mftquinos,  is  said  to  differ  but 
little  from  that  of  the  Navajos.'  HugJies'  Doniphans  Ex.,  p.  197.  Speaking 
of  all  the  Pueblo  languages,  including  the  Moqui:  'All  these  speak  dialects 
of  the  same  language,  more  or  less  approximating  to  the  Apache,  and  of  all  of 
which  the  idiomatic  structure  is  the  same.  They  likewise  all  understand  each 
other's  tongue.  What  relation  this  language  bears  to  the  Mexican  is  un- 
known, but  my  impression  is  that  it  will  be  found  to  assimilate  greatly,  if 
not  to  be  identical.  Ruxtorfs  Adven.  Mex.,  p.  194;  Gregy's  Com.  Prairies,  vol. 
i.,  p.  269. 

11 '  No  analogy  has  yet  been  traced  between  the  language  of  the  old  Mexi- 
cans and  any  tribe  at  the  north  in  the  district  from  which  they  are  supposed 
to  have  come.'  Bartlett's  Pers.  Nar.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  283.  'Reste  der  Mexika- 
nischen  Sprache  fanden  dagegen  in  den  Sprachen  dieser  Volker  die  im  Mexi- 
kanischen  sehr  geiibten  Missionare  nicht,  sondern  die  Sprache  von  Moqui, 
und  die  der  Yabipais,  welche  lange  Barte  tragen,  wesentlich  unterschieden 
vondem  Mexikanischen. '  Vater,  Mtihridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  182.  'Ce- 
pendant  la  langue  que  parlent  les  Indiens  du  Moqui,  les  Yabipais,  qui  por- 
tent de  longue  barbes,  et  ceux  qui  habitent  les  plaines  voisines  du  Rio  Colo- 
rado, differe  essentiellement  de  la  langue  mexicaine.'  Humboldt,  Essai  Pol., 
torn.  i. ,  p.  305.  '  Doch  reden  die  Moquis ....  Sprachen  ganz  verschieden  vom 
Aztekischen.'  Muhlenpfordt,  Mcjico,  torn,  ii.,  pt.  ii.,  p.  539.  ' Die  Moqui-Sprache 
ist  doch  der  mexikanischen  befreundet !  sie  ist — dies  ist  meine  Erfindung — 
ein  Zweig  des  Idioms,  welches  dem  Suchenden  als  em  Phantom  statt  des 
leibhaf  ten  nahuatl  als  sein  Schattenbild,  in  dem  alten  Norden  iiberail  entge- 
gentritt:  ein  G-ebilde  der  sonorischen  Zunge,  bei  welchem  Nam  en  ein  kleines 
aztekisches  Erbtheil  sich  von  selbst  versteht . . . . Ich  erklare  die  Moqui- 
VOL.  in.  43 


674  SHOSHONE  LANGUAGES. 

Among  other  connecting  links,  he  particularly  men- 
tions the  substantive  endings  pe,  be,  and  others,  by 
means  of  which,  he  says,  the  Moqui  attaches  itself  to 
the  Shoshone-Comanche  branch  of  the  Sonora  idioms. 
The  comparative  vocabulary  before  given  will  further 
illustrate  their  affiliation.12 


Returning  to  southern  California,  let  us  examine 
the  three  languages,  Kizh,  Netela,  and  Kechi,  spoken 
near  the  missions  of  San  Gabriel,  San  Juan  Capis- 
trano,  and  San  Luis  Hey,  respectively,  which  are  not 
only  distantly  related  to  each  other,  but  show  traces  of 
the  Sonora- Aztec  idioms.  Father  Boscana,  who  has 
left  us  an  accurate  description  of  the  natives  at  San 
Juan  Capistrano,  unfortunately  devoted  little  attention 
to  their  language,  and  only  gives  us  a  few  scattered 
words  and  stanzas.  One  of  the  latter  reads  as  follows : 

Quic  noit  noivam 

Quic  secat  peleblich 

Ybicnum  majaar  vesagnec 

Ibi  panal,  ibi  urusar, 

Ibi  ecbal,  ibi  seja,  ibi  calcel 

Which  may  be  rendered  thus: 

I  go  to  my  home 
That  is  shaded  with  willows. 
These  five  they  have  placed, 
This  agave,  this  stone  pot, 
This  sand,  this  honey,  etc.13 

But  very  little  is  known  of  the  grammatical  struc- 
ture of  these  languages.  In  the  Kizh,  the  plural  is 
formed  in  various  ways,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  follow- 
ing examples: 

SINGULAR  PLURAL. 

Man  woroit  wororoit 

House  kitsh  kikitsh 

Mountain  haikh  hahaikh 

Sprache  filr  ein  Glied  meines  Sonorischen  Sprachstammes.  Schon  die  auf- 
fallend  vielen,  manchmal  in  vorziiglich  reiner  Form  erscheinenden,  azteki- 
schen  Wo'rter  bezeichnen  die  Sprache  als  eine  sonorische;  es  kommt  das 
zweite  Kennzeichen  hinzu:  der  Besitz  gewisser  acht  sonorischer  Worter. 
In  einem  grossen  Theile  erscheint  die  Sprache  aber  iiberaus  fremdartig:  um 
so  mehr  als  sie  auch  von  den  5  Pueblo-Sprachen,  wie  schon  Simpson  bemerkt 
hat,  ganzlich  verschieden  ist. . .  .Die  Spuren  der  Subst.  Endung  pe,  be,  u.a. 
weiseu  der  Moqui-Sprache  ihren  Platz  unter  der  comanche-shoshonischen 
Familie  des  Sonora  Idioms  an.  Dieses  allgemeine  Urtheil  iiber  die  Sprache 
ist  sicher. '  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  A  zteJc.  Spr. ,  pp.  289-90. 

12  Simpson 's  Jour.  Mil.  Recon.,  pp.  128-30;  Davis'  El  Gringo,  pp.  157-9. 

13 Boscana,  in  Robinsons  Life  in  Cal.,  p.  282. 


KIZH  AND  NETELA  SPECIMENS.  675 

SINGULAR.  PLURAL. 

Wolf  ishot  ishishot 

Good  tihorwait  tiriwait 

Small  tshinui  tshitshfnui 

Black  yupikha  yupinot 

Woman  tokor  totokor 

Bow  paitkhuar  papaitkhuar 

Bad  mohai  momohai 

White  arawatai  rawanot 

Red  kwauokha  kwaukhonot 

DECLENSION  WITH  PRONOUN. 

My  father  ninak  Our  father  ayoinak 

Thy  father  monak  Your  father  asoinak 

His  father  anak 

My  house  nikin  Our  house  eyoknga 

Thy  house  mukin  Your  house  asoknga 

Hi3  house  akinga  Their  house  pomoknga 

Of  the  Netela  there  are  also  the  following  few 
specimens  of  plural  formation  and  pronouns :  suol, 
star;  sulum,  stars;  nopulum,  my  eyes;  nanakom,  my 
ears;  nikiwalom,  my  cheeks;  natakalom,  my  hand; 
netemelum,  my  knees. 

DECLENSION  WITH  PRONOUN.1* 

My  house  niki  Our  house  tshomki 

Thy  house  om  aki  Your  house  omomomki 

His  house  poki  Their  house  omp  omki 

My  boat  nokh  Our  boat  tshomikh 

Thy  boat  om  omikh  Your  boat  omom  omikh 

His  boat  ompomikh  Their  boat  ompomikh 

The  Kizh  appears  also  to  have  been  spoken,  in  a 
slightly  divergent  dialect,  at  the  Mission  of  San  Fer- 
nando, as  may  be  easily  seen  by  comparing  the  follow- 
ing two  versions  of  the  Lord's  Prayer;  the  first  in 
the  language  of  San  Fernando,  and  the  latter  in  that 
spoken  at  San  Gabriel. 

Y  yorac  yona  taray  tucupuma  sagouc6  motoanian 
majarmi  moin  main  mon6  muismi  miojor  yiactucupar. 
Pan  yyogin  gimiamerin  majarmi  mifema  coy  6  ogornd, 
yio  mamainay  mii,  yiarma  ogonug  y  yond,  y  yo  ocay- 
nen  -coijarmea  main  ytomo  mojay  coiyamd  huermi 
Parima. 

Yyonac  y  yogin  tucupugnaisd  sujucoy  motuanian 
masarmi  magin  tucupra  maiman6  muisme  milleosar  y 

w  Hak's  Sthnoy.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  566-7;  Buschmann,  Kizh 
und  Netela,  pp.  512-13. 


676  SHOSHONE  LANGUAGES, 

ya  tucupar  jiman  bxi  y  yoni  masaxmi  mitema  coy  abox- 
mi  y  yo  mamamatar  momojaich  milli  y  yaxma  abonac 
y  yo  no  y  yo  ocaihuc  coy  jaxmea  main  itan  momosaich 
coy  jama  juexme  huememesaich. 

In  like  manner  do  the  Netela  and  Kechi  show  a 
close  affinity.  The  Netela  Lord's  Prayer  reads : 

Ghana  ech  tupana  ave  onench,  otune  a  cuachin, 
chame  om  reino,  libi  yb  chosonec  esna  tupana  cham 
nechetepe,  micate  torn  cha  chaom,  pepsum  yg  cai  cay- 
chame,  y  i  julugcalme  cai  ech.  Depupnn  ODCO  chame 
chum  oyote.  Amen  Jesus. 

The  Kechi  is  as  follows: 

Cham  na  cham  mig  tu  panga  auc  onan  moquiz  cham 
to  gai  ha  cua  che  nag  omreina  li  vi  hiche  ca  noc  yba" 
heg  gd,  y  vi  au  qui  ga"  topanga.  Cham  na  cholane  mini 
cha  pan  pituo  mag  ma  jan  pohi  cala  cai  gui  cha  me 
holloto  gai  torn  chame  o  gui  chag  cay  ne  che  cai  me 
tus  so  Hi  olo  calme  alia  linoc  chame  cham  cho  sivo.15 

Although  Mr  Turner  classed  these  languages  with 
the  Shoshone  family,  in  reality  they  only  form  such  a 
tie  through  their  Sonora  and  Aztec  connection.18 
This  is  illustrated  by  Mr  Buschmann  in  an  extensive 
comparative  vocabulary  of  the  three  languages,  of 
which  I  shall  give  a  brief  extract  on  a  subsequent 
page.17 

15  Mofraa,  Explor.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  39£-4. 

16 '  Belong  to  the  great  Shoshonee  or  Snake  family. '  Turner,  in  Pac.  R.  R. 
Rept.,  vol.  hi.,  p.  76.  'The  similarity  which  exists  between  many  words  in 
these  two  languages  and  in  the  Shoshoni  is  evident  enough  from  a  com- 
parison of  the  vocabularies.  The  resemblance  is  too  great  to  be  attributed 
to  "mere  casual  intercourse,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  evidence  which  it 
affords  will  justify  us  in  classing  them  together  as  branches  of  the  same 
family.'  Hales  Ethnofj.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  587.  'The  natives  of 
St.  Diego  cannot  understand  a  word  of  the  language  used  in  this  mission, 
and  in  like  manner,  those  in  the  neighborhood  of  St.  Barbara,  and  farther 
north.'  Boscana,  in  Robinson's  Life  in  Cai.,  p.  240;  Gleesons  Hist.  Cath. 
Church,  p.  97. 

17  '  Ich  habe  in  dem  Kizh und  in  der  Netela ....  zwei  Glieder  meiiies 

sonorischen  Sprachstammes,  ausgestattet  mit  Aztekischem  Sprachstoff,  ent- 
deckt.'  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  546.  'Bei  der,  genugsam  von 
mir  aufgezeigten  Gemeinschaft  der  zwei  calif ornisch en  Idiome,  so  lautet  mein 
U-rtlifil,  hofft  man  auch  hier  veryeltens  auf  ein  genaues,  gliicklich.es  Zutreffen 
eigenthiimlicher  Formen  dieser  Sprachen  mit  dem  Comaiiche  uiid  Schoschoni- 
schen  oder  mit  den  siidlicheren  sonorischen  Haup^sprachen,  ein  Zusammen- 
treffen  mit  etwas  recht  Besonderem  Einer  Sprache  mit  einer  anderen:  sonahe 
liegen  die  Sprachen  sich  nie,  sie  sind  alia  fremd  genug  gegen  einander.' 
Buschmann,  Kizh  und  Netela,  p.  518. 


CHEMEHUEVI  AND    CAHUILLO  PRONOUNS.  677 

The  Chemehue^i  and  Cahuillo,  the  last  two  of  this 
division,  have  also  been  classed  as  belonging  to  the 
Shoshone  family,  and  some  have  even  called  them 
bands  of  Pah-Utes,  but  what  has  been  said  concerning 
the  affiliation  of  the  three  last  mentioned  will  apply 
to  these  with  equal  force.  That  they  are  distinct  lan- 
guages has  already  been  stated  by  Padre  Garces,  who 
describes  them  under  the  name  of  Chemegue  cajuala, 
Chemegue  sebita,  Chemeguaba,  and  Chemegue,  as- 
cribing the  same  language  to  all  of  them  in  distinction 
from  their  neighbors.  He  includes  with  the  Chern- 
ehuevi  the  Yavipai  muca  oraive  or  Moqui,  who,  al- 
though not  speaking  the  same  language,  are  still 
somewhat  connected  with  them,  through  their  Sonora 
and  Aztec  relations,  which  conjectures  are  singularly 
significant.18  Grammatical  remarks  on  these  languages 
there  are  but  few  to  offer.  The  accentuation  is  in 
neither  very  regular;  in  the  Chemehuevi,  it  is  gener- 
ally on  the  second  syllable,  while  in  the  Cahuillo  it  is 
mostly  on  the  first.19  I  give  here  the  personal  pro- 
nouns of  the  two  languages. 

CHEMEHUEVI.  CAHUILLO. 

I  nuu  neh 

Thou  haiico  eh 

He  einpa  peh 

We  chemim 

You  ehmim 

They  iwim 

To  illustrate  the  Sonora  and  Aztec  connection,  I 
offer  the  following  short  comparative  vocabulary : 

18  Garces,  Diario,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  ii.,  torn,  i.,  p.  351.     Orozco  y 
Berra  includes  them  as  well  as  the  Utahs  and  Moquis  with  the  Apache  fam- 
ily of  languages,  in  support  of  which  he  cites  Balbi,  tableau  xxxii.      '  Die 
Chimehwhuebes,  Comanches  und  Cahuillos,  also  Stamme,  die  zwischen  den 
Kiisten  cler  Slidsee  und  Texas  verbreitet  sind,  als  Nebenstamme  der  Nation 
der  Schoschone  oJer  Schlangen-Indianer  betrachtet  werden  konnen.'  Moll- 
hausen,  Rdsen  in  die  Felsengeb.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  435-6.     'The  Chemehuevis  are  a 

band  of  Pah-UtcJts whose  language. . .  .agrees  most  nearly  with  Simpson's 

Utah,  and  Male's  East  Shoshonee.'     The  Cahuillo  'exhibits  the  closest  affin- 
ity to  the  Kechi  and  Netela,  especially  the  former.     Its  affinity  to  the  Kizh  is 
equally  evident.'  Turner,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Kept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  70.      'Die  Cheme- 
huevi- und  Cahuillo-Sprache  sind  einander  so  fremd,  dass  sie  beinahe  fitr  alle 
BegrifFe  ganz  andere  Worter  besitzen;  ihre  Verschiedenheit  ist  so  gross,  dass 
man  aus  ihnen  allein  nicht  ahnden  sollte,  sie  seien  beide  gleichinassig  sonor- 
ische  Glieder.'  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  554. 

19  Turner,  in  Pac.  £.  R.  Rept.}  vol.  iii.,  p.  77. 


678 


SHOSHONE  LANGUAGES. 


TA 
HUM 


s   i   s 


TEP 
HUA 


ll 

-P    W 


Iflil 


ocepHfl-tf 


lll 


d-r- 


c« 


45  >»  fl     ,£!     44 


iirlh:failfrU>iiii^<a 

^4i  S  a  S^^  S.s  S  a  S  1  85  §— 1 1 


H 

6 


4 


AZTEC  TRACES  IN  SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA.  679 

As  regards  the  Sonora  and  Aztec  relationship,  we 
have  here  again  the  substantive  endings  py  b,  t,  in 
various  forms,  which,  as  before  stated,  may  be  com- 
pared with  Aztec  endings,  changed  according  to  cer- 
tain linguistic  laws.  In  the  Cahuillo,  as  in  the  Kechi, 
prefixed  possessive  pronouns,  before  substantives  rep- 
resenting parts  of  the  human  body,  particularly  that 
in  the  first  person  singular,  n,  are  proof  of  the  Sonora 
affiliation.  In  the  same  words,  the  Chemehuevi  has 
the  two  pronouns  ni  and  wi,  which  always  carry  with 
them  the  ending  m.f 


21 


31  Buschmann,  Spur  en  der  AzteL  Spr.,  pp.  553-4. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  PUEBLO,   COLORADO    RIVER,    AND    LOWER    CALIFORNIA 
LANGUAGES. 

TRACES  or  THE  AZTEC  NOT  FOUND  AMONG  THE  PUEBLOS  OF  NEW  MEXICO  AND 
ARIZONA — THE  FIVE  LANGUAGES  OF  THE  PUEBLOS,  THE  QUERES,  THE 
TEGUA,  THE  PICORIS,  JEMEZ,  AND  ZUNI — PUEBLO  COMPARATIVE  VOCABU- 
LARY— THE  YUMA  AND  ITS  DIALECTS,  THE  MARICOPA,  CUCHAN,  MOJAVE, 
DIEGENO,  YAMPAIS,  AND  YAVIPAIS — THE  COCHIMI,  GUAICURI,  AND 
PERICU,  WITH  THEIR  DIALECTS  OF  LOWER  CALIFORNIA — GUAICURI 
GRAMMAR — PATER-NOSTER  IN  THREE  COCHIMI  DIALECTS — THE  LAN- 
GUAGES OF  LOWER  CALIFORNIA  WHOLLY  ISOLATED. 

HAVING  already  mentioned  some  of  the  principal 
idioms  spoken  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Great  Basin, 
as  parts  of  the  trunks  to  which  they  belong,  or  with 
which  they  affiliate,  I  shall  devote  the  present  chapter 
to  such  languages  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  as  can- 
not be  brought  into  the  Tinneh  or  Sonora  stocks,  and 
to  those  of  Lower  California.  Beginning  with  the 
several  tongues  of  the  Pueblos,  thence  proceeding 
westward  to  the  Colorado  River,  and  following  its 
course  southward  to  the  Gulf  of  California,  I  shall 
include  the  languages  of  the  southern  extremity  of 
California,  and  finally  those  of  the  peninsula.  These 
languages  are  none  of  them  cognate  with  any  spoken 
in  Mexico.  Respecting  those  of  the  Pueblos,  which 
have  long  been  popularly  regarded  as  allied  to  south- 
ern tongues,  it  is  now  very  certain  that  they  are  in  no 
wise  related  to  them,  if  we  except  the  Aztec  word 


THE  FIVE  PUEBLO  LANGUAGES.  681 

material  found  in  the  Moqui.  From  analogous  man- 
ners and  customs,  from  ancient  traditions  and  time- 
honored  beliefs,  many  have  claimed  that  these  New 
Mexican  towns-people  are  the  remains  of  aboriginal 
Aztec  civilization,  attempting  meanwhile  to  explain 
away  the  adverse  testimony  of  language,  by  amalgama- 
tion of  the  ancient  tongue  with  those  of  other  nations, 
or  by  absorption  or  annihilation;  all  of  which,  so  far  as 
arriving  at  definite  conclusions  is  concerned,  amounts 
to  nothing.  Analogies  may  be  drawn  between  any 
nations  of  the  earth ;  human  beings  are  not  so  unlike 
but  that  in  every  community  much  may  be  found  that 
is  common  to  other  communities,  irrespective  of  dis- 
tance and  race,  especially  when  the  comparison  is 
drawn  between  two  peoples  both  just  emerging  from 
savagism.  The  facts  before  us  concerning  the  Pueblo 
languages  are  these :  although  all  alike  are  well  ad- 
vanced from  primeval  savagism,  live  in  similar  sub- 
stantial houses,  and  have  many  common  customs,  yet 
their  languages,  though  distinct  as  a  whole  from  those 
of  the  more  savage  surrounding  tribes,  do  not  agree 
with  each  other.  It  is  difficult  to  prove  that  the  Aztec, 
although  now  perhaps  extinguished,  never  was  the 
tongue  of  New  Mexico;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  im- 
possible to  prove  that  it  was,  and  surely  theorists  go 
far  out  of  their  way  in  attempting  to  establish  a 
people  in  a  land  where  no  trace  of  their  language  ex- 
ists, or  exists  only  in  such  a  phase  as  proves  conclu- 
sively that  it  could  not  possibly  have  ever  been  the 
basis  of  the  language  now  spoken. 

Five  distinct  languages,  with  numerous  dialects, 
more  or  less  deviating,  are  spoken  by  the  Pueblos.  By 
the  inhabitants  of  Santo  Domingo,  San  Felipe,  Santa 
Ana,  Silla,  Laguna,  Pojuate,  Acoma,  and  Cochiti,  the 
Queres  language  is  spoken;  in  San  Juan,  Santa  Clara, 
San  Ildefonso,  Pojuaque,  Nambe,  Tezuque,  and  also 
in  Harno,  one  of  the  Moqui  towns,  the  Tegua  language 
prevails ;  in  Taos,  Picoris,  Zanclia,  and  Isleta,  there  is 
the  Picoris  language;  in  Jemez  and  Old  Pecos,  the 
Jemez;  in  Zuni,  the  Zuiii  language.1  The  three  prin- 


682  PUEBLO  LANGUAGES. 

cipal  dialects  of  Queres  are  the  Kiwomi,  Cocliitemi, 
and  Acoma.  Of  these  the  first  two  are  very  similar, 
in  some  cases  almost  identical,  while  the  Acoma  is 
more  distinct.2  In  the  Queres  the  accent  is  almost 
invariably  on  the  first  syllable,  and  the  words  are  in 
general  rather  short,  although  a  few  long  words  occur. 
Possessive  pronouns  appear  to  be  affixed  ;  they  are  ini, 
ni,  ne,  in,  and  i. 

In  the  Tegua  and  Zuni  the  personal  pronouns  are: 

TEGUA.  ZUNI. 

I  nah  hdo 

Thou  uh  too 

He  ihih  1^'oko 

She  ihih 

We  (incl.)  tahquireh  hdono 

We  (exc.)  nihyeuboh 

You  nahih  ahche'e 

They  ihnah  looko 

In  the  Tegua,  although  many  monosyllabics  ap- 
pear, there  are  also  a  number  of  long  words,  such  as 
pehgnahvicahmborih,  shrub;  haihiombotahrei,  forever; 
hahnguenaahnpih,  to  be ;  haihahgnuhai,  great ;  heingin- 
ubainboyoh,  nothing.  In  the  Zuni,  long  words  appear 

1 '  No  one  showing  anything  more  than  the  faintest,  if  any,  indications  of 
a  cognate  origin  with  the  other.'  Simpsons  Jour.  Mil.  Recon.,  pp.  5,  128-9. 

*  Classed  by  dialects,  the  Pueblos  of  New  Mexico,  at  the  period  of  the  arrival 
of  the  Spaniards,  spoke  four  separate  and  distinct  languages,  called  the  Tegua, 
the  Piro,  the  Queres,  and  the  Tagnos. '     '  There  are  now  five  different  dia- 
lects spoken  by  the  Pueblos.'     No  Pueblo  can  'understand  another  of  a  dif- 
ferent dialect. '     '  It  does  not  follow  that  the  groups  by  dialect  correspond 
with  their  geographical  grouping;  for  frequently  those  farthest  apart  speak 
the  same,  and  those  nearest  speak  different  languages.'  Melines  Two  Thou- 
sand Miles,  pp.  203-4;  Lane,  in  Schookrafis  Arch.,  vol.  v.,   p.   689.      'The 
Pueblo  Indians  of  Taos,  Pecuris,  and  Acoma,  speak  a  language  of  which  a 
dialect  is  used  by  those  of  the  Rio  Abajo,  including  the  Pueblos  of  San 
Felipe,  Sandia,  Ysleta,  and  Xemez.'  Ruxtons  Adven.  Mex.,  p.  194.      'There 
are  but  three  or  four  different  languages  spoken  among  them,  and  these, 
indeed,  may  be  distantly  allied  to  each  other.'     '  Those  farther  to  the  west- 
ward are  perhaps  allied  to  the  Navajoes.'  Gregg's  Com.  Prairies,  vol.  i.,  p.  269. 

*  In  ancient  times,  the  several  pueblos  formed  four  distinct  nations,  called  the 
Piro,  Tegua,  Queres,  and  Tagnos,  or  Tanos,  speaking  as  many  different  dialects 
or  languages.'  Dams'  El  Gringo,  p.  116;  see  also  pp.   155-6,  on  classification 
according  to  Cruzate.      'The  Jemez.  ..  .speak  precisely  the  same  language 
as  the  Pecos.'  Domeneclis  Desert*,  vol.  i.,  p.   198;    Turner,  in  Pac.   R.   R. 
Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  90  et  seq.      'There  are  five  different  dialects  spoken  by 
the  nineteen  pueblos. '    These  are  so  distinct  that  the  Spanish  language  '  has 
to  be  resorted  to  as  a  common  medium  of  communication.'   Ward,  in  Ind. 
Aff.  Rept.,  1864,  p.  191;  Buschmann,  Spr.  N.  Mex.  u.  der   Westseite  des  b. 
Nordamer.,  pp.  280  et  seq. 

2  Turner,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  90;  Buschmann,  Spr.  N.  Mex.  u. 
der  Westseite  des  b.  Nordamer.,  p.  302. 


PUEBLO  COMPARATIVE  VOCABULARY. 


683 


to  predominate — ahmeeashneeJceeah,  autumn;  ahsee- 
ailahpalhtonnai,  finger;  lahtailoopeetsinnah,  gold;  tehlee- 
nahweeteekeeah,  midnight;  tahmchahpahnahmnee,  war- 
club,  and  others.3  As  will  more  clearly  appear  by 
the  following  comparative  vocabulary,  none  of  these 
languages  are  cognate;  they  have  no  affinity  among 
themselves,  nor  with  any  other  family  or  group/ 


Sun 
Moon 
Star 
Earth 
Man 
Woman 
Head 
Eye 
Nose 
Mouth 
Ear 
Hand 
Dog 
Fire 
Water 

QUEUES. 

shecat 
hahats 
hatssee 
naiatsay 
nashcanne 
kannah 
karwishshe 
tseeikah 
kahupah 
kahmoshtay 
tish 
hahkanye 
tseats 

TEGUA. 

pah 
poyye 
adoyeah 
nah 
sayen 
ker 
pumbah 
chay 
shay 
sho 
oyeo 
mah 
cher 
fah 
ogh 

PICORIS. 
hoolennah 
pan  nah 
hahheglannah 
pahhannah 
tahhahnenah 
clayannah 
pinemah 
chenay 
pooaenah 
clahmoenah 
taglayonay 

sodornah 
pahannah 
pohahoon 

JEMEZ. 

*3v. 

pahah 
woonhah 
dockah 
shuotish 
steosh 
chitchous 
saech 
forsaech 
eaequah 
washchish 
mahtish 
cannu 
fwaah 
pah 

ZtJNI. 

yattockkah 

moyatchuway 
oulocknannay 
oatse 
ocare 
oshuckquinnay 
toonahway 
nolinnay 
aewahtinnay 
lahschucktinnay 
shoncheway 
watsetah 
mackke 
keaoway 

In  the  region  through  which  flows  the  Colorado, 
and  between  that  river  and  the  Gila,  many  different 
languages  are  mentioned  by  the  early  missionaries,  but 
at  this  time  it  is  difficult  to  ascertain  how  far  different 
names  are  applied  to  any  one  nation. 

The  missionaries  themselves  frequently  did  not  know 

3Tusuque  words  'are  monosyllabic,  and  suggest  a  connection  with  Asiatic 
stocks,  in  which  this  feature  is  prominent. '  Schoolcraft'sArch.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  406. 
*  All  these  languages  are  extremely  guttural,  and  to  my  ear  seemed  so  much 
alike  that  I  imagine  they  have  sprung  from  the  same  parent  stock. '  Lane,  in 
Id.,  vol.  v.,  p.  689;  Turner,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  93  etseq.; 
Buschmann,  New  Mex.  und  Brit.  N.  Amer.,  pp.  280  et  seq. 

4 '  Die  Queres-Sprache  ist  trotz  einiger  Anklange  an  andere  eine  ganz 
besondere  Sprache,  von  der  keine  Verwandtschaf t  aufzufinden. '  Buschmann, 
Spr.  N.  Mex.  u.  der  Westseite  des  b.  Nordamer.,  p.  303.  'Die  Fremdheit  der 
Tezuque-Sprache  gegen  alles  Bekannte  is  durch  das  Wortverzeichniss  ge- 
iiugsam  erwiesen. '  '  Ich  unterlasse  es  spielende  aztekische  oder  Sonorische 
Ahnlichkeiten  zu  bezeichnen,  da  auch  die  Zufli-Sprache  diesen  Idiomen 
ganz  fremd  ist.'  Id.,  pp.  296-7.  Tanos,  'one  of  the  Moqui  villages,  at  pres- 
ent speak  the  Tegua  language,  which  is  abo  spoken  by  several  of  the  New 
Mexican  Pueblo  Indians,  which  leaves  but  little  doubt  as  to  the  common 
origin  of  all  the  village  Indians  of  this  country  and  Old  Mexico.'  Amy,  in 
Ind.  A/.  Rept.,  1871,  p.  381.  'These  Indians  claim,  and  are  generally  sup- 
posed, to  have  descended  from  the  ancient  Aztec  race,  but  the  fact  of  their 
speaking  three  or  four  different  languages  would  tend  to  cast  a  doubt  upon 
this  point.'  Merriwether,  in  Id.,  1854,  p.  174.  'The  words  in  the  Zuni  lan- 
guage very  much  resemble  the  English.'  JfutcJungs'  Cal.  Mag.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  34S; 
Grey  cj  8  Com.  Prairies,  vol.  i.,  p.  285. 


684  COLORADO  RIVER  LANGUAGES. 

how  to  name  the  people;  often  they  gave  several 
names  to  one  language,  and  several  languages  one 
name;  many  of  the  then  existing  dialects  are  known 
to  have  since  become  extinct,  and  many  more  have 
mysteriously  disappeared,  along  with  those  who  spoke 
them,  so  that  in  many  instances,  a  century  after  their 
first  mention,  no  such  language  could  be  found.  It 
seems  seldom  to  have  occurred  to  the  missionaries  and 
conquerors  that  the  barbarous  tongues  of  these  heathen 
could  ever  be  of  interest  or  value  to  Christendom,  still 
less  lists  of  their  words;  so  that  vocabularies,  almost 
the  only  valuable  speech-material  of  the  philologist, 
are  exceedingly  rare  among  the  writings  of  the  early 
missionary  Fathers.  If  one  half  of  their  profitless 
homilies  on  savage  salvation  had  been  devoted  to  the 
simple  gleaning  of  facts,  science  would  have  been  the 
gainer,  and  the  souls  of  the  natives  no  whit  less  at 
peace.  Of  late,  however,  vocabularies  of  the  dialects 
of  this  region  have  become  numerous,  and  relationships 
are  at  length  becoming  permanently  established. 

The  languages  under  consideration,  on  comparison, 
may  nearly  all  be  comprised  in  what  may  be  called 
the  Yuma  family.  The  principal  dialects  which  con- 
stitute the  Yuma  family  are  the  Yuma,  Maricopa, 
Cuchan,  Mojave,  and  Diegueno,  which  last  is  spoken 
in  southern  California,  and  more  particularly  around 
the  bay  of  San  Diego.  Among  others  mentioned  are 
the  Yavipais  and  Yampais.5  Compared  with  that  of 

5  Cocomaricopa,  Yuma,  Jalchedun,  and  Jamajab  speak  the  same  lan- 
guage. Oarers,  Diario,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  ii.,  torn,  i.,  p.  350;  Kino, 
Relation,  in  Id.,  serie  iv.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  292-3.  'Opas,  que  hablan  la  lengua 
de  los  Yumas  y  Cocomaricopas ....  Corre  la  gentilidad  de  estos  y  de  su  misma 
lengua  por  los  rios  Azul,  Verde,  Salado  y  otros  que  entran  el  Colorado.'  Ar- 
ricivita,  Crdnica  Serdjlca,  p.  416.  *  La  lengua  de  todas  estas  naciones  es  una, 
Cocomaricopas,  Yuma,  Nijora,  Quicamopa.'  Sedelmair,  Relation,  in.  Doc.  Hist. 
Mex.,  serie  iii.,  torn,  iv.,  p.  852.  Cuchans,  or  Yumas,  'speak  the  same  dia- 
lect' as  the  Maricopas.  Emory's  Rept.  U.  S.  and  Mex.  Boundary  Survey,  p. 
107;  Turner,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  101-3;  Mollhausen,  Reisen  in 
die  Felsengeb.,  torn,  i.,  p.  433.  Yumas  'no  ser  Nacion  distinta  de  la  Coco- 
maricopa, pues  usan  el  rnesmo  Idioma.'  Villa-Senor  y  Sanchez,  Theatro,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  408;  Gallatin,  in  Emory's  Reconnoissance,  p.  129;  Cremony's  Apaches, 
p.  90.  '  The  Pimos  and  Cocomaricopas ....  speaking  different  languages. ' 
Cuffs'  Conq.  ofCal,  p.  189.  Cosninos  and  Tontos,  'leur  langue  aurait  plus 
d'afnnite  avec  celle  des  Mokaves  et  des  Cuchans  du  Colorado/  'Les  Yumas, 


DIEGUENO  LORD'S  PKAYER.  685 

their  neighbors,  the  language  of  the  Dieguefios  is  soft 
and  harmonious,  and  as  it  contains  all  the  sounds  of 
the  letters  in  the  English  alphabet,  the  people  speak- 
ing it  readily  learn  to  pronounce  the  English  and 
Spanish  languages  correctly.6  The  following  Lord's 
Prayer  is  given  as  a  specimen  of  the  dialect  of  the 
Dieguefios : 

Nagua  an&ll  amai  tacaguach  naguanetuuxp  mama- 
mulpo  cayuca  amaibo  mamatam  meyayam  canaao  ainat 
amaibo  quexuic  echasau  naguagui  nafia  chonnaquin 
mpil  meiieque  pachis  echeyuchapo  fiagua  quexuic  na- 
guaich  nacaguaihpo  namechamel  anipuch  uch-gue- 
lich-cuiapo.  Nacuiuch-pambo-cuchlich-culatpo-namat. 
Napuija".7 

Of  the  other  dialects,  the  short  vocabulary  on  the 
following  page  will  give  an  illustration: 

auxquels  se  joignent  les  Cocopas,  les  Moliaves,  les  Hawalcoes,  et  les  Diecjuenos. 
Chacune  de  ces  tribus  a  une  langue  particuliere,  mais  qui,  jusqu'  a  un  certain 
point,  se  rapproche  de  celles  des  tribus  du  meine  groupe.'  Brasse.ur  de  Bour- 
bourg,  Esquisses,  pp.  28-9.  '  Gewiss  lot,  dass  die  Cocomaricdpas  und  Yumas 
nur  Dialecte  einer  und  derselben  Sprache  reden.'  Miililenpfordt,  Mcjico,  toin. 
i.,  p.  211.  'The  Maricopas  speak..  ..a  dialect  of  the  Cocapa,  Yuma,  Mo- 
have,  and  Diegana  tongue.'  Afowry,  in  Ind.  Aff.  RepL,  1859,  p.  3G1;  Id., 
1857,  p.  302.  Papagos,  Pinios,  and  Maricopas.  '  These  tribes  speak  a  com- 
mon language,  which  is  conceded  to  be  the  ancient  Aztec  tongue. '  Davidson, 
in  Id.,  1865,  p.  131.  Pima  and  Maricopa.  'Their  languages  are  totally  dif- 
ferent, so  much  so  that  I  was  enabled  to  distinguish  them  when  spoken.' 
Bartlettfs  Pers.  Nar.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  202.  'Los  opas,  cocomaricopas,  hudcoadan, 
yumas,  cuhuanas,  quiquimas,  y  otros  mas  alia  del  rio  Colorado,  se  pueden 
tambien  llamar  pimas  y  contar  por  otras  tantas  tribus  de  esta  nacion;  pues 
la  lengua  de  que  usan  es  una  misma  con  sola  la  diferencia  del  dialecto.' 
Sonora,  Descrip.  Gcog.,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mcx.y  serie  iii.,  p.  554;  Sonora,  Rudo 
JEasayo,  p.  103.  '  Yuma.  Dialecto  del  Pima,  lo  tienen  los  Yumas,  6  chiru- 
mas,  gilenos  6  xileuos,  opas,  cocopas,  cocomaricopas,  hudcoadanes,  jamajabs 
6  cuesninas,  6  cuismer  6  cosninas  6  culisnisnas  6  culisnurs  y  los  quicamopas. 
Cajuenche.  Dialecto  del  pima,  pertenecen  a  esta  seccion  los  cucapa  6  cuhanas, 
jallicuamai,  cajuenches,  quiquimas  6  quihuimas,  yuanes,  cutganes,  alche- 
domas,  bagiopas,  cufiai  y  quemeya.'  Orozco  y  jBerra,  Geografia,  pp.  353,  37; 
Bnschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztec.  Spr.,  pp.  254  et  seq.  'Die  Yumas,  deren 
Sprache  von  der  der  Cocomericoopas ....  wenig  verschieden  ist. '  'Cocomeri- 


vol.  viii.,  p.  421. 

6  '  Suave  al  parecer,  y  mas  facil  que  no  la  pima,  pues  tiene  la  suave  vocal 
el  la  que  falta  a  los  pimas,  repitiendo  ellos  la  u  hablan  su  idioma  cantando. ' 
tiedelmair,  Relation,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iii.,  torn,  iv.,  p.  852.  'Soft  and 
melodious.'  Bartletfs  Pers.  Nar.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  262;  Turner,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept., 
vol.  iii.,  p.  101. 

tMofras,  Explor.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  395. 


686 


LOWER  CALIFORNIA^  LANGUAGES. 


CUCHAN. 

MARICOPA. 

Mas 

epatch 

eepache 

Woman 

seenyack 

sinchayaixhutch 

House 

eenouwa 

Sun 
Moon 

n'yatch 
hullyar 

n'yatz 
hullash 

Fire 

aawo 

ahooch 

Water 

aha 

Mciize 

terditch 

terditz 

Good 

ahotk 

ahotk 

I 

n'yat 

inyatz 

Go 

n'yeemoom 

Sleep 

aseemah 

smyax 
ahba 


MOJAVE.          DIEGUENO.8 

ipah  aycdotchet 

seen 

awah 
n'yatz 
hullya  , 


aha" 

han 
n'yat 


ahha 

terdicha 

ahhotk 

n'yatz 

n'yimoom 

esoma'om 


Then  there  are  the  Yampai  and  Yavipai,  said  to 
approach  the  Cuchan  and  Mojave;9  the  Chevet,  re- 
ported as  a  distinct  tongue;10  the  Cajuenche,  said  to 
be  another  language,  and  the  Jalliquamai,  a  dialect  of 
the  Cajuenche.11  The  Tamajab  is  a  strange  language, 
described  by  Don  Jose*  Cortez  as  "  spoken  with  violent 
utterance  and  lofty  arrogance  of  manner;  and  in  mak- 
ing speeches,  the  thighs  are  violently  struck  with  the 
palms  of  the  hands."12 

There  are  further  mentioned  the  BenemcS,  with  the 
dialects  Tecuiche  and  Teniqueche,  and  lastly  the  Co- 
vaji  and  Noche,  each  a  distinct  tongue.13  The  people 
speaking  the  Noche  probably  were  the  northern  and 
eastern  neighbors  of  the  Dieguenos,  and  may  have 
been  mentioned  by  some  writers  under  other  names. 
I  have  preferred  to  enumerate  them  here,  because  the 
names  frequently  occur  in  the  reports  of  the  earlier 
expeditions  to  the  Yuma  nations. 

On  the  peninsula  of  Lower  California,  there  are 
three  distinct  languages  with  many  dialects,  more  or 
less  related  to  each  other.  Some  of  these  dialects  ap- 

8  Turner,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  95  et  seq.;  Schookraft's  Arch., 
vol.  ii.,  pp.  118  et  seq. 

9  Whipple,  Ewbank,  and  Turner,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  14. 

10  '  La  Nacion  Chevet . . . .  de  muy  distinto  idioma  de  los  que  tienen  las 
demas  Naciones.'  Arricivita,  Crdnica  Serdjica,  p.  472. 

11  'La  lengua  de  los  cajuenches  es  muy  distinta  de  la  yuma.'    Jalliqua- 
mais  '  aunque  parece  el  mismo  idioma  que  el  de  los  cajuenches,  se  diferencia 
mucho.'  Garcte,  Diario,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  ii.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  247,  251. 

12 'The  Cucapas,  Talliguamays,  and  Cajuenches  speak  one  tongue;  the 
Yumas,  Talchedums,  and  Tamajabs  have  a  distinct  one.'  Cortez,  Hist.  Apache 
Nations,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  124. 

13 Id.,  p.  125. 


THREE  STOCK  LANGUAGES  IN  LOWER  CALIFORNIA.     687 

pear  so  remote  from  the  parent  stock  that  the  early 
missionaries  believed  them  to  be  independent  lan- 
guages, and  accordingly  the  number  of  tongues  on  the 
peninsula  has  been  variously  estimated,  some  saying 
four,  others  six;  but  careful  comparisons  refer  them 
all  to  three  stock  languages.  These  are  the  Cochimi, 
with  its  principal  dialects,  the  Laymon  and  Ika;  the 
Guaicuri,  with  the  Cora,  Monqui,  Didiu,  Liyue,  Edu, 
and  Uchiti  dialects;  and  lastly  the  Pericu.  Besides 
the  above,  there  were  also  other  dialectic  differences 
in  almost  every  mission,  such  as  the  variations  of  word- 
endings,  and  other  minor  points.14  In  general,  these 


14  '  Nun  dann  f iinf  andere  ganz  verschiedene,  und  in  dem  bisher  entdeck- 
ten  Californien  ubliche  Sprachen  (welche  seynd  die  Laymdna,  in  der  Gegend 
der  Mission  von  Loreto,  die  Cotschiml,  in  der  Mission  des  heil  Xaverii 
und  anderen  gegen  Norden,  die  Utschi  1,  und  die  Pericua  in  Sudeii,  und  die 
annoch  unbekannte  welche  die  Volker  reden,  so  P.  Linck  auf  seiner  Reis  hat 
angetroffeii)  nebst  einer  Menge  Absprossen  oder  Dialekten,  auf  Seit  gesetzt, 
und  von  der  Wa'icurischen  allein  etwas  anzumerken. '  Baegert,  Nachr.  von 
Cal.,  pp.  176-7.  'Tres  son  (dice  el  Padre  Taraval)  las  Lenguas:  la  Cochimi, 
la  Pericu  y  la  de  Loreto.  De  esta  ultima  sal  en  dos  ramos,  y  son:  la  Guaycura, 
y  la  Uchiti;  verdad  es,  que  es  la  variacion  tanta,  que. . .  .juzgara,  no  solo 
que  hay  quatro  Lenguas,  sino  que  hay  cinco.'  Veneyas,  Noticia  de  la  Cal., 
torn,  i.,  pp.  63-7.  Pericui,  Guaicuri,  Cochimi.  'Ognuna  di  queste  tre  Na- 
zi oni  aveva  il  suo  linguaggio  proprio.'  Clavigero,  Storia  della  Cal,  torn,  i.,  p. 
109.  '  Vehitls,  Coras,  Pericos,  Guaicuras,  Cantils,  Cayeyus,  y  otros  muchos.' 

'  Los  de  la  baja  peninzula hablan  distintos  idiomas  pero  todos  se  entien- 

den.'    Revillayigedo,    Carta,    MS.,    p.    7.     Elues,    Cochimies,    et    Periuches. 

*  Ces  trois  tribus  parlent  neuf  dialectes  diferents,  derives  de  trois  langues- 
matrices.'  Pauw,  Peek.  Phil.,  torn,  i.,  p.  168.      'Les  unes  parlant  la  Langue 
Monqid . . .  Aes   autres  la  Langue   Laimone.'  Picolo,^  Memoire,  in   Recue.il  de 
Voiages  au  Nord,  torn,  iii.,  p.  279.      'Dreyerley  Sprachen  in  Californien,' 
'  die  de  los  Picos,  dann  die  de  los  Waicuros ....  und  endlich  die  de  los  Lay- 
mdnes.'  Ducrue,  in  Murr,  Nachrichten,  p.  392.      'Die  Pericu;    die  Waicura 
mit  den  Dialecten  Cora,  Uchidie  und  Aripe;  die  Laymon;  die  Cochima  mit 
4  verschiedenen  Dialecten,  worunter  der  von  S.  Francesco  und  Borgia;  die 
Utschita;    die  Ika.'   Hassel,   Hex.   Guat.,   p.   57.      'Die  Pericues,   dann  die 
Monquis  oder  Menguis,  zu  welchen  die  Familien  der  Guayciiras  und  Coras 
gehdren,    die   Cochimas   oder   Colimies,   die   Laimdnes,  die   Utschitas   oder 
Vehitis,  und  die  leas.'  Muhlenpfordt,  Mejico,  torn,  i.,  p.  212.     See  also  torn, 
ii.,  pt.  ii.,  pp.  443-4;  Taylor,  in  Browne s  L.  Cal,  pp.  53^4.      'The  Cochimi, 
Pericu,  and  Loretto  languages;  the  former  is  the  same  as  the  Laymon,  for 
the    Laymones   are   the  northern  Cochimies;  the  Loretto  has  two  dialects, 
that  of  the  Guaycuru  and  the  Uchiti.'  Prichard's  Nat.   Hist.  Man,  vol.  ii., 
p.  553.      'The  languages  of  old  California  were:  1.  The  Waikur,  spoken  in 
several  dialects;   2.  Ihe  Utshiti;   3.  The   Laymon;   4.  The  Cochimi   North 
and  the  Pericu  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  peninsula;  5.  A  probably 
new  form  of  speech  used  by  some  tribes  visited  by  Link.'  Latham's  Comp. 
Phil.,  vol.  viii.,  p.  423.     Morrell  mentions  three  languages,  the   Pericues, 
Menquis,   and  Cochimies.  Nar.,  p.   198.     Forbes,  quoting   Father   Taraval, 
also  speaks  of  three  languages,  Pericues,  Monquis,  and  Cochimis.   Cal,  p.  21. 

*  Solo  habia  dos  idiomas  distintos;  el  uno  todo  lo  que  comprehende  la  parte 
del  Mediodia,  y  llamaban  Ado;  y  el  otro  todo  lo  que  abraza  el  Departamento 


688  LOWER  CALIFORNIAN  LANGUAGES. 

languages  have  been  described  as  harsh  and  poverty- 
stricken.  The  missionaries  complained  of  not  being 
able  to  find  terms  with  which  to  express  many  of  the 
doctrines  which  they  wished  to  inculcate;  but  from 
the  grammatical  notes  left  by  Father  Baegert,  and 
those  of  Ducrue  contained  in  MUTT'S  NacliTichten,  as 
well  as  from  the  various  pater-nosters  at  hand,  it 
appears  that  these  languages  are  not  so  very  poor 
after  all.  Much  there  may  have  been  wanting  to  the 
zealous  Fathers,  many  burning  words  and  soul-stirring 
expressions,  which  would  have  greatly  assisted  their 
efforts,  but  except  that  there  is  certainly  no  redun- 
dancy in  these  languages,  they  offer  nothing  very 
extraordinary.15  Following  I  give  a  few  grammatical 
notes  on  the  Guaicuri  language.  The  sounds  repre- 
sented by  the  German  letters  o,  /,  g,  I,  x,  z,  and  s,  ex- 
cepting in  tsh,  do  not  appear.  Possessive  pronouns 
are  shown  in  the  following  examples: 

My  father  bedare  My  nose  minamu 

Thy  father  edare  Thy  nose  einamii 

His  father  tiare  His  nose  tinamii 

Our  father  kepedare 

del  Norte  y  llamaban  Cochimi.'  Calif ornias,  Noticias,  carta  i.,  p.  99;  Vater, 
Mithridates,  torn,  hi.,  pt.  hi.,  pp.  182  et  seq. ;  Baegert,  in  /Smithsonian  Rept., 
1864,  p.  393.  Orozco  y  Berra  aho  accepts  three,  naming  them  Pericu;  Guai- 
cura,  with  the  dialects  Cora,  Conchos,  Uchita,  and  Aripa;  and  the  Cochimi, 
with  the  dialects  Edu,  Didii,  and  Northern  Cochimi.  Geografia,  pp.  365-7; 
Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  207  et  seq.;  JSuschmann,  Spurender  Aztelc.  Spr., 
pp.  469  et  seq. 

15  '  La  lingua  Cochimi,  la  quale  e  la  piu  distesa,  e  molto  dificile,  e  piena 
d'aspirazioni,  ed  ha  alcuiie  maniere  di  pronunziare,  die  non  e  possibile  di 
darle  ad  intendere ....  La  lingua  Pericu  e  oggimai  estiiita ....  La  branca  degli 
Uchiti,  e  quasi  tutta  quella  de'  Cori  si  sono  estinte.'  Claviyero,  Storia  della 
CaL,  torn,  i.,  pp.  110,  109.  Edues  and  Didius,  'sus  palabras  no  eran  de  muy 
dif icil  pronunciacion,  pero  carecian  enteramente  de  la  f  y  s. '  A  lleyre,  Hist. 
Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  hi.,  pp.  46-7.  'Die  Aussprache  1st  meistenstheils  gut- 
turalis  und  iiarium. '  Ducrue,  in  Murr,  Nachrichten,  p.  392.  Waicuri.  '  Kann 
man  von  derselben  sagen,  dass  sie  im  hochsten  Grad  wild  sey  und  barbarisch 
....so  bestehet  derselben  Barbarey  in  folgeridem,  und  zwar — 1.  In  einem 

erbarrnlichen  und  erstaunlichen  Mangel  unendlich  vieler  Worter in  dem 

Mangel  und  Abgang  der  Priipositionen,  Conjunctionen,  und  Relativorum, 
das  deve,  oder  tipitscheu,  so  wegen,  und  das  tina,  welches  auf  heisset,  aus- 
genommen ....  Im  Abgang  des  Comparativi  und  Superlativi,  und  der  Worter 
mehr  und  weniger,  item,  aller  Adverbiorum,  so  wohl  deren,  welche  von  Ad- 
jectivis  herkommen,  als  auch  schier  allcr  anderen . . . .  Im  Abgang  des  Modi 
Conjunctivi,  mandativi  und  schier  gar  des  optativi.  Item,  des  verbi  Passivi, 
oder  an  statt  dessen,  des  verbi  Reciproci,  dessen  sich  die  Spanier  und  Franzo- 
sen  bedienen.  Item,  in  Abgang  der  Declinationen,  und  zugleich  der  Artiklen 
der,  die,  das,'  etc.  Baegert,  Nachr.  von  CaL,  pp.  177-83.  See  also  Smith- 
sonian Rept.,  1864,  pp.  394-5. 


GUAICURI  GRAMMAR.  689 

Of  prepositions  only  two  are  mentioned — tina,  on  or 
upon;  and  deve,  or  tipitschett,  on  account  of,  or  for 
(propter).  There  is  no  article,  and  nouns  are  inde- 
clinable. The  conjunction  tshie  is  always  placed  after 
the  words  to  be  connected.  Verbs  have  only  one 
mood  and  three  tenses — the  present,  the  perfect,  and 
the  future.  The  present  is  formed  by  the  affix  re  or 
reke;  the  perfect  by  the  affix  rikiri,  rujere,  raupe,  or 
raupere;  and  the  future  by  adding  in  like  manner  me, 
meje,  or  enem,e.  If  the  action  of  several  persons  is  to 
be  expressed,  the  syllable  leu  or  k  is  prefixed  to  the 
verb,  or  the  first  syllable  is  changed  into  leu. 

SINGULAR.  PLURAL. 

To  fight  piabake  kupiabake 

To  remember  umutu  kumutii 

To  speak  jake  kuake 

Some  verbs  have  also  a  perfect  passive  participle  in 
the  form  of  a  substantive — tschipake,  to  beat;  tschipit- 
schurre,  a  person  who  has  been  beaten.  The  personal 
pronouns  are:  be,  I,  me,  to  me,  my;  ei,  thou,  thee,  to 
thee,  thy;  becun,  beticun,  ecun,  or  eitic&n,  mine,  thine. 

CONJUGATION  OF    THE  VERB  AMUKIRI,    TO  PLAY. 

PRESENT    INDICATIVE. 


I  play,  be  amukirire 

Thou  playest,        ei  amukirire 
He  plays,  tutau  amukirire 


We  play,  cat6  amukirire 

You  play,  pet6  amukirire 

They  play,          tucava  amukirire 


PERFECT.  FIRST  FUTURE. 

I  have  played,       b6  amukiririkiri          |       I  shall  play,         be  amukirime 

IMPERATIVE. 

Play  thou,  amukiri  tei  |         Play  you,  amukiri  tu 

OPTATIVE. 

Would  that  I  had  not  played,         beri  amukiririkirikara 
or,  beri  amukirirujerara 

I  also  add  a  Guaicuri  Lord's  Prayer  with  literal 
translation. 

Kepe    dare  tekerekddatemba    dai,    eiri    akdtuike- 

Our          father     arched  earth  (heaven)   thou  art,  thee  O  that    acknow- 

pu-me,       tschakdrrake-pu-me      ti       tschie:       ecun 

ledge  all  will.  praise  all  will  people  and:  thy 

gracia-ri  atume  cate  tekerekadatemba   tschie:  eiri 

grace  0  that  have  will       we  arched  earth  and:     thee  0  that 

VOL.  III.    44 


690  LOWER  CALIFORNIA^  LANGUAGES. 

jebarrakeme  ti  pu  jaupe  datemba,  pde  ei  jebarrakere, 

obey  will         people  all     here  earth,  as     thee  obey, 

aena  kea :  kepecun  bue  kepe  ken  jati'ipe  untairi :  cate 

above       are:  our  food       us        give         this  day:  us 

kuitscharrake  tei  tschie  kepecun  atacd,mara,  pae  kuit- 

forgive  thou       and  our  evil,  as 

scharrakere  cate    tschie  cavape  atukiara  kepetujake: 

forgive  we  also  the  evil  us  do: 

cate     tikakamba    tei     tschie,    cuvumera    cate    ue 

us  help  thou  and,         desire  will  not        we  something 

atukidra:  kepe  kakunja  pe    atacdra  tschie.     Amen.16 

evil:  us  protect         from         evil  and.  Arnen. 

As  regards  the  other  two  languages,  the  only  ma- 
terials at  hand  are  some  Lord's  Prayers  in  various 
dialects  of  the  Cochimi,  as  used  in  the  different  mis- 
sions. Of  these  I  insert  the  following  as  samples  of 
the  dialects  spoken — I.  at  the  Mission  of  Santa  Maria, 

II.  at  San  Francisco  de  Borgia,  and  III.  at  San  Ignacio. 

Father  our  heaven  in         who  art:  thy  name 

I.  Lahai-apa     ambeing     mia:     mimbangajua     val 
II.   Cahai    apd,    ambeing    mid,,    mimbang-ajua    val 

III.  Ua-bappa  amma-bang  miamu,  ma  mang-d,-jua  huit 

all  honored:  earth  thy  kingdom  come: 

I.  vuit-maha:    amet    mididivvaijua   kukuem:   jen- 

II.  vuit-mahd,;  amet  mididuvaijud  cucyem;  jemmu- 

III.   maja  tegem  amat-ma-thadabajua  ucuem :  kemmu- 

will  thine  heaven  done  be  earth  on 

I.   mu-jua      amabang      vihi  mieng      ametetenang 
II.  jud,  amabdng      vihi  mieng       ametenaug 

III.  jud,  ammabang    vahi-marig      amatanang 

as  Bread 

I.  luvihim,       Thevap      yi-cue        ti-mi-ei-di-gua 

II.  luichim.       Thevdp     yiecue         ti-mi-ei-di-gud, 

III.  lauahim.      Teguap  ibang  gual  giiiang-avit-d-jua 

I6£aegert,  Nachr.  von  Cal ,  pp.  175-94;  Id.,  in  SmitJisonian  Kept.,  1864, 
pp.  394,  393;  also  in  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  207-14;  Soc.  Mex.  Oeog., 
Boletin,  2da  epoca,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  31-40;  Voter,  Miihridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii., 
pp.  188-92;  Duschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztelc.  Spr.,  pp.  484-95. 


LORD'S  PRAYERS  IN  DIFFERENT  DIALECTS.  691 

Day 

I.  ibang-a-nang  na-kahit  tevichip 

II.  ibang-anang  gna         cahit  tevichip 

III.  ibang  anane  pac-kagit :          machi 

I.  nuliigua      aviuve  ham:      vichip      iyeg-uana 
II.   nuhigud      aviuveham         vichip      iyegua  gna 
III.  pugijua        abadakegem,      machi       uayecg-jua 

I.  kaviu-vem  cassetajuang  inamenit   nakum 

II.  caviu  vem  cassetasuang  mamenit  guakum 

III.  pac  kabaya  guem ;  kazet-a  juan  a  juang-amuegnit 

I.  guang  tevisiec  na-kaviriaha. 

II.  guang  tevisiec  gna  cavignaha. 

III.  pacum  guang  mayi-acg  packanajam.17 

The  dialect  spoken  at  the  missions  of  San  Francisco 
Xavier,  San  Jose  de  Comondu,  and  at  Santa  Gertrudis, 
differed  considerably  from  the  above,  as  will  be  seen  by 
the  following  Lord's  Prayer  as  used  in  the  last-men- 
tioned places : 

Pennayu    makenamba,  yaa   ambayujup    miya   mb, 

Our  father  who  heaven  thou          art, 

buhu  mombojua  tammala  gkomendd  hi  nagodogno  de- 

thy  name  men  recognize      and  love 

muejueg  gkajim :  pennayula  bogodognb  gkajim,  guihi 

all;  as  and 

ambayujup  maba  yaa  kseanimet  e  decuinyi  mb  puegign : 

heaven  above  earth  satisfy 

yaam  buhula  mujua  ambayujupmb  de  dahijua,  amet  e 

thy  will  heaven  in  done  be,         earth  on 

nb  guilugui,  ji  pagkajim.     Tamada  yaa  ibb  tejueg  gui- 

this  as.  Bread       this    day 

luguigui  pamijich  e  mb,  ibb  yanno  puegin :  guihi  tamma 

day  and          men 

yaa    gambuegjula    ksepujui     ambinyijua     pennayula 

who  have  done  evil  us 

17  Hervds,  Saggio  Pratico,  p.  125;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp. 
496-7;  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  pp.  193-4;  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  222;  Mofras,  Explor.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  395-6;  Clavigero,  Storia  della  Cal, 
torn,  i.,  p.  265. 


692  LOWER  CALIFORNIA^  LANGUAGES. 

dedaudugujua,  guilugui  pagkajim :  guihi  yaatagamuegla 

done  have  as  and 

hui  ambinyyjua  hi  doomb  puguegjua,  hi  doomfr  pogou- 

evil  and  although  and  although 

nyim;  tamuegjua,  guihi  usi  mahel  ksemmet  e  dicuin 

also  earth  satisfy 

yum5,  guihi  yaa  hui  mabinyi  yaa  gambuegjua  pagka- 

and        what  is  evil 

udugum.18 

Clavigero  does  not  give  a  translation  of  this  Lord's 
Prayer,  but  Hervds,  who  copies  it  in  his  Saggio  Pratico, 
translates  all  words  which  he  could  find  in  a  short 
vocabulary;  Buschmann  and  others  copy  from  him, 
and  even  at  this  time  no  complete  translation  is  ob- 
tainable, 

Lastly,  I  present  a  few  sentences  in  the  Laymon 
dialect,  literally  translated. 

Tamma  amayben  metan  aguinani 

Man  years  many    lives  not 

Kenedabapa  urap,  guang  lizi,  quimib  tejunoey 

Father  mine        eats,  and     drinks,       but  little. 

Kenassa  maba  guimma 

Sister          thine  sleeps. 

Kadagua  gadey  iguimil  decuini 

The  fish          sees          but  not         hears 

Juetabajua  tahipeni 

Blood  mine         good  not 

Kotajua  kamang  gehua 

The  stone     (is)  great,         hard 

Ibungajua  ganehmajen  kaluhu 

Moon  sun  greater  is.19 

None  of  the  Lower  Californian  languages  are  in  any 
way  related  to  or  connected  with  any  other  language. 
In  Jalisco  an  idiom  is  spoken  which  is  called  the  Cora, 

18  Clavigero,  Storia  delta  CaL,  torn,  i.,  pp.  264-5;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der 
Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  497;  Hervds,  Saggio  Pratico,  p.  125;  Voter,  Mitkridates,  torn, 
iii.,  pt.  iii.,  pp.  192-4;  Hofras,  Explor.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  395-6;  Pimentel,  Cuadro, 
torn,  ii.,  pp.  221-2. 

19  Ducrue,  in  Murr,  Nachrichten,  pp.  394-7. 


THE  CORA  DIALECT  IN  LOWER  CALIFORNIA.  693 

but  Sefior  Pimentel,  after  comparing  it  with  the  Cora 
of  the  peninsula  as  well  as  with  others  in  Lower  Cal- 
ifornia, assures  us  that  not  the  least  connection  exists 
between  them.20  It  has  also  been  stated  that  the 
languages  spoken  on  the  peninsula  north  of  La  Paz 
are  affiliated  with  the  Yuma  tongue,  but  this  is  not 
the  case.  As  we  have  seen,  the  dialect  of  the  Diegue- 
nos  reaches  the  sea-coast  near  San  Diego,  and  again 
south  of  that  point,  and  this  being  a  Yuma  dialect,  it 
has  perhaps  given  rise  to  the  belief  that  the  Lower 
Californian  languages  incline  the  same  way.21  In 
South  America  there  is  a  language  called  the  Guai- 
curu,  which  has  nothing  in  common  with  the  Guaicuri 
of  Lower  California.22 

20  *  Hay  otra  idioma  llamado  Cora  en  California,  que  es  un  dialecto  del 
Guaicura  6  Vaicura,  dif erente  al  que  se  habla  en  Jalisco. '  Pimentel,  in  Soc. 
Mex.  Geog.,  Boletin,  torn,  viii.,  p.  603. 

21  *  All  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  peninsula  seem  to  be  affiliated  with  the 
Yumas  of    the   Colorado,   and  with  the   Coras   below  La  Paz.'    Taylor,   in 
Browne's  L,  Cal.,  p.  53. 

22 '  Beide  Sprachen,  die  californische  und  die  Siidamerikanische  Guay- 
cura  oder  Guaycuru  (Mbaya)  von  einander  ganzlich  verschieden  sind.'  Busch- 
mann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  494. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  PIMA,   6PATA,   AND  CERI  LANGUAGES. 

PIMA  ALTO  AND  BAJO — PAP  AGO — PIMA  GRAMMAR — FORMATION  OF  PLURALS 
— PERSONAL  PRONOUN — CONJUGATION — CLASSIFICATION  OF  VERBS — AD- 
VERBS, PREPOSITIONS,  CONJUNCTIONS,  AND  INTERJECTIONS — SYNTAX  OF 
THE  PIMA — PRAYERS  IN  DIFFERENT  DIALECTS — THE  OPATA  AND  EUDEVE 
— EUDEVE  GRAMMAR — CONJUGATION  OF  ACTIVE  AND  PASSIVE  VERBS — 
LORD'S  PRAYER — CPATA  GRAMMAR — DECLENSION — POSSESSIVE  PRONOUN 
— CONJUGATION — CERI  LANGUAGE  WITH  ITS  DIALECTS,  GUAYMI  AND 
TEPOCA — CERI  VOCABULARY. 

FROM  the  Rio  Gila  southward,  in  Sonora  and  in 
certain  parts  of  northern  Sinaloa,  is  found  the  Pima 
language,  spoken  in  many  dialects,  of  which  the  prin- 
cipal divisions  are  the  Pima  alto  and  Pima  bajo,  or 
upper  and  lower  Pima,  and  it  has  generally  been  con- 
sidered one  of  the  chief  languages  of  northern  Mexico. 
North  of  the  thirty-second  parallel,  the  Pdpago  is  the 
dominant  dialect  of  the  Pima;  in  Sonora  there  are 
the  Sobaipuri  and  others  more  or  less  divergent.1 
The  Pima,  as  compared  with  the  languages  of  their 

1<Estos  se  parten  en  altos  y  bajos hasta  los  rios  Xila  y  Colorado, 

aunque  de  otra  banda  de  este  hay  muchos  que  hablan  todavfa  el  mismo 
idioma.'  Alegre,  Hist.  Camp,  de  Jesus,  torn,  ii.,  p.  216.  'Los  pimas  bajos 
usan  del  mismo  idioma  con  los  altos,  y  estos  con  todas  las  demas  parcialida- 
des  de  indios  que  habitan  los  arenales  y  paramos  de  los  papagos,  los  amenos 
valles  de  Sobahipuris,  las  vegas  de  los  rios  Xila  (£  escepcion  de  los  apaches) 
y  Colorado,  y  aun  el  lado  opuesto  del  ultimo  gran  mimero  de  gentes,  que  a 
dicho  del  Padre  Kino  y  Sedelmayr,  no  dif  erencian  sino  en  el  dialecto. '  Sonora, 
Descrip.  Geog.,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iii.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  534-5.  'Los  opas, 
cocomaricopas,  hudcoadan,  yumas,  cuhuanas,  quiquimas,  y  otras  mas  alia 
del  rio  Colorado  se  pueden  tambien  llamar  pimas  y  contar  por  otras  tantas 
tribus  de  estar  nacion;  pues  la  lengua  de  que  usan  es  una  misma  con  sola  la 

(694) 


PIMA  GRAMMAR.  695 

northern  and  southern  neighbors,  is  represented  as 
complete,  full,  and  harmonious.2  Although  frequently 
classified  with  the  Yuma,  it  is  nevertheless  a  distinct 
tongue.  It  is  closely  connected  with  the  Aztec- 
Sonora  languages,  which  may  be  proven  no  less  by  its 
grammatical  coincidences  than  by  the  similarity  of 
many  of  its  'words.3  Following  is  an  extract  from  a 
Pima  grammar.  The  alphabet  consists  of  the  follow- 
ing letters:  a,  b,  c,  d,  g,  h,  i,j,  m,  n^o,  p,  q,  r,  rh,  s,  t, 
u,  v,  x,  y.  Nearly  all  words  end  with  a  vowel.  To 
form  the  plural,  the  first  syllable  of  the  singular  noun 
is  duplicated — hota,  stone;  Jiohota,  stones.  Exceptions 
to  this  rule  occur  in  some  few  cases — vinoy,  snake ; 
vripinoy,  snakes;  tuaia,  girl;  tusia,  girls;  sisi,  brother ; 
sisiJd,  brothers ;  tuvu,  hare ;  tutuapa,  hares.  Gender  is 
expressed  by  means  of  the  words  ubi,  female,  and  ituoti, 

diferencia  del  dialecto.'  Id.,  p.  554.  Sonora,  Estado  de  la  Provincia,  in  Id., 
pp.  618-19;  Sonora,  Papeles,  in  Id.,  p.  772.  'Sobaypuris,  y  hablan  en  el 
idioma  de  los  Pimas,  aunque  con  alguna  diferencia  en  la  pronunciacion.  * 
Villa-Senor  y  Sanchez,  Theatro,  torn,  ii.,  p.  396;  Ribas,  Hist,  de  los  Triamphos, 
p.  369.  '  El  idioma  es  igual,  y  con  respecto  al  de  los  pimas  se  diferencian  en 
muy  determinadas  palabras.'  Velasco,  Noticias  de  Sonora,  p.  161;  Zapata, 
Relacion,  in  Doc.  Hist  Hex.,  serie  iv.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  301  et  seq.  'Las  naciones 
Pima,  Soba  y  sobaipuris . . . .  es  una  misma  y  general  el  idioma  que  todoa 

hablan,  con  poca  diferencia  de  tal  cual  verbo  y  nombre '  '  papabotas de 

la  misma  lengua.'  Kino,  Relacion,  in  Id.,  torn,  i.,  p.  292-3.  Pimas  'usan 
todos  una  misma  lengua,  pero  especialmente  al  Norte  que  en  todo  se  aven- 
taja  a  los  demas,  mas  abundante  y  con  mas  primores  que  al  Poniente  y 
Pimeria  baja;  todoa  no  obstante  se  entienden.  Velarde,  in  Id.,  torn,  i.,  p. 
366.  '  El  pirna  se  divide  en  varios  dialectos,  de  los  cuales ....  el  tecoripa 
y  el  sabagui.'  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  p.  94.  Orozco  y  Berra  gives  as  dia- 
lects of  the  Pima  the  Papago,  Sobaipuri,  Yuma,  and  Cajuenche.  Geografia, 
pp.  58-9,  35-40,  345-53.  Papdgos  'die  mit  den  Pimas  dieselbe  Sprache 
reden.'  Pfefferkorn,  in  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  159.  'Die 
Sprache  der  Sovaipure,  alsverwandtm.it  der  der  Pima.'  Id.,  p.  161.  'Aux 
Yumas . . . .  se  rattachent  aussi,  quant  &  la  langue . . . .  les  Cocomaricopas  et  les 

tribus  nombreuses  qui,  sous  le  nom  de  Pimos,  s'etendent de  la  me  me 

souche  paraissent  venir  aussi  les  Papayes ....  mais  dont  la  langue  s'eloigne 
davantage  de  celle  des  Yumas. '  Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  Esquisses,  p.  30. 

2 '  Esta  lengua  distingue  par  flexion  el  singular  del  plural  de  los  nombres 
sustantivos;  coloca  de  las  preposiciones  despues  de  sus  regimenes  y  las  con- 
junciones  al  fin  de  las  preposiciones:  la  sin  taxis  es  muy  complicaday  del  todo 
distinta  de  la  de  las  lecguas  Europeas. '  BaM,  in  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia, 
p.  352;  Bartlett's  Pers.  Nar.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  262. 

3  '  Sie  ist  unfraglich  und  deutlich  ein  died  des  sonorischen  Sprachstam- 
mes;  aber  wieder  sehr  eigenthiimliches,  selbstandiges  und  wichtiges  Idiom.' 

Buschmann,  Pima-Sprache,  p.  352.  'Family,  Dohme Language,  Pima 

Dialects,  Opata,  Heve,  Nevome,  Papagos,'  etc.  Hist.  Mag,,  vol.  v.,  p.  236. 
'  These  tribes  speak  a  common  language,  which  is  conceded  to  be  the  ancient 
Aztec  tongue  '  Davidson,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Kept.,  1865.  p.  131;  Parker,  in  ld.y 
1869,  p.  19. 


696  PIMA  LANGUAGES. 

male.  Derivatives  expressing  something  which  par- 
takes of  the  nature  of  the  primitive  are  formed  with  the 
affix  magui — xaivori,  honey;  xaivorimaqui,  honeyed. 
For  the  same  purpose,  the  terminal  kama  is  also  used 
—hadunikama,  related  to.  Kama  is  also  employed  to 
form  names  of  places  and  patronymics.  Abstract  words 
are  formed  with  the  word  daga — humatkama,  man; 
humatkamadaga,  mankind;  stoa,  white;  stoadaga,  white- 
ness. The  particle  parha  affixed  to  nouns  implies  a 
past  condition — nigaga,  my  land  for  planting ;  nigaga 
parha,  the  land  for  planting  which  was  mine. 

PERSONAL  PRONOUNS. 

SINGULAR. 
FIRST   PERSON.  SECOND   PERSON. 


Nom.  ani,  an'ani 

Gen. ,  Dat. ,  and  Abl.        ni 

Ace.  ni,  nunu,  nu 


Nom.  api,  ap'api 

Gen.,  Bat.,  and  Abl.  mu 

Ace.  mumu,  mu 


Nom.  ati,  at'ati 

Gen.,  Dat.,  and  Abl.       ti 

Ac.  ti,  tutu,  tu 


Voc.  api 

PLURAL. 

Nom.,  and  Voc.  apimu 

Gen.,  Dat.,  and  Abl.  amu 

Ac.  amumu,  amn 


THIRD  PERSON. 

He,  or  she,  hugai  huka          |     They,  those,  hugama,  hukama 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  AQUIARIDA,  TO  COUNT. 

PRESENT  INDICATIVE. 


I  count,  ani  haquiarida 

Thou  countest,     api  haquiarida 
He  counts,  hugai  haquiarida 


We  count,  ati  haquiarida 

You  count,  apimu  haquiarida 

They  count,         hugam  haquiarida 


IMPERFECT.  PERFECT. 

I  counted,  ani  haquiarid  cada      |  I  have  counted,         au't'  haquiari 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  counted,         an 't 'haquiarid  cada 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

I  shall  count,         ani  aquiaridamucu,  or  an't'io  haquiari 

SECOND  FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  counted,         an't'  io  haquiari 

IMPERATIVE. 

Count  thou,         haquiaridani,  or  hahaquiarida 

Count  you,  haquiarida  vorha,  or  gorha  haquiarida 

PRESENT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 

If  I  count,         co'n'igui  haquiaridana 

PRESENT  OPTATIVE. 

0  that  I  may  count,         dod'  an'  iki  haquiaridana 


PIMA  GRAMMAR.  697 

When  I  am  counting  (speaking  of  one  person  only),  haquiaridatu 

Speaking  of  two  persons,  haquiaridada 

Having  counted,  haquiaridac 

When  I  count,  or  after  counting,         haquiaridaay 

He  who  counts,  haquiaridadama 

He  who  counted,  haquiaridacama 

He  who  has  to  count,     haquiaridaaguidama,  or  io  haquiaridacama 

Verbs  are  divided  into  many  classes,  such  as  singu- 
lar, plural,  frequentative,  applicative,  and  compulsive. 
Plural  verbs — murha,  to  run,  one  person;  vopobo,  to 
run,  many.  Frequentatives  are  formed  with  the 
verb  himu,  to  go;  for  example,  vaita,  to  call;  vaita- 
himu,  to  call  frequently.  Applicatives  are  made  by 
changing  the  terminal  vowel  of  the  verb  into  i,  and 
adding  the  terminal  da — tubanu,  to  lower;  tubanida, 
to  lower  something.  Compulsive  verbs  are  formed 
with  the  affix  tuda — hukiaridatuda,  to  compel  to 
count.  A  large  number  of  adverbs  are  used,  of  which 
I  give  only  a  few  specimens: 

iavu 

tai 

taco 

xa,  astu,  xaco 

pima 

oiti 

bumatu,  buma 

amidurhu 

CONJUNCTIONS. 

And  upu,  cosi  Or  aspumusi,  aspi 

But  posa  Then  bunoga 

Because  coiva  Although  apcada 

Substantives  are  generally  placed  after  the  adjec- 
tives. To  signify  possession  the  name  of  the  possessor 
is  simply  prefixed — Pedro  onnigga,  wife  of  Pedro. 
Prepositions  are  affixed.4  Of  the  different  dialects 
there  are  four  specimens,  of  which  one  differs  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  be  .hardly  recognizable.  Neither  the 
names  of  these  dialects  nor  the  places  where  they  were 
spoken  are  given  with  any  of  them  by  the  authorities. 

*Arte  dela  Lengua  N&vome,  que  se  dice  Pima;  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii., 
.  9&-1 
og.   S 

L.,   pp. 

357-69;  Mofras,  Explor.,"tom.  ii.,  p.'iOl. 


Where 
Here 
Here  (moving) 
Near 
Nearer 

ua,  ubai 
ia 
ay 
mia 
miacu 

Near  here 
High 
Yesterday 
How,  as 
No 

PREPOSITIONS. 

Before 
For 
Upon 
In 

vaita                         Since 
iquiti,  vusio             With 
damana                    Of 
aba 

698  PIMA  LANGUAGES. 

The  first  which  I  give  is  by  the  missionary  Father 
Pfefferkorn,  and  differs  most  from  any  of  the  others. 

Diosch  ini  main,  ami  si  schoic  tat,  wus  in'  ipudakit. 

God        my     dear,         I    very     sorry      am  towards  my        heart  of 

Ant'      apotuta      si      sia    pitana,    apt'    um       soreto 

I  have  done      very     much        ugly,  thou        me      punish  wilt 

taikisa     pia     humac     tasch     pia     etonni     tat. 

fire  in  no  single  time  not         burning          is. 

The  next,  a  Lord's  Prayer,  is  from  a  Doctrina  Chris- 
tiana: 

T'oga  ti  dama  ca  turn'  ami  da  cama  s'cuga  m'aguna 
mu  tuguiga,  tubui  divianna  simu  tuodidaga.  Cosasi 
m'huga  cugai  kiti  ti  dama  catum'  ami  gusuda  huco 
bupo  gusudana  ia  duburh'  aba.  Siari  vugadi  ti  coadaga 
vutu  ica  tas'  aba  cati  maca.  Vpu  gat'  oanida  pima 
s'cugati  tuidiga  cos'  as'  ati  pima  tuguitoa  t'obaga  to 
buy  pima  s'cuga  tuidiga.  Pima  t'  huhuguida  tudana 
vpu  pima  s'cuga  tuidiga,  co'  pi  ti  duguvonidani  pima 
scuga  ami  durhu.  Doda  hapu  muduna  Jhs. 

The  next  is  a  Lord's  Prayer  from  Hervd,s: 
T'oca  titauacatum  ami  dacama;  scuc  amu  aca  mu 
tukica;  ta  hui  dibiana  ma  tuotidaca;  cosassi  mu  cus- 
suma  amocacugai  titamacatum  apa  hapa  cussudana  ina- 
tuburch  apa  mui  siarim  t'hukiacugai  buto  ca  tu  maca. 
Pirn'  upu  ca  tukitoa  pima  scuca  ta  tuica  cosas  ati  pima 
tukitoa  t'oopa  amidurch  pima  scuca  tuitic ;  pirn'  upu  ca 
ta  dakitoa  co  diablo  ta  hiatokidara ;  cupto  ta  itucuubun- 
dana  pirn  scuc  amidurch. 

The  fourth,  also  a  Lord's  Prayer,  is  from  the  collec- 
tion of  the  Mexican  Geographical  Society: 

Ch6ga  ddma  cdta  diacamd  izquiama  na  meitilla  tabus 
matiiyaga  cosamacai  yi,  dama  cata  gussada  imidirraba 
Sulit  ecuadaga  butis  maca  vupuc  chuan  yiga  cosisma- 
tito  chavaga  tiapisnisquantillos  pinitiandand  copetullani 
imisquiandura  dodd  madund,  cetus. 

From  the  same  source  I  also  take  a  Pd-pago  Lord's 
Prayer : 

Pan  toe  momo  tamcaschina  apeta  michucuyca  Santo : 


THE  DIALECTS  OF  THE  OPATA  LANGUAGE.  699 

anchut  botonia  ati  chuyca :  entupo  hoyehui  maetachui 
apomasimamotepacachitmo,mapotomal  pami  buemasi- 
taapa,  jummo  tomae,boetoicusipua  chuyechica,  apomasi 
maza  china  sugocuita  juann  motupay  assimi  qui,  jubo 
gibu  matama  cazi  pachuichica,  panchit  borrapi.  Amen.5 
Wedged  in  between  the  Pima  alto  and  the  Pima 
bajo,  is  the  Opata,  or  Teguima,  with  its  principal  dia- 
lect, the  Eudeve.  Although  the  Opata  and  Eudeve 
have  generally  been  enumerated  as  distinct  languages, 
after  careful  comparison  I  think  with  the  missionaries 
who  were  conversant  with  both,  that  it  will  be  safe  to 
call  the  one  a  dialect  of  the  other.  An  anonymous 
author  even  says  that  the  difference  between  them  is 
not  greater  than  between  the  Portuguese  and  Castilian, 
or  between  the  French  and  the  Proven£al.6  Like  the 
Pima,  it  is  a  branch  of  the  Aztec-Sonora  languages. 
As  is  most  frequent  on  the  Pacific  coast,  classification 
differs  greatly  according  to  fancy;  thus  it  is  with  the 
Opata;  its  classifications  have  been  many,  and  among 
others  it  has  been  placed  with  the  Pima  family. 
Many  dialects  are  mentioned,  but  little  is  said  of 
them.  Of  these  there  are  the  Teguis,  Teguima,  Co- 

fuinachi,  Batuca,   Sahuaripa,   Himeri,   Guazaba,  and 
ova,7     The  Opata  is  represented  as  finished,  easy  to 

b  Pfefferkorn,  in  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  pp.  164-5;  Pimentel, 
Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  113-15;  Doctrina  Christiana,  in  Arte  de  la  Lengua  Ne- 
vome,  p.  3;  Biischmann,  Pima-Sprache,  p.  353;  Col.  Pohdidmica  Mex.,  Oration 
Domimcal,  pp.  34-5. 

6  '  A  la  Opata  se  pueden  reducir  los  Edues  y  Jovas,  aquellos,  por  diferen- 
ciar  tan  poco  su  lengua  de  la  dpata,  como  la  portuguesa  de  la  castellana,  6 
laprovenzal  de  la  francesa."    'La  nacion  Opata  y  Eudeve,  que  con  muy  poco 
cliferencian  en  su  idioma.'  Sonora,  Descrip.  Geog.,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serieiii., 
tonic  iv.,  pp.  534,  494.     'A  las  opatas  se  reduceii  los  tovas  y  eudeves,  poco 
diferentes  en  el  idioma.    Aleyre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  ii.,  p.  216. 

7  '  EVero,  che  fra  alcune  di  queste  lingue  si  scorge  una  tale  affinita,  che 
da  tosto  a  divedere,  che  esse  son  nate  da  una  medesima  madre,  sicome  V Eu- 
deve, t  Opata,  e  la  Tarahumara  neirAmerica  settentrionale. '  Claviyero,  Stona 
Ant.  del  Messico,  tcm.  iv,,  p.  21;  Hervds,  Catdlogp,  torn,  i.,  p.  333;  Salmeron, 
Reladones,  in  Doc.   Hist,  Mex.,  serie  iii.,  torn    iv.,  p.  68.      'Auch  von  den, 
iiachher  anzufiihrenden  Opata  und  Eudeve  sieht  man  aus  Pfefferkorn,  dass 
sie  von  eben  denselben  Missionaren  bedient  wurden,  wie  die  Pima:  gleichwohl 
sind  die  Sprachen  derselben,  so  weit  sich  aus  den  V.  U.  schliessen  lasst,  sehr 
verschieden, '  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.'iii.,  p.  161.    Eudeve  'Ihre  Ver- 
wandtschaft  mit  dem  sonorischen  Sprachstamme,  als  eines  achten  Gliedes, 
mit  erfreulicher  Bestimmtheit  beweisen/     'Man  kan  sie  (Opata)  mit  Ruhe 
und  ohne  viele  Einschrankung  als  ein  Glied  in  den  sonorischen  Sprachstamm 
einreihen.'  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  AzleL  Spr.,  pp.  227,  235;  Orozco  y  Berra, 
Geoyrafia,  pp.  343-5. 


700  6PATA  LANGUAGES, 

acquire,  and  abounding  in  eloquent  expressions.8  Of 
the  Eudeve  dialect  I  insert  a  few  grammatical  re- 
marks. In  the  alphabet  are  wanting  the  letters  /,  j, 
Jc,  w,  x,  y,  and  I;  vowels  are  pronounced  as  in  the  Span- 
ish; nouns  are  declined  without  the  aid  of  articles. 
"Verbal  nouns  are  frequently  used :  hiosguadauh,  paint- 
ing or  writing,  from  hiosguan,  I  write.  Nouns  as 
names  of  instruments  are  formed  from  the  future  active 
of  verbs,  designating  the  action  performed  by  the  said 
instrument :  metecan,  I  chop ;  future,  meietze,  by  chang- 
ing its  last  syllable  into  siven,  forms  metesiven,  as  a 
noun,  meaning  axe  or  chopper.  In  some  cases  the  end- 
ing rina  is  used  instead  of  siven;  bicusirina,  flute,  from 
bicudan,  I  whistle,  and  bihirina,  shovel,  from  bihan,  I 
scrape.  Abstract  nouns  are  formed  with  the  particles 
ragua  or  sura:  vade,  joyously,  vaderagua,  joy;  deni, 
good,  deniragua,  goodness ;  dohme,  man  or  people ;  doh- 
meragua,  humanity.  All  verbs  are  used  as  nouns,  and 
as  such  are  declined  as  well  as  conjugated:  hiosguan, 
I  write,  also  means  writer;  nemtitzau,  I  bewitch,  is 
also  wizard.  Adjective  nouns  ending  with  teri  and  ei 
signify  quality :  baviteri,  elegant;  aresumeteri,  different 
or  distinct ;  tasuquei,  narrow.  The  ending  rave  denotes 
plenitude:  sitorave,  full  of  honey;  sitori,  honey;  and 
rave,  full.  Endings  in  e,  o,  u,  signify  possession :  ese,  she 
that  has  petticoats;  nono>  he  that  has  a  father,  from 
nonogua,  father;  suttiu,  he  that  has  finger-nails,  from 
sutu.  Ca  prefixed  to  a  word  reverses  its  meaning: 
cune,  married;  cacune,  not  married.  Sgitari,  affixed, 
denotes  an  augmentative :  dotzi,  old  man ;  dotzisguari, 
very  old  man. 

DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  SIIBI    HAWK. 

Norn.  siibi  ,Acc.  siibic 

Gen.  siiibique  'Voc.  siibi 

Dat.  siibt  Abl.  sibitze 

The  plural  of  nouns  is  usually  formed  by  duplica- 
tion: dor,  man  or  male,  plural  dodor;  hoit,  woman, 

8  '  El  idioma  de  los  dpataa  es  muy  arrogante  6  elocuente  en  su  espresion, 
f  acil  de  aprender,  y  tiene  muchas  voces  del  castellano. '  Velasco,  Notidas  de 
Sonoi'a,  p.  154. 


EUDEVE  GRAMMAR.  701 

hohoit,  women.  Some  exceptions  to  this  rule  occur, 
as  doritzi,  boy,  plural,  vus,  applied  to  both  sexes,  but 
when  intended  only  for  males,  it  is  dodorus.  In  some 
cases  females  employ  different  words  from  those  used 
by  the  male  sex;  for  example,  the  father  says  to  his 
son,  nogudt;  to  his  daughter,  morqua;  the  mother  says 
to  either,  notzgua;  the  son  says  to  the  father,  nonogua; 
and  the  daughter,  mosgua. 

Personal  pronouns  are:  nee,  I;  nap,  thou;  id,  at,  or 
ar,  he  or  she ;  tamide,  we ;  emet,  or  emide,  you  •  amet, 
or  met,  these  or  they.  In  joining  pronouns  with  other 
words,  elision  takes  place,  the  last  letter  or  syllable  of 
the  pronouns  being  dropped. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  HIOSGUAN,  I  PAINT 


PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 
ACTIVE.  PASSIVE. 

I  am  painted,          nee  hidsguadauh 
Thou  art  painted,  nap  hidsguadauh 
He  is  painted,         id,  or  at  hidsguadauh 
We  are  painted,     tamide  hidsguadagua 
You  are  painted,    emet  hidsguadagua 
They  are  painted,  amet  hidsguadagua 

IMPERFECT. 

I  painted,          nee  hidsguamru  |    I  was  painted,  nee  hidsguadauhru 

PERFECT. 

I  have  painted,         nee  hidsguari 


ACTIVE. 

I  paint,  nee  hidsguan 

Thou  paintest,  nap  hidsguan 
He  paints,          id,  or  at  hidsguan 
We  paint,  tamide  hidsguame 

You  paint,          emet  hidsguame 
They  paint,        amet  hidsguame 


I  have  been  painted,     nee  hidsguacauh 
or  nee  hidsguarit 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  painted,       nee  hidsguariru      |  I  had  been  painted,  nee  hidsguacauhrutu 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

I  shall  paint,       nee  hidsguatze  [    I  shall  be»painted,     nee  hidsguatzidauh 

Paint  thou,  hidsgua 

Paint  ye,  hidsguavu 

I  will  see  that  I  paint,  asmane  hidsguatze 

I  shall  see  that  I  be  painted,  asmane  hidsguatzidauh 

Even  though  you  paint,  vene"smana  hidsguam 

I  will  that  you  paint,  nee  erne  hidsguaco  naquem 

I  will  that  thou  be  painted,  nee  erne  hidsquarico  naquem 

Even  though  I  may  paint,  vene"smane  hiosguam 

Even  though  I  may  be  pain  ted,  venesmane  hidsguadauh 

If  I  should  paint,  nee  hidsguatzeru 

I  should  be  painted,  nee  hidsquatziudauhru 

There  are  seven  other  kinds  of  verbs  mentioned, 
such  as  frequentative,  compulsive,  applicative  verbs, 
etc. 

The    numerals    show   more    particularly   a    strong 


702  6PATA  LANGUAGES. 

affinity  to  those  of  the  Aztec  language:  1.  sei;  2.  go- 
dum;  3.  veidum;  4.  nauoi;  5.  marqui;  6.  vusani; 
7.  seniovusdni;  8.  gos  ndvoi;  9.  vesmdcoi;  10.  macoi. 

THE    LORD'S    PRAYER. 

Tamo  Nono,  tevictze  catzi,  canne  tegua  uehoa  vitzua 
terddauh.  Tomo  canne  vene  hasem  amo  queidagua. 
Amo  canne  hina'docauh  iuhtepatz  endaugh,  tenictze 
endahteven.  Quecovi  tamo  bddagua  oqui  tame  rnic. 
Tame  nd-ventziuh  tame  pinuidedo  tamo  canade  emca; 
ein  tamide  tamo.  Ovi  tamo  ridven  tziuhdahteven, 
Cana  t6tzi  Diablo  tatacoritze  tame  huetudenta;  nassa 
tame  hipur  cadenitzeuai.9 

Of  the  Opata,  there  exists  a  grammar  written  by 
Natal  Lombardo,  from  which  a  few  remarks  are  here 
given.  The  alphabet:  a,  6,  c/i,  d,  e,  g,  k,  i,  k,  m,  n, 
o,  p,  r,  rh,  Sj  t,  w,  tz,  u,  v,  x,  z.  Most  words  end  with  a 
vowel.  Long  words  are  not  rare,  as  chumikanahui- 
naguat,  name  of  a  plant;  kuguesaguatagaikide,  spring, 
(season );  makoisenignabussanibegua,  seventeen.  Gen- 
der is  expressed  either  by  the  addition  of  the  word, 
male  or  female,  or  by  distinct  words.  The  plural  is 
formed  by  duplication;  the  manner  of  duplicating 
varies;  sometimes  the  first,  and  at  others  the  last 
syllable  being  repeated,  and  very  frequently  letters 
changed :  Temachi,  lad ;  plural,  tetemachi;  hore,  squirrel ; 
plural,  hohore;  uri,  male;  plural,  urini;  vatziguat, 
brother;  plural,  vapatziguat;  maraguat,  daughter; 
plural,  mamaraguat,  daughters.  Ten  declensions  are 
described;  they  may  be  recognized  by  different  endings 
of  the  genitive,  which  are :  te,  ri,  si,  gui,  ni,  tzi,  ki,  ku, 
ku,  pi.  The  greater  of  number  words  belong  to  the 
first  declension.  In  the  2d,  3d,  4th,  5th,  6th,  7th,  and 
10th,  the  accusative  and  dative  are  the  same  as  the 
genitive;  in  the  8th,  the  genitive,  which  ends  in  leu, 
is  formed  from  the  accusative,  while  in  the  9th,  in 
which  the  genitive  also  ends  in  leu,  the  accusative  and 
dative  are  like  the  nominative. 

*  Smith's  Gram.  Heve  Lang.;  Hervds,  in  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt. 
iii.,  pp.  165-6;  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  154-67;  Buschmann,  Spurender 
Aztek.  Spr.,  pp.  222-9. 


6PATA  GRAMMAR.  703 

IST  DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  TAT,  THE  SUN. 
Norn.  tat  |          Gen.  tatte          |          Dat.  or  Ace.         tatta 

2o  DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  KUKU,  THE  QUAIL. 
Nom.  kuku          |          Gen.  kukuri       |          Dat.  or  Ace.         kukuri 

STH  DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  CHI,  THE  BIRD. 
Nom.  chi  |          Gen.  chimiku     |          Dat.  or  Ace.         chimi 

9TH  DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  TUTZI,  THE  TIGER. 
Nom.  tutzi          |  Gen  tutziku      |          Dat.  or  Ace.         tutzi 

Abstract  terms  are  formed  by  the  affix  ragua: 
massi,  father;  massiragua,  paternity;  naideni,  good; 
naideniragua,  goodness.  The  word  alika  is  used  for  a 
like  purpose;  uri,  man;  urialika,  humanity;  tossai, 
white,  tossaiahJca,  whiteness.  To  express  a  local  noun, 
the  syllable  de  is  added:  denide,  place  of  light;  ueoma- 
chide,  difficult  place.  Suraua,  gueua,  ena,  en,  essa,  and 
otze,  signify  much,  and  are  used  to  form  superlatives. 
Personal  pronouns  are :  ne,  I ;  ta,  we ;  ma,  thou ;  emido, 
you;  i  or  it,  he  or  she;  me,  they.  Possessive  pronouns 
are:  no,  mine;  tamo,  ours;  amo,  thine;  emo,  yours; 
are,  araku,  his ;  mereki,  theirs, 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  NE  HIO,  I  PAINT. 

PRESENT    INDICATIVE. 


I  paint,  ne  hio 

Thou  paintest,       ma  hio 
He  paints.  i  hio 


We  paint,  ta,  or  tamido  hio 

You  paint,  emido  hio 

They  paint,  me  hio 


IMPERFECT.  PERFECT. 

I  painted,  ne  hiokaru  |  I  have  painted,  ne  hiosia,  or  ne  hiove 

PLUPERFECT.  FIRST  FUTURE. 

I  had  painted,  ne  hiosiruta       |  I  shall  paint,  ne  hiosea 

SECOND  FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  painted,  ne  hioseave 

IMPERATIVE. 

Paint  thou,  hiotte  I  Paint  you,  hiovu 

Let  him  paint,          hioseai  |  Let  them  paint,  hioseame 

Painting,  hiopa,  or  hioko 

Having  painted,  hiosaru,  or  hiositzi 

Having  to  paint,  hioseakoko,  or  hioseakiko 

He  who  shall  paint,  hioseakame 

He  who  paints,  kiokame 

He  who  painted,  hiosi 

As  in  the  Eudeve,  there  are  in  this  language  many 
classes  of  verbs,  differing  mostly  in  endings  of  certain 
persons.  Prepositions  and  adverbs  exist  in  great  num- 
ber. Finally  I  give  a  few  of  the  conjunctions :  guetza, 
although ;  vese,  and;  nemake,  also;  naneguari,  why,  etc. 


704  6PATA  LANGUAGES. 


THE  LORDS  PRAYER. 

Tamomas  teguikaktzigua  kakame  amo  tegua  santo 

Of  our  father  heaven  in  he  who  is     of  thee     name         holy 

ah,  amo   reino  tame  makte,  hinadoka   iguati  tevepa 

is,     of  thee    kingdom    to  us        give,  thy  will  here         earth  on 

ahnia    teguikaktzi  veri.       Chiama   tamo   guaka    veu 

be  done  heaven  in  so.  Of  all  the  days     of  us  food  now 

tame  mak,  tame  neavere  tamo  kainaideni  ata  api  tamido 

to  us       give,      to  us     forgive  of  us  bad  as     also 

neavere  tamo  opagua,  kai  tame  taotidudare ;  kianaideni 

forgive       of  us         enemy,     not      to  us  fall  let;  bad 

chiguadu  apita  kaktzia.10 

of  also        deliver. 

Following  is  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  the  Jova  dialect : 
Dios  Noiksa:  Vantegueca  cachi,  sec  jan  itemijun- 
alequa  itemijunalequa  motequan.  Veda  no  parin, 
embeida  mogitapejepa.  Ennio  ju  giiidade,  nate,  vite 
teva",  nate  vantegueca.  Xecho  cuguirra,  setata  vete 
toomacd  ento  oreira,  en  tobarurra,  como  ite  yte  topa 
oreira  toon  oreira  seej^n.  Caa  ton  surratoga  canecho 
jorra  sacu  nuna  dogue  seejan  iguite  caagueta. 

East  of  the  Opata  and  Pima  bajo,  on  the  shores  of 
the  gulf  of  California,  and  thence  for  some  distance 
inland,  and  also  on  the  island  of  Tiburon,  the  Ceri 
language  with  its  dialects,  the  Guaymi  and  Tepoca,  is 
spoken.  Few  of  the  words  are  known,  and  the  excuse 
given  by  travellers  for  not  taking  vocabularies,  is,  that 
it  was  too  difficult  to  catch  the  sound.  It  is  repre- 
sented as  extremely  harsh  and  guttural  in  its  pronun- 
ciation, and  well  suited  to  the  people  who  speak  it, 
who  are  described  as  wild  and  fierce.11  It  is,  so  far  as 
known,  not  related  to  any  of  the  Mexican  linguistic 

10  Lombardo,  in  Pimentel,  Cttadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  407-445;  Hervds,  in  Vater, 
Mithrulates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  166;  Busclimann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp. 
229-236;  Pimentel,  in  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  Boletin,  torn,  x.,  pp.  288-313;  Col.  Po- 
lididmica,  Mex.,  Oration  Dominical,  p.  11.  . 

11 '  Posee  un  idioma  gutural  muy  dificil  de  aprender.'  Velasco,  Noticias  de 
Sonora,  p.  131.  'Los  guaimas . . . . de  la  misma  lengua.'  Alegre,  Hist.  Comp. 
de  Jesus,  torn,  ii.,  p.  216.  'Poco  es  la  distincion  que  hay  entre  seri  y  upan- 

guaima y  unos  y  otros  casi  hablan  un  mismo  idioma. '  Gallardo,  in  Doc. 

Hist.  Mex  t  serie  iii.,  pp.  889;  Sonora,  Descrip.  Geoy.,  in  Id.,  p.  535. 


SUPPOSED  CERI  AND  WELSH  SIMILARITIES.  705 

families.  As  in  many  other  languages,  some  have 
fancied  they  saw  Welsh  traces  in  it;  one  writer 
thought  he  detected  similarities  to  Arabic,  but  nei- 
ther of  these  speculations  are  worth  anything.  The 
Arabic  relationship  has  been  disproven  by  Senor 
Ramirez,  who  compared  the  two,  and  the  statement 
regarding  the  Welsh  is  given  on  the  hearsay  of  some 
sailors,  who  are  said  to  have  stated  that  they  thought 
they  discovered  some  Welsh  sounds,  when  hearing  the 
Ceris  speak.12  I  give  here  the  only  vocabulary  which 
I  have  been  able  to  find  of  this  language : 

Woman  jidja  Horse  cai 

Population  jiciri  Room  (chamber)  migenman 

Milk  junin  More  amen 

Wine  amat  Less  tungura 

Good  tanjajipe  Little  jinas 

Better  jipe 

12 '  Por  su  idioma . . . .  se  aparta  completamente  de  la  filiacion  de  las  na- 
ciones  que  la  rodean. '  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geogrqfia,  pp.  42,  353-4.  '  Their  lan- 
guage is  guttural,  and  very  different  from  any  other  idiom  in  Sonora.  It  is 
said  that  on  one  occasion,  some  of  these  Indians  passed  by  a  shop  in  Guay- 
mas,  where  some  Welsh  sailors  were  talking,  and  on  hearing  the  Welsh 
language  spoken,  stopped,  listened,  and  appeared  much  interested;  declaring 
that  these  white  men  were  their  brothers,  for  they  had  a  tongue  like  their 
own.'  Stone,  in  Hist.  Mag.,  vol.  y.,  p.  166;  Lavandera,  quoted  by  Ramirez, 
in  Soc.  Mex.  Geoy.,  Boletin,  torn,  ii.,  p.  148;  and  Ramirez,  in  Id.,  p.  149. 
VOL.  III.  45 


CHAPTEK  VIII. 

NORTH  MEXICAN  LANGUAGES. 

THE  CAHITA  AND  ITS  DIALECTS — CAHITA  GRAMMAR — DIALECTIC  DIFFERENCES 
or  THE  MAYO,  YAQUI,  AND  TEHUECO — COMPARATIVE  VOCABULARY — CA- 
HITA LORD'S  PRAYER — THE  TARAHUMARA  AND  ITS  DIALECTS — THE  TARA- 
HUMARA  GRAMMAR — TARAHUMARA  LORD'S  PRAYER  IN  Two  DIALECTS — 
THE  CONCHO,  THE  TOBOSO,  THE  JULIME,  THE  PIRO,  THE  SUMA,  THE 
CHINARRA,  THE  TUBAR,  THE  IRRITILA — TEJANO — TEJANO  GRAMMAR — 
SPECIMEN  or  THE  TEJANO— THE  TEPEHUANA — TEPEHUANA  GRAMMAR 
AND  LORD'S  PRAYER — ACAXEE  AND  ITS  DIALECTS,  THE  TOPIA,  SABAIBO, 
AND  XIXIME — THE  ZACATEC,  CAZCANE,  MAZAPILE,  HUITCOLE,  GUACHI- 

CHILE,    COLOTLAN,  TLAXOMULTEC,  TECUEXE,    AND  TEPECANO — THE  CORA 

AND  ITS  DIALECTS,  THE  MUUTZICAT,  TEACUAEITZICA,  AND  ATEACARI — 
CORA  GRAMMAR. 

WE  now  come  to  the  four  Aztec-Sonora  languages 
before  mentioned,  the  Cora,  the  Cahita,  the  Tepe- 
huana,  and  the  Tarahumara,  and  their  neighbors.  I 
have  already  said  that,  notwithstanding  the  Aztec 
element  contained  in  them,  they  are  in  no  wise  re- 
lated to  each  other. 

In  the  northern  part  of  Sinaloa,  extending  across 
the  boundary  into  Sonora,  the  principal  language  is 
the  Cahita,  spoken  in  many  dialects,  of  most  of  which 
nothing  is  transmitted  to  us.  Numerous  languages, 
which  were  perhaps  only  dialects,  are  named  in  this 
region,  and  by  some  classed  with  the  Cahita,  but  the 
information  regarding  them  is  vague  and  contradictory. 
No  vocabularies  or  other  specimens  of  them  can  be 

(706) 


NUMEROUS  LANGUAGES  IN  SINALOA.  707 

obtained,  nor  can  I  find  anywhere  mention  that  any 
were  ever  written.  Of  these  there  are  the  Zoe,  the 
Guazave,  the  Vacoregue,  the  Batucari,  the  Aibino,  the 
Ocoroni,  which  are  mentioned  as  related,  as  also  the 
Zuaque  and  Tehueco,  and  the  Comoporis  and  Ahome. 
There  are  also  the  Mocorito  and  Petatlan,  both  dis- 
tinct; the  Huite,  the  Ore,  the  Varogio,  the  Tauro,  the 
Macoyahui,  the  Troe,  the  Nio,  the  Cahuimeto,  the 
Tepague,  the  Ohuero,  the  Chicorata,  the  Basopa,  and 
two  distinct  tongues  spoken  at  the  Mission  San  Andres 
de  Conicari,  and  four  at  the  Mission  of  San  Miguel  de 
Mocorito.1  The  only  dialects  of  the  Cahita,  regarding 
which  a  few  notes  exist,  and  which  at  the  same  time 
appear  to  have  been  the  principal  ones,  according  to 
the  best  authorities,  are  the  Mayo,  Yaqui,  and  Te- 
hueco.2 The  Cahita  language  is  copious,  but  will  not 

1  Mocorito,  Petatlan,  and  Ocoroni  are  'gentes  de  varias  lenguas.'  Ribas, 
Hist,  de  los  Trivmplios,  p.  34.  Ahome  are  '  gente  de  diferente  lengua  llaina- 
da  Zoe. '  Zoes  '  son  de  la  misma  lengua  con  los  Gua9aues. '  /(/. ,  p.  1 45. 
'  Comoporis  los  quales  aunque  eran  de  la  misma  lengua  de  los  mansos  Alio- 
mes.'  Id.,  p.  153.  'Huites  de  diferente  leiigua'from  the  Cinaloas.  Id.,  p. 
207.  Zuaques  and  Tehuecos  '  ser  todos  de  una  misma  lengua.'  Batuca  'de 
una  lengua  no  dificil,  y  parecida  mucho-a  lade  Ocoroiri.'  Alegre,  Hist.  Comp. 
de  Jesus,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  10,  186.  'La  lengua  es  ore.'  *  Varogia  y  segun  se  ha 
reconocido  es  lo  mismo  que  la  taura,  aunque  varia  algo  principalmente  en 
la  gramatica.'  'La  lengua  es  particular  macoyahui  con  que  son  tres  las  len- 
guas de  este  partido. '  In  San  Andres  de  Conicari  '  la  lengua  es  particular  y 
distinta  de  la  de  los  demas  pueblos  si  bien  todos  los  demas  de  ellos  entien- 
den  la  lengua  tepave,  y  aun  la  caita  aunque  no  la  hablan.'  'La  lengua  es 
particular  que  Hainan  troes.'  'La  gente  en  su  idioma  es  guazave.  'La 
langua  es  distina  y  particular  que  llaman  nio. '  '  Conversan  entre  si  distintas 
las  lenguas  de  cahuimetos  y  ohueras.'  'Lenguas  que  hablan  entre  si  y 
son  chicurata  y  basopa. '  San  Miguel  de  Mocorito  '  de  cuatro  parcialidades 
y  distintas  lenguas.'  Zapata,  Relation,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iv.,  torn,  iii., 
pp.  363-409.  '  Los  misioneros ....  colocaban  en  las  misiones  de  la  lengua 
cahita  £  los  sinaloas,  hichucios,  zuaques,  biaras,  matapanes  y  tehuecos.' 
'  El  ahome  y  el  comopori  son  dialectos  muy  diversos  6  lenguas  hermanas  del 
guazave.'  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  p.  35;  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt. 
iii.,  pp.  154-7;  Hassel,  Mex.  Guat.,  p.  175. 

2 '  La  nacion  Hiaqui  y  por  consecuencia  la  Mayo  y  del  Fuerte . . .  que 
en  la  sustancia  son  una  misma  y  de  una  propia  lengua.'  Cancio,  in  Doc.  Hist. 
Mex.,  se>ie  iv.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  246.  Mayo  and  Yaqui:  'Su  idioma  por  consig- 
ulente  es  el  mismo,  con  la  dif erencia  de  unas  cuaiitas  voces. '  Velasco,  Noticias 
de  Sonora,  p.  82.  Mayo  '  su  lengua  es  la  misma  que  corre  en  los  rios  de 
Cuaque  y  Hiaqui.'  Yaqui  'que  es  la  mas  general  de  Cinaloa.'  Ribas,  Hist,  de 
los  Trivmphos,  pp.  237,  287;  Laet,  Novus  Orbis,  p.  286.  '  La  lengua  cahita 
es  dividida  en  tres  dialectos  principales,  el  mayo,  yaqui  y  tehueco;  ademas 
hay  otros  secundarios. '  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  p.  485.  'Tres  dialectos 
principales,  el  zuaque,  la  maya  y  el  yaqui.'  Balbi,  in  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografla, 
p.  35;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Esquisses,  p.  31. 


708  NORTH  MEXICAN   LANGUAGES. 

readily  express  polite  sentiments.3  Father  Ribas  says 
that  the  Yaquis  always  speak  very  loudly  and  arro- 
gantly, and  that  when  asked  to  lower  their  voice  they 
answered:  "Dost  thou  not  see  that  I  am  a  Yaqui?" 
which  latter  word  signifies,  'he  who  speaks  loudly.'4 

A  grammar  of  the  Cahita  was  written  in  the  year 
1737,  of  which  I  give  here  an  extract.  The  alphabet 
consists  of  the  following  letters :  a,  b,  ch,  e,  h,  i,  j,  k, 
I,  m,  n,  o,  p,  r,  sf  t,  u,  v,  y,  z,  tz. 

There  are  three  declensions;  two  for  nouns,  and  the 
third  for  adjectives.  To  the  first  belong  those  words 
which  end  in  a  vowel,  and  also  the  participles  ending 
with  me  and  u;  to  the  second,  those  ending  with  a  con- 
sonant. Nouns  ending  with  a  vowel,  and  adjectives, 
form  the  plural  by  appending  an  m  to  the  singular : 
tabu,  rabbit;  tabum,  rabbits.  Those  ending  with  a 
consonant  affix  im,  and  those  ending  with  t  affix  zim : 
paros,  hare;  parosim,  hares;  uikit,  bird;  uikitzim, 
birds.  The  personal  pronouns  are:  inopot  neheriua, 
neheri,  nehe,  ne,  I;  itopo,  iteriua,  itee,  te,  we;  empo, 
eheriua,  eheri,  ehee,  e,  thou;  empom,  emeriua,  emeri, 
emee,  em,  you ;  uahaa,  uahariua,  uahari,  he ;  uameriua, 
uameri,  uamee,  im,  they. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  LOVE. 


PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  love,  ne  eria 

Thou  lovest,  e  eria 

He  loves,  eria 


We  love,  te  eria 

You  love,  em  eria 

They  love,  im  eria 


IMPERFECT.  PERFECT. 

I  loved,  ne  eriai  |    I  have  loved,  ne  eriak 

PLUPERFECT.  FIRST   FUTURE. 

I  had  loved,  ne  eriakai  |    I  shall  love,  ne  erianake 

SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  loved,  ne  eriasunake 

IMPERATIVE. 

Love  thou,  e  eria,  or  e  eriama 

Let  him  love,  eria,  or  eriama 

Love  you,  em  eriabu,  or  em  eriamabu 

Let  them  love,  im  eriabu,  or  im  eriamabu 

3 '  Su  idioma  es  muy  franco,  nada  diflcil  de  aprenderse,  y  susceptible  de 
reducirse  £  las  reglas  gramaticales  de  cualquiera' nacion  civilizada.'  Velasco, 
Noticias  de  Sonora,  p.  75. 

4  '  En  hablar  alto,  y  con  brio  singulares,  y  grandemente  arrogantes. '  '  No 
ves  que  soy  Hiaqui:  y  dezianlo,  porque  essa  palabra,  y  nombre,  significa,  el 
que  habla  a  gritos. '  llibas,  Hist,  de  los  Trivmpkos,  p.  285. 


GRAMMAR  OF  THE  CAHITA.  709 

PRESENT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 

If  I  love,  ne  eriauaua,  or  eriana 

OPTATIVE. 
O  that  I  may  love,  netziyo  eriayo 

PRESENT  PARTICIPLE. 

Loving,  eriakari,  eriayo,  eriako,  or  eriakako 

INFINITIVE   PASSIVE. 

To  be  loved,  erianaketeka,  or  erianakekari 


He  who  was  loved,         eriau 
He  who  had  loved,        eriakau 


He  who  loves,  eriame 

He  who  has  loved,         eriakame 
He  who  will  love,          erianakeme 

Of  the  many  prepositions  I  only  insert  the  following : 

To  ui  Below  vetukuni,  tukuni 

In  tzi  Toward  venukutzi,  patiua 

With  ye  For  vetziu 

Before  uepatzi,  patzi  Within  uahiua 

Above  vepa  Whence  kuni,  uni 

CONJUNCTIONS. 

Also  vetzi,  suri,  hnneri,  soko  As  if  siua 

Although  mautzi  Thus  huleni 

But  vitzi,  tepa  Besides  ioentoksoko,  ientoik 

Not  even  tepesaii  If  sok 

The  dialectic  differences  between  the  Mayo,  Yaqui, 
and  Tehueco  are  as  follows:  the  Yaquis  and  Mayos 
use  the  letter  h,  where  the  Tehuecos  use  s  when  it 
occurs  in  the  middle  of  a  word,  and  is  followed  by 
a  consonant;  tuhta,  by  the  Tehuecos  is  pronounced 
tusta.  Other  words,  also,  by  some  are  pronounced  short, 
while  others  pronounce  them  long.  The  interjection 
of  the  vocative  is  with  some  hiua,  and  with  others  me: 
The  pronoun  nepo,  the  Yaquis  used  instead  of  inopo. 
The  Mayos  use  the  imperfect  as  before  given;  the 
Tehuecos  end  it  with  t,  and  the  Yaquis  with  n.  The 
pluperfect  of  the  Tehuecos  ends  with  k;  that  of 
the  Yaquis  with  kam;  that  of  the  Maya  with  kai. 

To  illustrate  dialectic  differences,  I  insert  a  short 
comparative  vocabulary,  made  up  from  a  dictionary,  a 
doctrina,  and  from  words  of  the  Mayo  and  two  Yaqui 
dialects : 

DICTIONARY.     DOOTRINA.  MAYO.  YAQUI.  YAQUI. 

Father  achai  atzai  hechai  achay  achai 

Our  itom  itom  itom  itom  itom 

Be  katek  katek  katek  katek  katek 

Respected  aioiore  ioiori  llori  llori  iori 

Thine  em  em  em  em  em 


710 


NORTH  MEXICAN  LANGUAGES. 


DICTIONARY.     DOCTRINA.          MAYO. 


YAQUI. 

teguam 


Name  tehua  tehuam  tegam 

Bread  buahuame  buaieu  buanakem  buallem 

Daily  matzukve  makhukve  makehut  matehui 

Give  amaka  amika  amika  amika 

To-day  ieni  ieni  hene  ian 

Of  vetana  betana  betana  betana 


YAQrr. 
teguam 
buaye 
machuk 
mika 
hien 
betana 


The  Lord's  Prayer  in  the  Cahita : 

Itom  atzai  teuekapo  katekame  emtehuam  cheche- 

Our         father         heaven  in       he  who  is  thy  name         very  much 

uasu  ioioriua,  itom  ipeisana  emiauraua  emuarepo  im- 

be  respected,  to  us  that  he  may  come  thy  kingdom      thy  will 

buiapo     anua     aman  teuekapo  anua  eueni.     Makhu- 

earth  in     let  it  be  done     also        heaven  in       is  done         as.  Each  day 

kve    itom  buaieu  ieni  itom  amika,  itome  sok  alulu- 

our         bread       to-day     to  us        give,  to  us         also      forgive 

tiria  itom  kaalanekau  itome  sok  alulutiria  eueni  itom 


we  forgive         as 


beherim  kate  sok 

enemies  not       and 


in: 


itom    butia   huena  kutekom  uoti: 

to  us         lead  fall         temptation 

emposi  aman  itom  ioretua    katuri     betana. 

i,ve          no  good  (bad) 


thou 


also 


of 


The  Lord's  Prayer  in  the  Yaqui  dialect: 

Ytoma  chay  teque  canca  tecame  emteguam  chehe- 
guasullorima  yem  iton  llejosama.  Emllauragua  em- 
balepo  ynim  buiajo  angua.  Aman  teguecapo  anguaben 
matehui  itom  buallem  yan  sitoina  mica.  Sor  y  torna 
a  hitaria  cala  ytom  a"  hitaria  y  topo  a  litariarne  ytom 
begerim  catuise  ytom  bulilae  contegotiama,  ca  juena 
cuchi  emposu  juchi  aman  ytom  lloretuane  caturim  be- 
tana. Amen  Jesus.5 

East  of  the  Cahita,  in  the  states  of  Chihuahua, 
Sonora,  and  Durango,  an  uncivilized  and  barbarous 
people  inhabit  the  Sierra  Madre,  who  speak  the  Tara- 
humara  tongue,  which  contains  the  same  Aztec  ele- 
ment as  the  Cahita,  but  is  otherwise,  as  previously 
stated,  a  distinct  language.  The  principal  dialects 

6  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  456-91;  ffervds,  in  Voter,  Mithridates,  torn, 
lii.,  pt.  iii.,  pp.  157-8;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp.  211-18;  Ter- 
naux-Compans,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1841,  torn,  xcii.,  pp.  260-87; 
Col.  Poliditimica,  Mex.  Oration  Dominical,  p.  49. 


GRAMMAR  OF  THE  TARAHUMARA  LANGUAGE.          711 

are  the  Yarogio,  Guazapare,  and  Pachera.6  The  Tara- 
humara  is  a  rather  difficult  language  to  acquire,  mainly 
owing  to  its  pronunciation.  The  final  syllables  of  words 
are  frequently  omitted  or  swallowed,  and  sometimes 
even  the  first  syllables  or  letters.  The  accentuation 
also  differs  much,  nouns  generally  being  accentuated 
on  the  penultimate,  and  verbs  on  the  ultimate.  The 
alphabet  consists  of  the  following  letters :  a,  &,  ch,  e,  g, 
i,  j,  k,  I,  m,  n,  o,  p,  r,  s,  t,  uy  v,  y.  These  letters,  and 
also  the  following  grammatical  remarks,  refer  specially 
to  the  language  as  spoken  in  Chinipas.  Other  dia- 
lects have  the  letter  h  in  place  of  j  or  r,  and  z  for  s. 
The  plural  of  nouns  is  formed  by  duplicating  a  sylla- 
ble: muki,  woman;  mumukl,  women;  or,  in  some 
cases  an  adverb,  indicating  the  plural,  is  appended. 
Patronymics  form  the  plural  by  duplicating  the  last 
syllable.  The  particle  gua  also  indicates  the  plural. 
The  possessive  case  is  formed  by  annexing  the  syllable 
ra  to  the  thing  possessed :  Pedro  buMra,  house  of  Pe- 
dro. Comparatives  are  expressed  by  adding  the  ter- 
minal be :  gara,  good ;  garaoe,  better ;  and  superlatives 
by  simply  putting  a  heavier  accent  on  the  comparative 
terminal : '  rere,  low ;  rerebe,  lower ;  rerebee,  lowest. 
Personal  pronouns  are:  neje,  I;  muje,  thou;  send,  he; 
tamuje  or  ramuje,  we;  emeje  or  erne,  you;  giiepuna, 
they. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  COUNT. 


PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  count,  neje  tara 

Thou  countest,          muje  tara 
He  counts,  senii  tara 


We  count,  ramuje  tara 

You  count,  emeje"  tara 

They  count,  guepuna  tara 


PERFECT.  PLUPERFECT* 

I  have  counted,         neje  taraca  |     I  had  counted,  neje  tarayeque 

FIRST   FUTURE.  SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  count,      •       neje  tarara  |    I  shall  have  counted,  neje  taragdpera 

IMPERATIVE. 


Count  thou,  tara 

Count  you,  tarasi 

Let  us  count,  tarayequi 


Let  them  count,  tarara 

Do  not  count,  cate  tarasi 


6  '  Varogia  y  segun  se  ha  reconocido  es  lo  mismo  que  la  taura  aunque  varia 
algo  principalmente  en  la  gramatica. '  Guazapare  '  la  lengua  es  la  misma 
aunque  ya  mas  parecida  a  la  de  los  taraumares.'  Zapata,  JRelacton,  in  Doc. 
Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iv.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  388,  390,  334  et  seq.;  Steffel,  in  Murr, 


712  NORTH  MEXICAN  LANGUAGES. 


PRESENT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 


If  I  count,  soneca  tarara 

If  thou  count,       somuca  tarara 


If  we  count,  sotamenecd  tarara 

If  they  count,  sopuca  tarara 


If  he  count,  sosenuca  tarara 

IMPERFECT.7 

If  I  did  count,         soneca  tarareyeque 


He  who  counts,     tarayameque 
Counting,  taroyd 


They  who  have  to  count,      tarameri 
He  who  has  to  count,  tarab6ri 


Having  counted,  tarasago 

Of  the  different  dialects  there  are  five  specimens,  all 
Lord's  Prayers,  a  comparison  of  which  will  show  their 
variations.  The  first  is  from  Father  StefFel : 

Tami  Nono,  mami  regui  guami  gatiki,  tami  noine- 
ruje  mu  regud  selimea  rekijena,  tami  negudruje  tmi 
jelaliki  hennd  guetschiki,  mapii  hatschibe  reguega 
quami.  Tami  nututuje  hipela,  tami  guecduje  tami 
guikeliki,  matame  hatschibe  reguega  tami  guecduje 
putse  tami  guikejdmeke,  ke  td  tami  sdtuje,  telegati- 
gameke  mechcd  huld.  Amen. 

The  second  is  from  Tellechea,  who  lived  in  Chinipas 
and  at  Zapopan: 

Tamu  nono  repd  regiiegdchi  atigameque  muteguil- 
rari  santo  nireboa,  mu  semdrari  regiiegdchi  atigd,  tamu 
jurd  muyerari  jenagiiichiqui  mapii  regiiega  eguarigua 
repil  regiiegdchi.  Sesemi  ragiie  tamii  nitugara,  jipe 
ragiie  tami  nejd,,  tami  cheligiie  tamucheina  yori  yoma 
matameregiiegid,  cheligue  tamii  ayorigudmeque  uche 
mapu  requi  chati  ju  meed  mu  jura,  mapu  tami  tayor- 
abua  queco. 

The  third  is  in  the  dialect  spoken  in  the  district  of 
Mina : 

Taminono  tehuastiqui  tehuara  santi  riboa  razihuachi 
tamuperd  arimihuymira  nahuichi  chumiricd  tehuane- 
huario  teamonetella  sinerahue  hiperahui  tamenejd. 
Seoriqui  cahuille  chumaricd  cahuille  quiamoque  ta- 
rube  chimerd  chiniariqui  rnasti  nahuchimoba.  Amen 
Jesus. 

Nachrichten,   pp.   296-300;  Ribas,  Hist,   de  los  Trivmphos,  p.   592;   Pimentel, 
Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  p.  363;  Orozco  y  Berra  Geografia,  p.  34. 

7  Tellechea,  Compendia  Gram,  del  Idioma  Tarahumar,  pp.  2-3. 


TARAHUMARA  LORD'S  PRAYERS.   *  713 

For  the  next  two  no  localities  are  given : 
Tarai  nono  guami  repd  reguegachi  atiame:  td  chei- 
quichi  ju,  mapu  mtireg  uega  repd  asagd  mu  atiqui: 
Jend  ibi,  guichimbba  quima  neogarae  mu  nagudra ;  mu 
Held  litae  guichimbba  mil  lloldra  guali  mil  cii  mollenara, 
mi,  repd  reguegachi.  Amen  Jesus. 

Hono  tami  niguega  matu  ati  crepa:  guebrucd  nil- 
rera  que  mubregud.  Tami  nagtiibra  que  munetebrichi, 
nilrelra  que  mu  el  rabrichi  gend  guichimoba:  mapu 
breguegal  repa.  Brami  gogudme  epilri  bragtie  brame 
jipeyd,  brami  gtiecagtie.  Mata  igui  gtiicd  mapu  bre- 
gtiega  bramege.  Gruecagiie  mapu  brami  gtiique  ta 
nobri  brami  guichavari  que  chitichi  natabrichi.  Habri 
brami  guaini  mane  brisiga  equime.  Amen  Isuis.8 

Although  in  possession  of  Tellechea's  grammar, 
Gallatin  denies  the  connection  between  the  Tarahu- 
mara  and  the  Aztec.9  I  give  here  some  of  their 
grammatical  resemblances.  These  are,  the  incorpo- 
ration of  the  noun  with  the  verb  in  some  cases;  the 
combination  of  two  verbs,  the  dropping  of  the  original 
end-syllables  when  joining  or  incorporating  several 
words  together,  the  formation  of  the  plural  by  dupli- 
cation, and  the  traces  of  a  reverential  end-syllable. 
All  these  are  important  points,  and  combined  with  the 
similarity — in  some  cases  even  identity — of  a  great 
number  of  words,  they  make  the  relationship  or  traces 
of  the  Aztec  language  in  the  Tarahumara  incontest- 
able.10 

Passing  to  the  north-eastern  part  of  Mexico,  I  enter 
a  totally  unknown  region,  of  whose  languages  mention 

8  Tellechea,  Compendia  Gram,  del  Idioma  Tarahumar;  also  in  Soc.  Hex. 
Geog.,  Boletin,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  145-68,  and  in  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  366- 
400;  Ste/el,  Tarahumarisckes  Worterbuch,  in  Murr,  Nachrickten,  pp.  296-374; 
Ternaux-Compans,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1841,  torn,  xcii.,  pp.  260- 
287;  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  pp.  144-54;  Col  Poliditimica,  Mex., 
OracMn  Dominical,  pp.  40-3. 

9 '  Have  no  resemblance  with  the  Mexican.'  Gallatin,  in  Amer.  Ethno. 
Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  p.  4.  'This  (the  Tarahumara)  has  not  in  its  words 
any  affinity  with  the  Mexican;  and  the  people  who  speak  it  have  a  decimal 
arithmetic.'  Id.,  p.  203.  'Hire  Aehnlichkeit  mit  dem  Mexikanischen . . .  .ist 
doch  gross  genug.'  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  143;  Wilhelm  von 
Humboldt,  in  Bmchmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp.  46-50. 

18  WiUwlm  von  Hnmboldt,  in  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  50. 


714  •   NORTH  MEXICAN  LANGUAGES. 

is  made,  but  nothing  more.  Neither  vocabularies,  nor 
grammars,  nor  any  other  other  specimens  of  them 
exist,  and  in  most  cases  it  is  even  difficult  to  fix  the 
exact  geographical  location  of  the  people  who  are  re- 
ported to  have  spoken  them.  Of  these  I  name  first 
the  Concho,  which  language  is  reported  to  have  been 
a  dialect  of  the  Aztec,  but  this  is  denied  by  Hervjis, 
who  had  his  information  from  the  missionary  Palacios, 
although  the  latter  admits  that  the  people  spoke  the 
Aztec.  Their  location  is  stated  to  have  been  near  the 
Rio  Concho.11  In  the  Bolson  de  Mapimi,  the  Toboso 
language  is  named.  This  people  are  reported  to  have 
understood  the  language  of  the  Zacatecs  and  the 
Aztecs;  and  furthermore,  to  have  had  their  own  dis- 
tinct tongue.12  Other  idioms  mentioned  near  the  same 
region,  are  the  Hualahuise,  Julime,  Piro,  Suma,  and 
Chinarra.13  Of  the  Piro  I  find  the  following  Lord's 
Prayer : 

Quitatac  nasaul  e  yapolhua  tol  huy  quiamgiana  mi 
quiamnarinu.  Jaquie  mugilley  nasamagui  hikiey 
quiamsamae,  mukiataxa'm,  hikiey,  hiquiquiamo  quia 
inae,  huskilley  nafoleguey,  gimorey,  y  apol  y  ahuley, 
quialiey,  nasan  e  porno  llekey,  quiale  mahimnague  yo 
se  mahi  kand  rrohoy,  se  teman  quiennatehui  mukilley, 
nani,  nani  emolley  quinaroy  zetasi,  nasan  quianatehuey 
pemcihipompo  y,  qui  solakuey  quifollohipuca.  Kuey 
maihua  atellan,  folliquitey.  Amen. 

The  Irritila,  which  was  spoken  by  a  number  of 
tribes,  called  by  the  Spaniards  the  Laguneros,  inhab- 
iting the  country  near  the  Missions  of  Parras,  is  an- 
other extinct  tongue.14  In  Coahuila,  the  Tejano  or 
Coahuiltec  language  is  found.  A  short  manual  for  the 
use  of  the  priests  was  written  in  this  language  by 

llAlegre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  ii.,  p.  58;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografla, 
pp.  324-5;  Bmchmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  172. 

12  Villa-Senor  y  Sanchez,  Theatro,  torn,  ii.,  p.  348;  Pascual,  in  Hist.  Doc. 
Mex.,  serie  iv.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  201;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  172; 
Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  pp.  308-9. 

13  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  pp.  309,  327;  Col.  Polididmica,  Hex.,  Oration 
Dominical,  p.  36. 

14  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  p.  309. 


EXTRACT  FROM  THE  COAHUILTEC  GRAMMAR.  715 

Father  Garcia,  and  from  it  a  few  grammatical  observa- 
tions have  been  drawn  by  Pimentel. 

The  letters  used  are  a,  c,  eft,  £,  </,  ft,  i,  j,  I,  m,  n,  o,p,  q, 
s,  t,  u,  y,  tz.  The  pronunciation  is  similar  to  that  of 
some  of  the  people  who  inhabit  the  Northwest  Coast, 
as  the  Nootkas,  Thlinkeets,  and  others.  A  kind  of 


clicking  sound  produced  with  the  tongue,  which  Gar- 
cia designates  by  an  apostrophe,  thus:  c',  q,  f,  p\  V. 
The  c'  and  q'  are  pronounced  with  a  rasping  sound 
from  the  root  of  the  tongue ;  f  with  a  click  with  the 
point  of  the  tongue  against  the  teeth,  etc.  There  is 
no  plural  in  the  language,  except  such  as  is  expressed 
by  the  words  many,  all,  and  some.  Pronouns  are  tzin, 
I;  jamin  or  am,  thou;  nami,  mine;  Ja,  thine;  jami, 
ours.  Interrogation  is  expressed  by  the  letter  e  after 
the  verb:  japtd  pde?  are  you  a  father?  po  being  the 
verb.  Negation  is  expressed  by  ojua,  if  it  stands  for 
'no'  alone,  but  if  it  is  joined  to  a  verb,  it  is  expressed 
by  ajdm  following  the  verb,  and  if  the  verb  ends  with 
a  vowel,  by  yajdm.  The  Tejano  is  divided  into  sev- 
eral dialects,  which  vary  chiefly  in  the  different  pro- 
nunciation of  some  words;  as  for  die  they  say  chi,  or 
so  for  se,  cue  instead  of  co,  etc.  The  following  soul- 
winning  dogma,  with  the  translation,  is  given  as  a 
specimen  of  the  language. 

Mej  t'  oajam  pitucuej  pinta  pilapam  chojai  pilch6 
guatzamojuajamate,  pilapajuaj  sauj  chojai:  Mej  t' 
oajam  pitucuej  pilap6ujpac6  san  paj  guajatam  ate; 
talom  apndn  pan  t'  oajam  tucuet  apcue  tucue  apajdl 
sanche  guasdyajdm:  sajpdm  pinapsd  pitachij6,  mai 
cuan  tzam  aguajtd,  namo,  namo  t'  oajam  tucuem 
maisdjac  mem;  t'ajacat  mem  jatalam  ajam  d? 

And  there  in  hell  there  is  nothing  to  eat,  nor  any 
,-:ijep,  nor  rest;  there  is  no  getting  out  of  hell;  the 
great  fire  of  hell  will  never  be  finished.  If  thou  hadst 
died  with  those  sins,  thou  wouldst  be  already  there  in 
hell ;  then,  why  art  thou  not  afraid  ? 15 

The  Tubar  is  another  idiom  which  was  spoken  near 
the  head- waters  of  the  Rio  Sinaloa.  Ribas  affirms  that 

™  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  409-13. 


716  NORTH  MEXICAN  LANGUAGES. 

two  totally  distinct  languages  are  spoken  by  this  people. 
From  a  Lord's  Prayer  preserved  in  this  tongue,  Mr 
Buschmann,  after  careful  comparison,  has  concluded 
that  the  Tubar  is  another  member  of  the  Aztec-Sonora 

froup,  showing,  as  it  does,  unmistakable  Aztec  traces, 
insert  the  Lord's  Prayer,  with  translation. 

Ite  canar  tegmuecarichin  catemat  imit  tegmuarat 

Our      father  heaven  in  art  thy  name 

milituraba  teochigualac ;  imit  huegmica  carin  iti  baca- 

be  praised;  thy         kingdom  us        to 

chinassisaguin,     imit     avamunarir    echu     nanigualac 

come,  thy  will  here  be  done 

imo  cuigan  amo  nachic  tegmuecarichin;  ite  cokuatarit 

as       well  as      there     is  done  heaven;  our         bread 

essemer  taniguarit  iabba  ite  micam;  ite  tatacoli  ikiri 

daily  to-day      us         give;          our         sins        forgive 

atzomua  ikirirain  ite  bacachin  cale  kuegmua  nanigua- 

as  we  forgive     us         against          evil       previously  have 

cantem  caisa  ite  nosam  baca  tatacoli  bacachin  ackirc- 

done  not        us         lead  in  sin  of  evil 

muetzerac  ite.18 

deliver          us. 

The  following  is  a  Lord's  Prayer  of  the  Tubar  dia- 
lect, spoken  in  the  district  of  Mina  in  Chihuahua: 

Hite  canac  temo  calichin  catema  himite  muhara 
huituraba  santonetard  himitemoh  acarf  hay  sesahui 
hitebacachin  hitaramare'  hechinemolac  amo  cuira  pan 
amotemo  calichin  hitecocohatari  eseme  tan  huaric. 
Llava  hitemicahin  tatacoli  higuili  hite  nachi  higuiriray 
hitebdcach  in  calquihuan  nehun  conten  hitehohui  cal- 
tehue  cheraca  tatacol  bacachin  hiqu  ipo  calquihua 
nahuitd  baquit  ebacachin  calaserac.  Amen  Jesus.17 

16 'Tienen  estos  indios  dos  lenguas  totalmente  distintas:  la  una,  y  que 
mas  corre  entre  ellos,  y  demas  gente,  es  de  las  que  yo  tengo  en  este  partido, 
con  que  les  hablo,  yme  entienden. .  .  .la  otra  es  totalmente  distinta.'  Hervds, 
Catdloyo,  torn,  i.,  p.  320;  Ribas,  Hist,  de  los  Trivmphos,  p.  118;  Voter, 
MUhridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  139.  'Zwar  voll  von  Fremdheit  und  sehr  fiir 
sich  dasteht,  aber  doch  als  ein  wirkliches  sonorisches  Glied,  bei  bestimmteii 
Gemeinschaften  mit  den  anderen  und  als  vorzugsweise  reich  an  aztekisehen 
Stoff  ausgestattet. . .  .Hire  Ahnlichkeiten  neigen  abwechselnd  gegen  die  Cora, 
Tarahumara,  und  Cahita,  besonders  gegen  die  beiden  letzten,  auch  Hiaqui; 
der  Tepeguana  bleibt  sie  mehr  fremd.'  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  AzteL  Spr.y 
pp.  164,  170-1. 

17  Col.  Polididmica,  Hex.  Oration  Dominical,  p.  47. 


TEPEHUANA  GRAMMAR.  717 

In  the  state  of  Durango  and  extending  into  parts 
of  Jalisco,  Chihuahua,  Coahuila,  and  Sonora,  is  spoken 
the  Tepehuana  language.18  Like  the  Tarahumara,  it 
is  guttural  and  pronounced  in  a  rather  sputtering  man- 
ner. The  Tepehuanes  speak  very  fast,  and  often  leave 
off  or  swallow  the  end-syllables,  which  occasioned  much 
trouble  to  the  missionaries,  who  on  that  account  could 
not  easily  understand  them.  Another  difficulty  is 
the  accentuation,  as  the  slightest  variation  of  accent 
will  change  the  meaning  of  a  word.19  The  following 
alphabet  is  used  to  represent  the  sound  of  the  Tepe- 
huana :  a,  6,  ch,  d,  e,  g,  h,  i,  j,  Jc,  I,  m,  n,  o,  p,  g,  r,  s,  sc, 
t,  u,  v,  y.  In  the  formation  of  words,  many  vowels  are 
frequently  combined,  as:  ooo,  bone;  iiuie,  to  drink. 
Long  words  are  of  frequent  occurrence  as :  soigulida- 
datiidadamo,  difficult ;  meit  sciuguidodadaguitodadamoe, 
continually.  The  letter  d  appears  to  be  very  fre- 
quently used,  as  in  the  word  toddascidaraga,  or  doadi- 
damodaraga,  fright.  To  form  the  plural  of  words,  the 
first  syllable  is  duplicated.  Personal  pronouns  are: 
aneane,  or  am,  I;  api,  thou;  eggue,  he;  atum,  we; 
apum,  you;  eggama,  they;  in,  mine;  u,  thine;  di  or 
2,  his;  ut,  ours;  um,  yours. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  SAY. 


PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  pay,  aneane  aguidi 

Thou  sayest,  api  aguidi 
He  says,  eggue  aguidi 


We  say,  atum  aguidi 

You  say,  apum  aguid* 

They  say,  eggam  aguidi 


IMPERFECT.  PERFECT. 

I  said,  aneane  aguiditade    I    I  have  said,  aguidianta  or 

aneaneanta  aguidi 

FIRST   FUTURE.  SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shell  say,     aneane  aguidiague    |    I  shall  have  said,      aneane  aquidiamokue 

ls  Ribas,  Hist,  de  los  Trivmphos,  p.  673;  Alegre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus, 
torn,  i.,  p.  319;  Museo,  Mex.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  269;  Zapata,  Relation,  in  Doc. 
Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iv.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  310-15;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geoyrafia,  pp.  34, 
320;  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  138;  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii., 
p.  43;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  162;  Hervds,  Catdlogo,  torn,  i., 
p.  327. 

19  '  La  pronunciacion  es  muy  gutural  y  basta  el  mas  ligero  cambio  en  ella 
para  que  cambien  de  sentido  las  palabras.'  Rinaldini,  Gramatica,  in  Pimentel, 
Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  p.  46;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  36. 


718  NORTH  MEXICAN  LANGUAGES. 

IMPERATIVE. 

Let  me  say,  aguidiana  ane 

Say  thou,  aguidiani,  or  aguidiana  api 

Let  him  say,  aguidiana  eggue 

Let  us  say,  •  aguidiana  atum 

Say  you,  aguidiana  apum,  or  aguidavoramoe 

Let  them  say,  aguidia*na  eggam 

I  may  say,  aneane  aguidana 

I  should  say,  aneane  aguidaguitade 

I  should  have  said,  aneane  aguidaguijatade 

If  I  should  say,  aneane  aguidaguiague 

PARTICIPLE. 

Saying,  aguidimi  I     Having  said,     aguidati 

He  is  saying,         aguidimijatade 

In  some  places  the  ending  of  the  imperfect  indica- 
tive is  kade  instead  of  tade. 


CONJUNCTIONS. 


And  amider 

As  if  appia  na 

Also  jattika,  kat 


Or  sciupu 

Although          tumasci,  tume 
For  which        ukaidi 


And  for  that          ikaidiatut 

THE  LORD'S  PRAYER, 

ITtogga  atemo  tubaggue  dama  santusikamoe  uggue 

Our  father    who  in          heaven          above  sanctified  be  he 

ututugaraga  duviana  uguiere    api  odduna  gutuguito- 

thy  name  come         thy  kingdom  thou         do  thy 

daraga  tami  dubur  dama  tubaggue.     Udguaddaga  ud 

will         as  well      earth       above          heaven.  Our  food  to  us 

makane  scibi  udjoigudane  ud  sceadoadaraga  addukate 

give       to-day  to  us         forgive       our  sins  as 

joigude  jut  jaddune  maitague  daguito  ud.20 

we  forgive   our         debtors  not  tempt       us. 

The  roughest  and  most  inaccessible  part  of  the 
Sierra  Madre,  in  the  state  of  Durango,  is  the  seat  of 
the  Acaxee  language,  which  from  this  centre  spreads, 
under  different  names  and  dialects,  into  the  neighbor- 
ing states.  Among  these  dialects  are  mentioned  the 
Topia,  Sabaibo,  Xixime,  Hume,  Mediotaquel,  and  Te- 
baca.21  Some  writers  claim  that  the  Acaxee  with  all 

™Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  45-68. 

21Sabaibos  'eran  de  la  misma  lengua  y  Nacion  Acaxee.'  Rtbas,  Hist,  de 
V>s  Triomphos,  pp.  471,  491.  Sabaibos  '  distinta  nacion,  aunque  del  mismo 
Mioma ' — Acaxee.  A  legre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn.  i. ,  p.  422.  '  Humes,  na- 
cion distinta  de  los  xiximes  aunque  tienen  una  misma  lengua.'  Alonso  del 


THE  CORA  LANGUAGE  AND  ITS  DIALECTS.  719 

its  differences  is  related  to  the  Mexican,  while  others, 
among  them  Balbi,  make  it  a  distinct  tongue.  As 
neither  vocabularies  nor  other  specimens  of  it  exist, 
the  real  fact  cannot  be  ascertained.  The  missionaries 
say  that  the  Aztec  language  was  spoken  and  under- 
stood in  these  parts.  In  Zacatecas  is  mentioned  as 
the  prevailing  tongue  the  Zacatec,  besides  which  some 
authors  speak  of  the  Cazcane  as  a  distinct  idiom,  while 
others  aver  that  the  Cazcanes  and  Zacatecs  were  one 
people.  Besides  these,  there  are  adjoining  them  the 
Mazapile,  Huitcole,  and  Guachichile,  of  none  of  which 
do  I  find  any  specimens  or  vocabularies.22  I  also  find 
mentioned  in  Zacatecas  the  Colotlan,  and  in  Jalisco 
the  Tlaxomulteca,  Tecuexe,  and  Tepecano.23 

In  that  portion  of  the  state  of  Jalisco  which  is 
known  by  the  name  of  Nayarit,  the  Cora  language  is 
spoken.  It  is  divided  into  three  dialects;  the  Muut- 
zicat,  spoken  in  the  heart  of  the  mountains ;  the  Tea- 
cuaeitzica,  on  the  mountain  slopes;  and  the  Cora,  or 
Ateacari,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Nayarit,  or 

Voile,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iv.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  96.  'Me  parece  que  tienen 
afinidad  las  lenguas  topia,  acajee  y  tepehuana,  las  quales,  como  tambien  la  de 
Parras,  son  dialectos  de  la  Zacateca.'  Hervds,  Catdlogo,  torn,  i.,  p.  327.  'Im 
Norden  von  Tepehuana  enthalt  die  gebirgige  Provinz  Topia  um  den  25°  N. 
Br.  ausser  der  lingua  Topia  und  der  damit  verwandten  Acaxee,  noch  im 
Norden  der  letzteren  Jdie  Xixime,  Sicuraba,  Hina,  und  Huime  als  Sprachen 
ebenso  vieler  verschiedener  in  der  Niihe  der  Topia  und  Acaxee  wohnenden 
Volkerschaften.'  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  pp.  138-9.  Castaneda 
mentions  in  these  regions  the  Tahus,  Pacasas,  and  Acaxas  languages,  in 
Ternaux-Compans,  Voy.,  serie  i.,  torn,  ix.,  pp.  150-3;  Zapata,  Relation,  in  Doc. 
Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iv.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  415-17;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  pp.  12-13, 
319-20;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp.  173-4. 

22 '  Indies  cascanes  que  son  los  Zacatecas. '  '  Xuchipila  que  entendian  la 
lengua  de  los  Zacatecos.'  Padilla,  Conq.  N.  Galicia,  MS.,  p.  234;  Bemardez, 
Descrip.  Zacatecas,  p.  23.  '  Cazcanes,  qui  ad  fines  Zacatecarum  degunt,  lin- 
gua moribusque  a  caeteris  diversi:  Guachachiles  itidem  idiomate  differ- 
eutes;  Denique  Guamarce,  quorum  idioma  supra  moduni  concisum,  difficil- 
ime  addiscitur.'  Laet,  Novus  Orbis,  p.  281.  'La  lengua  mexicana  que  es  la, 
generica  de  toda  la  Provincial  Arlegui,  Chr6n.  Zacatecas,  p.  52.  'Sobreel 
Gascon  6  Zacateco,  no  creo  que  hubiera  sido  ni  aun  dialecto  del  mexicano, 
sino  que  era  el  mismo  mexicano  hablado  por  unos  riisticos  que  estropeaban 
las  palabras  y  que  les  daban  distinto  acento.'  Huacbichiles,  Tejuejue,  and 
Tlajomulteco  '  Sobre  estos  idiomas,  6  si  les  considera  dialectos,  juzgo  que  no 
existieron.'  fiomero  Gil,  in  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  Boletin,  torn,  viii.,  p.  499;  Eibas^ 
Hist,  de  los  Tnvmphos,  p.  676;  Hassel,  Mex,  Guat.,  p.  159. 

a3  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  p.  61. 


720  NORTH  MEXICAN  LANGUAGES. 

Jesus  Maria.24  The  Aztec  element  which  is  stronger 
and  more  apparent  in  the  Cora  than  in  any  other  of 
the  three  Aztec-Sonora  languages,  has  been  recognized 
by  many  of  the  earliest  writers.25  The  Cora  language 
is  intricate  and  rather  difficult  to  learn,  as  indeed  are 
the  other  three.26  Following  are  a  few  grammatical 
notes  taken  from  Ortega's  vocabulary. 

The  letters  of  the  alphabet  are :  a,  6,  ch,  e,  h,  i,  k,  m, 
n  o,  p,  r,  t,  u,  v,  x,  y,  z,  tz.  The  pronunciation  is  hard ; 
there  is  no  established  way  of  expressing  the  gender. 
The  names  of  animated  beings,  as  well  as  inanimate 
objects,  form  the  plural  by  the  affixes  te,  eri  or  ri,  tzi 
or  zi;  and  also  with  the  preposition  mea,  although 
there  are  some  exceptions  to  this  rule;  for  example, 
zearate,  bee;  zearateri,  bees;  Jcanax,  sheep;  Jcanexeri, 
sheep;  ulcubihuame,  orator;  ukubihuametzi,  orators; 
teatzahuatealeame,  he  who  is  obedient,  of  which  the 

^Apostolicos  Afanes,  cap.  vii.,  p.  56.  'Dentro  de  Reyno  de  la  Galicia  que- 
daron  algunos  otras  Naciones  como  son  los  Cocas,  Tequexes,  [Choras,  Te- 
cualmes  y  Nayaritas,  y  otras  que  despues  de  pacificada  la  tierra  han  dejado 
de  hablarse  por  que  ya  reducidos  los  de  la  lengua  Azteca,  que  era  la  major 
nacion  se  han  mixturado  de  suerte  que  ya  todos  las  mas  hablan  solo  una  len- 
gua en  toda  la  Galicia  excepta  en  la  Provincia  del  Nayarit.'  Padilla,  Conq. 
W.  Galicia,  MS.,  p.  8.  'La  lengua  Cora,  que  es  la  del  Nay ar.'  Arricivita, 
Crtinica  Serdfica,  p.  89;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  pp.  39,  281-2;  Vater,  Mith- 
ridates,  vol.  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  pp.  131-2. 

a5 '  La  lengua  mas  comun  del  pais  es  la  chota  aunque  muy  interpolada  y 
confundida  hoy  con  la  Mexicana.'  Alegre,  Hist.  Camp,  de  Jesus,  torn,  iii.,  p. 
197.  '  Muchos  vocablos  de  la  lengua  mexicana,  y  algunos  de  la  castellana, 
los  han  corisado  haciendolos  propios  de  su  idioma  tan  antiguamente;  que 
ya  hoy  en  dia  corren,  y  se  tienen  por  Coras.'  Ortega,  in  Soc.  Mex.  Geoy.,  Bo- 
Letin,  torn,  viii.,  p.  563.  'No  carezco  totalmente  de  datos  para  creer  que  los 
indios  nayares  son  pimas,  6  al  menos  descendientes  de  ellos. '  Orozco  y  Berra, 
Geografia,  p.  39.  '  Es  idioma  hermano  del  azteca,  tal  vez  fundado  en  algu- 
nas  palabras  que  tienen  la  forma  6  las  raices  del  mexicano;  nosotros  cree- 
mos  que  estas  semejanzas  no  provienen  de  comunidad  de  origen  de  las  dos 
lenguas,  sino  cle  las  relaciones  que  esas  tribus  mantuvieron  por  espacio  de 
mucho  tiempo.'  Id.,  p.  282.  'La  core  offrent  tres-peu  d'affinite  avec  les 
autres  langues  americaines.'  Malte-Brun,  Precis  de  la  G6og.,  torn,  vi.,  p.  449. 

*Die  Cora bewahrt  ihre  Verwandtschaft  vornehmlich  durch  die  unver- 

kennbare  Gleichheit  einer  nur  deisen  beiden  Sprachen  gemeinshaftlichen 
Formations-Weise  des  Verbum  in  seinen  Personen  und  die  Bezeichnung  ihrer 
Beziehung  auf  ein  leidendes  Object,  wie  die  Vergleichung  des  grammatischen 


grosse 

Lautsy stein.'   Wilhelm  von  Humboldt,  in  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  AzteL  Spr., 
pp.  48-9. 

26  'La  lengua  Cora es  tan  dificil,  que  si  no  se  esta  entre  ellos  muchos 

anos,  no  se  puede  aprender  y  tiene  de  particular,  que  no  se  asemeja  a  otra 
delas  naciones  que  tiene  vecinas.'  Cavo,  Tres  Siglos,  torn,  ii.,  p.  117. 


CORA  GRAMMAR  AND  LORD'S  PRAYER.  721 

plural  is  teatzahuateaJcametzi;  kurute,  crane;  kurutzi, 
cranes;  teaxka,  scorpion;  teaxkate,  scorpions.  Verbal 
nouns  designating  a  person  who  performs  an  action  are 
formed  by  affixing  to  the  verb  the  syllable  kame,  or 
huame:  hukabihuame,  advocate  (he  who  pleads);  tim- 
uachealcame,  lover  (he  who  loves) ;  tichuikame,  singer 
(he  who  sings). 

Personal  pronouns  are:  neapue,  nea,  I;  apue,  ap, 
thou;  aehpu,  aehp,  he;  iteammo,  itean,  we;  ammo,  an, 
you;  aehmo,  aehm,  they;  but  in  conjugating  the  follow- 
ing are  used:  ne,  I;  pe  or  pa,  thou;  te,  we;  ze,  you; 
me,  they.  Of  the  conjugation  of  the  verb,  it  is  only 
stated  that  there  is  no  infinitive,  and  the  following 
example  of  the  present  indicative  is  given : 


I  love,  nemuache 

Thou  lovest,  pemuache 

He  loves,  muache 


We  love,  te  muache 

You  love,  ze  muache 

They  love,          me  muache 


There  are  plural  and  singular  verbs :  tachuite,  to  give 
a  long  thing;  taihte,  to  give  long  things. 

Prepositions  are:  hetze,  tzahta,  in;  keme,  with,  for; 
apoan,  above ;  tihauze,  before.  The  peculiarity  of  the 
Muutzicat  dialect  is  the  frequent  use  of  the  letter  r, 
which  is  either  appended  or  placed  in  the  middle  of 
the  word  at  pleasure;  for  huihma,  they  say  ruihma; 
for  earit,  erarit.  The  Teakuaeitzicai  dialect  has  many 
distinct  words  not  used  in  any  of  the  others,  so  that 
at  times  they  are  not  at  all  understood  by  those  speak- 
ing the  other  dialects.  As  a  specimen  I  insert  the 
Lord's  Prayer: 

Tayaoppa  tahapoa  petehbe  cherihuaca  eiia  teaguarira ; 

Our  father        heaven  be  sanctified  be    thy          name; 

chemeahaubeni  tahemi  eiia  chianaca  cheaguasteni  eiia 

come  to  us        thy  world  done  be  thy 

jevira  iye  chianakatapoan  tup  up  tahapoa.     Ta  hamuit 

will       a  earth  as  heaven.  Our      bread 

huirna    tahetze     rujeve    ihic    ta    taa;    huatauniraca 

always  us  by          wanting      to-day    us       give;  forgive 

ta  xanacat  tetup  iteahmo  tatahuatauni  titaxanakante  ta  , 

our        sin  as  we  we  forgive  our  debtors          us 

VOL.  in.    46 


722  NORTH  MEXICAN  LANGUAGES. 

vaehre  teatkai  havobereni  xamakat  hetze  huavaehreaka 

help        that  not        let  us  fall  sin  in  help 

tecai   tahemi   rutahuaja   tehai    eu   ene   clie    enhuata 

that  not          us  reach  not        what  good      so  be  it. 

hua.27 

2T  Ortega,  Vocabulario,  in  Soc.  Hex.  Gear/.,  Boletin,  torn,  viii.,  pp.  561-602; 
Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  71-88;  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  pp. 
131-8;  Buschmann,  Die  Lautverdnderung  Aztek.  Worter  in  den  Sonor.  Spr.;  Id., 
Gram  der  Sonor.  Spr. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE  AZTEC  AND  OTOMI  LANGUAGES. 

NAHUA  OB  AZTEC,  CHICHIMEC,  AND  TOLTEC  LANGUAGES  IDENTICAL — ANAHUAC 
THE  ABORIGINAL  SEAT  OF  THE  AZTEC  TONGUE — THE  AZTEC  THE  OLDEST 
LANGUAGE  IN  ANAHUAC — BEAUTY  AND  RICHNESS  OF  THE  AZTEC — TESTI- 
MONY OF  THE  MISSIONARIES  AND  EARLY  WRITERS  IN  ITS  FAVOR — SPECIMEN 
FROM  PAREDES'  MANUAL — GRAMMAR  OF  THE  AZTEC  LANGUAGE — AZTEC 
LORD'S  PRAYER — THE  OTOMI  A  MONYSYLLABIC  LANGUAGE  OF  ANAHUAC 
— RELATIONSHIP  CLAIMED  WITH  THE  CHINESE  AND  CHEROKEE — OTOMI 
GRAMMAR — OTOMI  LORD'S  PRAYER  IN  DIFFERENT  DIALECTS. 

THE  Nahua,  Aztec,  or  Mexican  is  the  language  of 
Mexican  civilization,  spoken  throughout  the  greater 
part  of  Montezuina's  empire,  extending  from  the 
plateau  of  And,huac,  or  valley  of  Mexico,  as  a  centre, 
eastward  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  and  along  its  shores 
from  above  Vera  Cruz  east  to  the  Rio  Goatzacoalcos ; 
westward  to  the  Pacific,  and  upon  its  border  from 
about  the  twenty-sixth  to  the  sixteenth  parallel,  thus 
forming  an  irregular  but  continuous  linguistic  line 
from  the  gulf  of  California  south-east,  across  the 
Mexican  plateau  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  of  more  than 
four  hundred  leagues  in  extent.  Again,  it  is  found 
on  the  coast  of  Salvador,  and  in  the  interior  of  Nica- 
ragua, and  we  have  before  seen  its  connection  with 
the  nations  of  the  north.  Within  the  limits  of  the 
ancient  Mexican  empire  many  other  languages  besides 
the  Aztec  were  spoken;  as,  for  instance,  the  Otomi, 
Huastec,  Totonac,  Zapotec,  Miztec,  and  Tarasco,  about 

(723) 


724  THE  AZTEC  AND   OTOMI  LANGUAGES. 

twenty  in  all.  It  has  been  claimed  by  some  that  the 
languages  of  the  Toltecs  and  Chichimecs  were  differ- 
ent from  each  other,  and  from  the  Aztec;  it  has  even 
been  intimated  that  traces  of  a  language  more  ancient 
than  any  of  these  have  been  found.  Pedro  de  los 
Rios  mentions  two  words  of  a  song  used  in  the  re- 
ligious ceremonies  at  Cholula — tulanian  hululaez— 
which  he  says  belong  to  a  language  not  understood  by 
the  Mexicans,  and  Alexander  von  Humboldt  thinks 
they  may  be  the  remains  of  some  pre-Mexican  lan- 
guage.1 Others,  and  among  them  the  Abbe  Brasseur 
de  Bourbourg,  claim  greater  antiquity  for  the  Maya, 
affirming  that  it  was  spoken  in  Mexico  before  the 
Nahua-speaking  people  reached  that  country. 

From  a  careful  examination  of  the  early  authori- 
ties, I  can  but  entertain  the  opinion  that  the  Toltec, 
Chichimec,  and  Aztec  languages  are  one,  that  the 
Nahua,  or  Aztec,  is  the  oldest  known  language  of 
An^huac,  and  that  contrary  conclusions  arrived  at  by 
certain  later  writers  are  merely  speculative.  All  of 
the  many  different  peoples  mentioned  as  aboriginal  in 
ancient  An^huac  are  said  to  have  spoken  the  Aztec, 
as  the  Ulmecs,  Xicalancas,  Tecpanecs,  Colhuas,  Acol- 
huas,  Nahuas,  etc.  Ixtlilxochitl,  the  native  Tezcucan 
historian,  relates  that  by  order  of  the  ruler,  Techotla- 
latzin,  the  Chichimecs  dropped  their  own  tongue  and 
adopted  that  of  the  Aztecs.2 

1 '  Les  Cholulains  chantoient  dans  leur  fetes  en  dansant  autour  du  teo- 
calli,  et  que  ce  cantique  commen9oit  par  les  mots  Tulanian  hululaez,  qui  ne  sont 
d'aucune  langue  actuelle  du  Mexique.  Dans  tons  les  parties  du  globe,  sur 
le  dos  des  Cordilleres,  comme  a  File  de  Samotlirace,  dans  la  mer  Egee,  des 
fragmens  de  langues  primitives  se  sont  conserves  dans  les  rites  religieux.' 
Humboldty  Vues,  torn,  i.,  p.  115. 

2  '  Les  Culhuas,  les  Tecpaneques,  les  Aculhuaques,  les  Chalmecas,  les 
Ulmecas  les  Xicalancas. ..  .parlaient  la  meme  langue,  quoique  dans  chaque 
province  avec  un  autre  dialecte;  la  principale  difference  consistait  dans  la 
prononciation.'  Camargo,  Hist.  Tlax.,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843, 

torn,  xcviii.,  p.  138.  'Les  Ulmecas,  les  Xicalancas  et  les  Zacatecas 

avaient  les  m£mes  mceurs  et  la  m6me  langue.'  Id.,  p.  137.  'Car  la  langue 
de  ce  pays  (Xalisco)  est  le  chichimeque,  et  Marina  parlait  mexicain.  On  se 
servait,  a  laverite,  aussi  dans  ce  pays  d'un  Mexicain  grossier  et  barbare,  tandis 
que  Marina  le  parlait  avec  beaucoup  d'elegance.'  Id.,  torn,  xcix.,  p.  143.  Te- 
chotlalatzin  '  fue  el  primero  que  usd  hablar  la  lengua  nahua,  que  ahora  se 
llama  Mexicana,  porque  sus  pasados  nunca  la  usaron;  y  asi  mandd  que  todos 
los  de  la  nacion  Chichimeca  la  hablasen,  en  especial  todos  los  que  tuviesen  oficio 
y  cargos  de  republica. '  Ixtlilxochitl,  Hist.  Chich.,  in  Kingsborough's  Hex.  Antiq., 


ORIGINALITY  OF  THE  AZTEC  TONGUE.  725 

Furthermore,  internal  evidence  is  all  in  favor  of  the 
originality  of  the  Aztec  tongue.  Throughout  the 
great  empire  of  Andhuac  it  was  the  dominant  stock 

vol.  ix.,  p.  217.  'Los  Mexicanos. . .  .son  de  los  mismos  de  Colhua. . .  .por  ser 
la  lengua  toda  una.'  Motolinia,  Hist.  Indios,  in  Icazbalceta,  Col.  de  Doc.,  torn, 
i.,  p.  5.  'La  lengua  de  los  Mexicanos  es  la  de  los  Nahuales.'  Id.,  p.  1ST. 
'  La  principal  lengua  de  la  Nueva  Espana  que  es  de  nahuatl.'  Id.,  p.  231;  see 
abopp.  10-11.  'Los  Tetzcucanos  (llamados  Aculhuaques)  y  los  Mexicanos, 
eran  de  vn  Lenguage.'  'La  propria,  y  antigua  Lengua,  de  los  Chi- 
chimecas Antiguos es  esta  que  aora  corre,  con  comun  Nombre  de  Mexi- 

cana.'  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  31,  33,  44.  Tecpaneca,  Otpmf 
y  Acolhua.  '  El  lenguage  de  estas  tres  naciones  era  diverse,  no  lo  era  rigo- 
rosameiite  hablando  el  de  la  tecpaneca  y  aculhua,  ni  pueden  llamarse  tales 
y  distintos  de  la  lengua  nahuatl  6  mejicana,  sino  solamente  en  el  dialecto  y 
frasimos,  al  modo  que  el  portuguez  respecto  del  castellana.  La  Otomi  se 
diferencia  mas  de  la  nahuatl.'  Veytia,  Hist.  Ant.  Mej.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  44.  Ul- 
mecs;  '  su  lengua  era  la  Nahuatl  que  hoy  Hainan  mejicana,  y  se  tiene  por 
madre;  y  esta  fue  de  la  nacion  tolteca,  y  he  oido  decir  a  persona s  bieii  in- 
struidas  en  este  idioma,  que  en  algunos  pueblos  que  aun  subsisten  en  nues- 
tros  dias  conocidas  por  de  la  nacion  ulmeca.'  Id.,  torn,  i.,  p.  154.  'Los  Na- 
lioas,  eran  los  que  hablaban  la  lengua  mexicana,  aunque  no  la  pronunciaban 
tan  clara,  como  los  perfectos  mexicanos;  y  estos  Nahoas  tambien  se  llamaban 
C/iichimecas.'  'De  estos  Chichimecas  unos  habia  que  se  decian  Nahuaz- 
chichimecas  llamandose  de  Nahoas  y  de  Chichimecas  porque  hablaban  algo  la 
lengua  de  los  Nahdas  6  Mexicanos  y  la  suya  propia  Chichimeca. '  Sahagun, 

Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  lib.  x.,  pp.  120,  130,  147.     '  Lengua  Nahuatl se  en- 

tieiide  ser  en  lengua  Mexicana;  aunque  la  que  al  presente  hablan  y  hablaron 
en  la  Gentilidad  los  Mexicanos  no  es  suya,  sino  aprehendida  de  las  otras 
antecedentes  Naciones,  y  mas  bien  se  debia  llamar  Tulteca,  porque  esta 
Nacion  la  traxo  desde  su  peregrinacion,  haviendola  perfeccionado  en  la  ter- 
cera  Edad.'  Boturini,  Catdlogo,  p.  95.  'Los  tlaxcaltecos,  que  tienen  la  mes- 
ma  lengua  nahual  de  Mexico  y  Tezcuco.'  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  p.  147. 
'  Le  nahuatl  est  sans  nul  doute  une  langue  deja  ancienne  dans  1'Amerique 
centrale,  et  plus  ancienne  meme  que  1'empire  dont  Montezuma  fut  le  chef. ' 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Lettre,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1855,  torn, 
cxlvii.,  pp.  154,  153.  '  lo  pero  non  dubito,  che  la  lingua  propria  dei  Cicime- 
chi  antichi  fosse  la  medesima  degli  Acolhui,  e  Nahuatlachi,  cioe  messicana. ' 
Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  i.,  p.  153.  'Los  Mexicanos,  6  por 

mejor  decir  Aztlanecas,  no  es  su  natural  lengua  la  que  hablan  ahora, es 

la  que  aprendieron  en  Tezcuco.'  Ixtlilxochitl,  Reladones,  in  Kingsborough's 
Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  ix.,  p.  345.  'Que  el  lenguage  mexicano  se  usd  por  las 
antiquisimas  naciones  de  los  Toltecas  y  Chichimecas. '  Hervds,  Catdlogo,  torn, 
i.,  p.  298.  ' Xochimilcas,  Chalquenos,  Tepanecas,  Colhuas,  Tlahuicas, 

Tlazcaltecas   y   Mexicanos todas   hablan   un   mismo   idioma. '   Heredia  y 

Sarmiento,  Sermon,  p.  86.  '  Mehr  oder  minder  zahlreiche  Sprachreste  aus 
dem  Mexikanischen  Sprachstamme ....  sind  Zeugen  von  der  ehemaligen 
Verbreitung  der  Tolteken  im  Siiden.'  Midler,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  p. 
525.  '  Chichimecs ....  same  family  with  the  Toltecs,  whose  language  they 
appear  to  have  spoken.'  Prescott's  Mex.,  vol.  i.,  p.  14.  'Die  Chichimeken 
welche  aztekisch  reden.'  Mii/ilenpfordt,  Mejico,  torn,  ii.,  pt.  ii.,  p.  364;  Wap- 
paus,  Geog.  u.  Stat.,  pp.  34-5.  '  Dass  sie  Eines  Ursprunges  mit  den  Tolteken, 
.  ...waren  beweist  die  alien  gemeinschaftliche  Sprache,  welche  noch  die 
aztekische  heisst.'  Buschmann,  Ortsnamen,  p.  6.  "I  he  Aztecs,  Acolhuas, 

and  other  kindred  tribes were  of  the  same  language as  the  Toltecs.' 

Gallatin,  in  Amer.  Ethno.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  p.  203.  'Lengua  mexicana, 
llamada  tolteca. '  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  p.  86.  '  Toltecas  y  las  siete  tri- 
bus  nahuatlacas  tenian  un  misrao  origen  y  hablaban  la  misma  lengua,  que 
era  el  mexicano,  nahuatl  6  azteca;  pero  de  ninguna  manera  succede  esto 


726  THE  AZTEC  AND  OTOMI  LANGUAGES. 

language.  Toward  the  north,  as  we  have  seen, 
sprinklings  of  it  are  found  in  many  places,  but  no- 
where does  it  appear  in  that  direction  as  a  base.  Far 
to  the  south,  in  Nicaragua,  it  is  again  found  as  the 
stock  tongue,  yet  with  a  dialectic,  rather  than  an  abo- 
riginal, appearance,  so  that  the  testimony  of  language 
is  all  in  favor  of  the  plateau  of  Andhuac  having  been 
the  primal  centre  of  the  Aztec  tongue,  rather  than  its 
having  been  introduced  within  any  measurable  epoch 
by  immigration. 

That  the  Mexican  nation  did  its  utmost  to  extend 
the  language  is  certain.  It  was  the  court  language 
of  American  civilization,  the  Latin  of  mediaeval  and 
the  French  of  modern  times ;  it  was  used  as  the  means 
of  holding  intercourse  with  non- Aztec  speaking  people, 
also  by  all  ambassadores,  and  in  all  official  communica- 
tions; in  all  newly  acquired  and  conquered  territories 
it  was  immediately  introduced  as  the  official  language, 
and  the  people  were  ordered  to  learn  it.  It,  or  its 
kindred  dialects,  can  be  said  to  have  been  the  common 
vernacular  in  the  whole  interior  of  Andhuac,  and  over 
a  large  part  of  the  Aztec  plateau,  although  within 
these  limits  other  tongues  were  in  vogue.  South- 
ward, it  again  appears  along  the  shores  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  It  was  spoken  as  far  as  Guatemala,  in  the 
interior  of  which  it  appeared  in  the  shape  of  various 
dialects  more  or  less  corrupted.  It  can  also  be  traced 
into  Tabasco,  and  even  into  Yucatan  on  the  Atlantic 
coast.  It  is  again  encountered  in  the  gulf  of  Ama- 
tique,  whence  lines  extend  connecting  with  the 
branches  of  the  Aztec  in  Guatemala,  Honduras,  and 
Nicaragua.  It  is  also  possible  that  it  may  at  one  time 
have  been  used  even  east  of  the  Mississippi,  as  will 

respecto  a  los  chichimecas,  aunque  hasta  hoy  por  un  error  muy  comun  se 
cree  lo  contrario.'  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  p.  154;  Guijalua,  Cr6n.  Auyus- 
tin,  fol.  32.  *  Les  rares  traditions  qui  nous  sont  restees  de  1 'empire  des  Vo- 
tanides,  anterieurement  &  1'arrivee  des  Nahoas,  ne  doiinent  aucune  lumiere 
sur  les  populations  qui  habitaient,  a  cette  epoque,  les  provinces  interieures 
du  Mexique . . . .  Ce  que  nous  pensons,  toutefois,  pourvoir  avancer  avec  une 
conviction  plus  entiere,  c'est  que  la  majeure  partie  des  nations  qui  en  d6- 
pendaient  parlaient  une  seule  et  me'me  langue. '  '  Cette  langue  etait  suivant 
toute  apparence  le  Maya  ou  Yucateque.'  Brasseur  de  JBourb&urg,  Hist.  Nat. 
Civ.,  torn,  i.,  p.  102;  Heller,  Reisen,  pp.  379  et  seq. 


THE  AZTEC  LANGUAGE  EAST  OF  MEXICO.  727 

appear  from  the  following  statements  of  Acosta  and  Sa- 
hagun.  The  latter  says  that  the  Apalaches  living  east 
of  the  Mississippi  extended  their  expeditions  and  colo- 
nies far  into  Mexico,  and  were  proud  to  show  to  the 
first  conquerors  of  their  country  the  great  highways  on 
which  they  travelled.  Acosta  affirms  that  the  Mexi- 
cans called  these  Apalaches  Tlatuices,  or  mountaineers. 
Sahagun,  speaking  of  them,  says  "they  are  Nahoas, 
and  speak  the  Mexican  language." 3  This  is  by  no  means 
improbable,  as  the  Aztec  is  found  eastward  in  the  pres- 
ent states  of  Tamaulipas  and  Coahuila,  and  thence  the 
distance  to  the  Mississippi  is  not  so  very  far.4 

Of  all  the  languages  spoken  on  the  American  conti- 
nent, the  Aztec  is  the  most  perfect  and  finished,  ap- 
proaching in  this  respect  the  tongues  of  Europe  and 
Asia,  and  actually  surpassing  many  of  them  by  its 
elegance  of  expression.  Although  wanting  the  six 

3  Acosta,  Hist.  Nat.  Ind.,  p.  600;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  lib.  ix., 
cap.  9;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Palenque,  p.  39. 

4  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  ii.,  lib.  v.,  cap.  v.,  lib.  vi.,  cap.  xii.,  dec.  iii., 
lib.  iii.,  cap.  ix.,  lib.  iv.,   cap.  vii.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.   ix.,  cap.   xiii.;  Ddvila  Pa- 
dilla,  Hist.  Fund.  Mex.,  p.  64.     'Nicaragua  sea  y  este  poblada  de  Nahua- 
les  que  son  de  la  lengiia  de  Mexico.'  Motolinia,  Hist.  Indios,  in  Icazbalceta,  • 
Col.  de  Doc.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  10-11,  231;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  103, 
torn,  iv.,   pp.  35-7,  108;  Soils,    Hist.  Cong.  Mex.,  torn,  i.,  p.  118.     'Seine 
Herrschafffc,  Lands-Sprach,  and  Glaubens-Sect  erstreckten  sich   einer   seits 
biss  zu  dem  Markflecken  Tecoantepec,  das  ist  zweyhundert,  anderseits  biss 
gehn  Guatimala  dass  ist  dreyhnndert   Meil  schr  von   der    Statt  Mexico.' 
Hazart,  Kirchengeschichte,  torn,  ii.,  p.  499.      'Esta  lengua  mexicana  es  la  gen- 
eral que  corre  por  todas  las  provincias  de  esta  Nueva  Espana,  puesto  que  en 
ella  hay  muy  muchas  y  differentes  lenguas  particulares,  de  cada  provincia,  y 
en  partes  de  cada  pueblo,  porque  son  innumerables. '  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles., 
p.  552.     '  Sie  haben  viererley  Sprach  darinnen,  unter  welchen  der  Mexicaner 
am   lieblichsten   vnd    gebrauchlichsten   (in  Nicaragua).'     West  und    Ost-In- 
discher  Lustgart,  p.  390;  Grijalua,  Cr6n.  Augustin,  p.  12.      *  La  lengua  general 
del  pais,  que  era  la  Mejicana.'  JSeaumont,  Cr6n.  MtcJwacan,  MS.,  p.  89;  Ar- 
naya,  Carta,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iv.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  67.     'Celui  de  Mexico 
est  regarde  comme  le   dialect  original.'  Camargo,  Hist.   Tlax.,  in  Nouvelles 
Annales  des    Voy.,  1843,  torn,  xcviii.,  p.   138;  Burgoa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn, 
ii.,  fol.  341;  Laet,  Noius  Orbis,  p.  252;  Gottfried,  Newe  Welt,  p.  285;  Juarros, 
Hist.  Guat.,  p.  224;  Chevalier,  Mex.  Ancien  <tf  Mod.,  p.  160;  Museo,  Mex.,  torn, 
iii.,  p.  239;  Palacio,  Carta,  p.  20;  Squier,   in  Id.,  note  iii.,  p.  150;  Squiers 
Monograph  of  Authors,   p.   ix.;  Id.,  Cent.  Amer., -pp.  320,  327-9,  339,  413; 
Stephens'  Cent.  Amer.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  190;  Froebel,  Aus  Amerika,  torn,  i.,  p.  285; 
Conders  Mex.  Guat.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  178;  Romero,  Noticias  paraformar  la  Historia 
de  Michoacan,  p.  5;  Aleyre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  i.,  pp.  89-90;  Baril, 
Mexique,  p.  212;   Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Id.,  Esquisses,  p.    2^;    Gallatin,  in 
Amer.  Ethno.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  3,  8;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  pp. 
54-5;   Voter,  MUhridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  85;  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i., 
p.  158;  Anales  del  Ministerio  del  Fomento,  1854,  torn,  i.;  Acosta,  Hist.  Nat. 
Ind.,  p.  584;  Id.,  Hist,  de  las  Ynd.,  p.  530. 


728  THE  AZTEC  AND  OTOMI  LANGUAGES. 

consonants,  6,  d,  f,  r,  g,  s,  it  may  still  be  called  full  and 
rich.  Of  its  copiousness,  the  Natural  History  of  Dr 
Hernandez  gives  evidence,  in  which  are  described 
twelve  hundred  different  species  of  Mexican  plants, 
two  hundred  or  more  species  of  birds,  and  a  large 
number  of  quadrupeds,  reptiles,  insects,  and  metals, 
each  of  which  is  given  its*  proper  name  in  the  Mexi- 
ican  language.5  Mendieta  says  that  it  is  not  ex- 
celled in  beauty  by  the  Latin,  displaying  even  more 
art  in  its  construction,  and  abounding  in  tropes  and 
metaphors.  Camargo  calls  it  the  richest  of  the  whole 
land,  and  the  purest,  being  mixed  with  no  foreign  bar- 
baric element;  Gomara  says  it  is  the  best,  most 
copious,  and  most  extended  in  all  New  Spain ;  DaVila 
Padilla,  that  it  is  very  elegant  and  graceful,  although 
it  contains  many  metaphors  which  make  it  difficult; 
Lorenzana,  that  it  is  very  elegant,  sweet,  and  com- 
plete; Clavigero,  that  it  is  copious,  polite,  and  ex- 
pressive ;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  that  from  the  most 
sublime  heights  it  descends  to  common  things  with  a 
sonorousness  and  richness  of  expression  peculiar  only 
to  itself.  The  missionaries  found  it  ample  for  their 
purpose,  as  in  it  and  without  the  aid  of  foreign  words 
they  could  express  all  the  shades  of  their  dogmas, 
from  the  thunderings  and  anathemas  of  Sinai  to  the 
sublime  teachings  of  the  Christ. 

Although  the  Spaniards  usually  employed  the  word 
Dios  for  God,  the  Aztecs  offered  one  as  fit,  their  Teotl, 
and  Tloque  Nahuaque,  signifying  invisible  supreme 
being.  The  many  written  Aztec  sermons,  catechisms, 
and  rituals  also  attest  the  copiousness  of  the  tongue.6 

Hernandez,  Nova  Plant. 

6  See  Juan  de  la  Anundadon,  Doctrina  Christiana  muy  cumplida,  donde  se 
contiene  la  exposition  de  todo  lo  nscessario  para  doctrinar  a  los  Indios  y  admin- 
istralles  los  Santos  Sacramentos.  Compuesta  en  lengua  Castellana  y  Mexicana. 
Mex.,  1575.  Juan  de  la  Anundadon,  Sermonario  en  lengua  Mexicana.  Mex., 
1577.  Joan  Baptista,  Advertendas  para  los  Confesores  de  los  Naturales.  Mex., 
1600.  Hosales,  Loa  en  Obsequio  de  la  Aparicion  de  Nuestra  Senora  de  Guada- 
lupe,  Poem.  1582.  loan  de  Mijangos,  Espejo  Diuino,  en  lengua  Mexicana. 
Mex.,  1607.  Martin  de  Leon,  Camino  del  Cielo,  en  lengua  Mexicana.  Mex., 
1611.  Martin  de  Leon,  Manual  breve  y  forma  de  administrar  los  Santos  Sacra- 
mentos  d  los  Indios.  Mex.,  1640.  Carlos  Caledonio  Velasquez  de  Cardenas  y 
Leon,  Breve  Practica,  y  Regimen  del  Confessionario  de  Indios  en  Mexicano. 
Mex.,  1661.  Ignacio  de  Paredes.  Promptuario  Manual  Mexicano.  Mex.,  1759. 


SPECIMEN  OF  LONG  AZTEC  WORDS.  729 

The  Mexican,  like  the  Hebrew  and  French,  does  not 
possess  superlative  nouns,  and  like  the  Hebrew  and 
most  of  the  living  European  languages,  it  has  no  com- 
paratives, their  place  being  supplied  by  certain  parti- 
cles. The  Aztec  contains  more  diminutives  and 
augmentatives  than  the  Italian,  and  is  probably  richer 
than  any  other  tongue  in  the  world  in  verbal  nouns 
and  abstracts,  there  being  hardly  a  verb  from  which 
verbal  nouns  cannot  be  formed,  or  a  substantive  or 
adj  ective  of  which  abstracts  are  not  made.  It  is  equally 
rich  in  verbs,  for  every  verb  is  the  root  from  which 
others  of  different  meanings  spring.  Agglutination  or 
aggregation  is  carried  to  its  widest  extent,  and  words 
of  inordinate  length  are  not  uncommon.  In  aggluti- 
nating, end-syllables  or  letters  are  usually  dropped, 
principally  for  the  sake  of  euphony.  A  prayer  to  the 
Virgin  of  Guadalupe,  which  is  to  be  found  in  the 
Promptuario  Manual  of  Paredes,  I  insert  here  as  a 
curious  specimen  of  long  words. 

Tlahuemmanaliztli;  icmomoztla£  tictocemmacazque 
in  Tlatocacihuapilli  Santa  Maria  de  Guadalupe.  Tla- 
tocacihuapille,  Notlazomahuiznantzine,  Santa  Mariae, 
nican  mixpantzinco  ninomayahui,  ninocnotlaza,  ihuan 
mochi  Noyollotica,  Nanimatica  nimitzhohuecapanil- 
huia,  nimitznomahuiztililia,  nimitznotlazotilia,  ihuan 
nimitznotlazocamachitia  ipampa  in  nepapan  in  motetla- 
ocolilitzin;  ic  in  Tehuatzin  otinechmomacahuililitzino. 
Auh  ocyecenca  ipampa  ca  Tehuatzin,  Notzopelican- 
antzine,  otinechniopiltzintitzino,  ihuan,  otinechmocone- 
titzino.  Auh  ic  ipampa  in  axcan  ihuan  ye  mochipa 
nimitznocemraacatzinoa,  Notetlaocolicanantzin6,  inic 
in  Tehuatzin  nimitznotlazotiliz,  ihuan  inic  die  nimitz- 
noyoltequipachilhuiz.  Auh  in  Tehuatzin,  nimitznot- 
latlauhtilia :  in  ma  in  nonemian,  ihuan  in  nomiquian, 
xinechmopalchuili,  ma  xinechmochimalcaltili,  ihuan 

Francisco  de  Avila,  Platica para  kazer  a  los  Indios.  Mex.,  1717.  Antonio  Vas~ 
qvez  Gastelu,  Confessionario  Breve  en  lengua  Mexicana,  Catecismo  Breve.  Puebla, 
1716,  and  2d  edition,  1826,  1838,  also  1860.  Lecciones  Espirstuales  para  las 
Tandas  de  Ejercidos.  Puebla,  1841.  Pequeno  Catecismo  en  el  idioma  Mex. 
Puebla,  1819.  Juan  Romu aldo  A maro,  Doctri na.  Mex.,  1840. 


730  THE  AZTEC  AND  OTOMI  LANGUAGES 

ma  in  motetlaocolilizcuexantzinco  xinechmocalaquili ; 
inic  qualli  ic  ninemiz,  ihuan  nimiquiz;  inic  ^atepan 
nimitznomahuizalhuiz,  in  ompa  in  Ilhuicac;  in  ompa 
in  Dios  Itlatocatecpanchantzinco  in  Gloria.  Amen.7 

A  word  of  sixteen  syllables,  the  name  of  a  plant, 
occurs  in  Hernandez — mihuiittilmoyoiccuitlatonpicixoc- 
hitl.8  Though  the  Aztecs  made  verses,  no  specimens 
of  their  poetry  have  been  preserved  except  in  a  trans- 
lated form.  One,  composed  by  the  great  Tezcucau, 
King  Nezahualcoyotl,  translated  in  full  in  the  preced- 
ing volume,  gives  us  an  exalted  idea  of  the  advanced 
state  of  the  language.9 

7  Paredes,  Promptuario,  Manual  Mexicano,  p.  xc. 

8  JSuschmann,  Ortsnamen,  p.  24. 

$  *  La  mexicana  no  es  menos  galana  y  curiosa  que  la  latina,  y  aun  pienso 
que  mas  artizada  en  coinposicion  y  derivacion  de  vocables,  y  en  metaforas, 
cuya  inteligencia  y  uso  se  ha  perdido.'  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  p.  552.  'La 
langue  mexicaine  est  la  plus  riche  de  toute  contree:  elle  est  aussi  la  plus 
pure,  car  elle  n'est  pas  melangee  d'aucun  mot  etranger.'  Camargo,  Hist. 
Tlax.,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn,  xcix.,  p.  136.  'Lengua 
Mexicana  y  Nahuatl,  que  es  la  mejor,  mas  copiosa  y  mas  estendida  que 
ay  en  la  nueva  Espaiia.  Gomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  293;  Purchas  his  Pil- 
grimes,  vol.  iv.,  fol.  1135.  'La  lengua  Mexicana,  que  aunque  es  muy  ele- 
gante y  graoiosa,  tiene  por  su  artificio  y  agudeza  muchas  metaforas,  que  la 
hazen  diUcultosa.  Ddvtta  Padilla,  Hist.  Fvnd.  Mex.,  p.  31.  'Malgrado  la 
mancanza  di  quelle  sei  consonant!  e  una  lingua  copiosissima,  assai  pulita,  e 
sommamente  espressiva.'  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  171. 
*  Es  muy  elegante  este  idioma,  dulce,  y  nray  abundante  de  Erases,  y  compo- 
siciones.'  Cortes,  Hist.  Nueva  Espalia,  p.  5;  Laet,  Novus  Orbis,  pp.  240-1; 
Carbajal  Espinosa,  Hist.  Mex.,  torn,  i.,  p.  635;  Muller,  Reisen,  torn,  iii.,  pp. 
1C5-8.  'Su  lengua  es  la  mejor  y  mas  polida.'  (Tezcuco.)  Herrera,  Hist. 
Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  x.  'La  mas  elegante  la  Tezcucana  como  la  Cas- 
tollana  en  Toledo.'  Vetancvrt,  Teatro  Mex.,  pt.  ii.,  p.  14;  Boturini,  Idea,  p. 
142;  Humboldt,  Vues,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  382-3.  '  Esta  lengua  mas  elegante  y  ex- 
pressiva  que  la  Latina,  y  dulce  que  la  Toscana. '  Granados  y  Galves,  Tardes 
Amer.,  p.  401.  'La  langue  mexicaine  est  riche  conime  les  autres  langues 
indiennes;  mais,  conime  elles,  elle  est  materielle  et  n'abonde  pas  en  mots 
significatifs  d'idees  abstraites;  comme  elles,  elle  est  synthetique  dans  sa 
structure,  et  n'en  differe,  quant  a  ses  formes,  que  par  les  details  qui  n'af- 
fectent  point  son  genie  et  son  caract6re.  Elle  abonde  en  particules  in  ter- 
calses.'  Du  Ponceau,  Mtmoire,  p.  255;  Sonneschmid,  Remarks  on  Mex.  and 
the  Mex.  Lang.,  in  Amer.  Monthly  Mag.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  118;  Lang's  Polynesian 
Nat.,  pp.  95-7.  'The  Mexican  tongue  abounded  in  expressions  of  rev- 
erence and  courtesy.  The  style  and  appellations  used  in  the  intercourse 
between  equals  would  have  been  so  unbecoming  in  the  mouth  of  one  in  a 
lower  sphere,  when  he  accosted  a  person  in  higher  rank,  as  to  be  deemed  an 
insult.'  Robertson's  Hist.  Amer.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  278-9.  'The  low  guttural  pro- 
nunciation of  the  Mexican,  or  Aztec.'  Ward's  Mex.,  vol.  i.,  p.  31;  Galicia 
Chimalpopocatl,  Dissertacion,  in  Museo  Mex.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  517  et  seq.;  HelUr, 
Reisen,  p.  377.  '  Des  hauteurs  les  plus  sublimes,  de  la  m^taphysique,  elle 
descend  aux  choses  les  plus  vulgaires;  avec  une  sonorite  et  une  richesse 


AGGLUTINATION  IN  THE  AZTEC  LANGUAGE.  731 

The  Mexican  language  employs  the  following  let- 
ters :  a,  j ,  ch,  e,  h,  i,  k,  l{  m,  n,  o,  p,  q,  t,  tl,  tz,  u,  v,  x,  y, 
z.  The  pronunciation  is  soft  and  musical,  and  free 
from  nasal  sound.  The  a  is  clear;  ch  before  a  vowel 
is  pronounced  as  in  Spanish;  but  before  a  consonant, 
or  when  a  terminal,  it  differs  somewhat;  e  is  clear;  h 
is  an  aspirate,  in  general  soft,  being  strong  only  when  it 
precedes  u.  No  word  commences  with  the  letter  I;  II 
is  pronounced  as  in  English.  The  t  is  sometimes  silent, 
but  not  when  it  comes  between  two  I's ;  tl  in  the  mid- 
dle of  a  word  is  soft,  as  in  Spanish,  but  as  a  terminal 
it  is  pronounced  tie,  the  e  half  mute;  tz  is  similar  to 
the  Spanish  s,  but  a  little  stronger ;  the  v  is  by  the 
women  pronounced  as  in  Spanish,  but  men  give  it  a 
sound  very  similar  to  hu  in  Spanish;  x  is  soft,  like  sh 
in  English;  z  is  like  s  in  Spanish,  but  less  hissing. 

By  compounding,  the  Mexicans  make  many  long 
words,  some  even  of  sixteen  syllables;  but  there  are 
also  some  non-compounded  words  that  are  very  long. 
Words  are  compounded  by  uniting  a  number  of  whole 
words,  and  not  alone  by  simple  juxtaposition,  since, 
with  much  attention  to  brevity  and  euphony,  letters 
and  syllables  are  frequently  omitted.  For  instance, 
tlazotli,  loved;  mahuiztik,  honorable,  or  reverend;  teo- 
pixqui,  priest;  tatli,  father;  no,  mine;  of  which  is 
composed  notlazomahuizteopixcatzin,  that  is  to  say,  my 
very  esteemed  father  and  reverend  priest.  This  also 
presents  an  example  of  the  ending  tzin,  which  simply 
signifies  respect.  Teopixqui  is  composed  of  teotl,  God, 
and  pia,  to  guard.  There  are  two  particles,  which  may 
be  appropriately  called  ligatures,  as  they  serve  to  unite 
words  in  certain  cases;  they  are  ca  and  ti.  Kualani, 
to  irritate,  to  anger;  itta,  consider,  reflect;  nikualani- 
caitla,  to  observe  with  anger,  angrily. 

By  reason  of  these  compounded  words,  the  meaning 
of  a  whole  sentence  is  often  contained  in  a  single  word, 

d'expression  qui  n'appartiennent  qu'a  elle. '  Brasseur  de  Baurbourg,  Hist.  Nat. 
Civ.,  torn,  i.,  p.  103;  Prescott's  Mex.,  vol.  i.,  p.  108,  vol.  iii.,  p.  395.  'The 
language  of  the  Mexicans  is  to  our  apprehension  harsh  in  the  extreme. '  Helps' 
Span.  Conq.,  vol.  i.,  p.  288. 


732  THE  AZTEC  AND  OTOMI  LANGUAGES. 

as,  tlalnepantta,  in  the  middle  of  the  earth,  or  situ- 
ated in  the  middle;  Popocatepetl,  smoking  mountain; 
atzcaputzalli,  ant-hill,  or  place  where  there  are  many 
people  moving — alluding  to  a  dense  population ;  cuauh- 
nahuac  (Cuernavaca),  near  to  the  trees;  atlixco,  above 
the  water;  tepetitlan,  above  the  mountain,  etc. 

There  are  several  ways  of  expressing  the  plural. 
As  a  rule,  plurals  are  applied  only  to  animate  objects. 
Inanimate  objects  seldom  change  in  the  plural;  as, 
ce  tetl,  one  stone ;  yei  tetl,  three  stones ;  miec  tetl,  many 
stones.  In  exceptional  cases,  the  plural  of  inanimate 
objects  is  expressed  by  terminals.  One  of  these  ex- 
ceptions is  when  the  object  is  connected  with  persons; 
as,  zoquitl,  mud ;  tizoquime,  we  are  earth ;  but  there  are 
again  exceptions  to  this  rule,  as,  for  instance,  ilhuicame, 
the  heavens ;  tepenie,  mountains ;  zitlaltin,  stars.  Some- 
times inanimate  things  also  form  the  plural  by  dou- 
bling the  first  syllable :  tetla,  place  full  of  stones;  tetetla, 
places  full  of  stones;  calli,  house;  cacalli,  houses. 
These  various  terminations  may  be  reduced  to  the  fol- 
lowing rules:  Primitive  words  have  the  plural  in  me, 
tin,  or  que;  as,  ichcatl,  a  sheep;  ichcame,  sheep;  zolin, 
a  quail,  zoltin,  quail;  cocoxqui,  sick;  cocoxque,  sick 
(plural);  topile,  constable;  topileque,  constables.  De- 
rivatives for  the  plural  as  follows :  those  called  reveren- 
tials,  ending  with  tzintli,  have  in  the  plural  tzitzintin. 
Diminutives,  ending  in  tontli,  have  in  the  plural  toton- 
tin,  and  diminutives  ending  in  ton  and  pil,  augmenta- 
tives  mpolj  and  reverentials  in  tzin,  double  the  terminal ; 
as,  tlacatzintli,  person;  tlactzitzintin,  persons;  ichca- 
tontli,  a  lamb;  ichcatotontin,  lambs;  ichcapil,  lamb; 
ichcapipil,  lambs;  chichiton,  a  little  dog;  chichitoton, 
little  dogs;  huehuetzin,  old  man;  huehuetzitzin,  old  men. 

Words  into  whose  composition  the  possessive  pro- 
noun enters,  whether  primitive  or  derivative,  have  for 
the  plural  van  or  huan;  noichcahuan,  my  sheep;  noich- 
catotonhuan,  my  little  sheep.  The  words  tlacatl,  man, 
ciuatl,  woman,  and  those  which  imply  an  official  or 
professional  position,  form  the  plural  simply  by  leav- 
ing off  the  last  letters ;  as,  mexicatl,  plural,  mexicd;  in 


AZTEC  GRAMMAR.  733 

which  case,  however,  the  ultimate  syllable  is  accented. 
Some  words  to  form  the  plural  double  the  first  sylla- 
ble, and  also  use  terminals;  as,  teotl,  God;  teteo,  gods; 
zolin,  quail;  zozoltin,  quails;  zitli,  hare;  ziziltin,  hares. 
Telpoclitli  and  ichpocktli,  double  the  syllable  po. 

Some  adjectives  have  several  plurals;  as,  miec, 
much ;  plural,  miectin,  miecintin,  or  miecin.  Gender  is 
expressed  by  adding  the  words  oquichtli  or  ciuatl,  male 
and  female,  except  in  such  words  as  in  themselves  in- 
dicate the  gender.  A  father  speaking  of  his  son  says, 
nopiltzin,  and  a  mother  of  her  daughter,  noconeuh. 

There  are  no  regular  declensions;  in  the  vocative 
case,  an  e  is  added  to  the  nominative,  or  words  ending 
in  tli  or  li  change  the  i  into  e.  Those  ending  in  tzin 
may  change  to  tze  or  add  an  e,  but  the  latter  is  only 
used  by  males.  The  genitive  is  denoted  by  the  pos- 
sessive pronoun  or  by  the  juxtaposition  of  the  words; 
as,  teotl,  God;  tenahuatftli,  emanating;  teotenahuatilli, 
precept  of  God.  The  dative  is  indicated  by  verbs 
called  applicatives ;  the  accusative,  by  certain  particles 
which  accompany  the  verb,  or  by  juxtaposition;  as, 
chihua,  to  have ;  tlaxcalli,  bread ;  nitlaxcalchihua,  I  have 
bread.  The  ablative  is  indicated  by  certain  particles 
arid  prepositions.  Diminutives  are  formed  by  the  ter- 
minals tontli  and  ton;  as,  chichi,  dog;  chichiton,  small 
dog ;  calli,  house ;  cacontli  ,  small  house.  Augmenta- 
tives  take  the  syllable  pol.  The  terminals  tla  and  la 
serve  as  collectives:  xochitl,  flower;  xochitla,  flower-bed. 
Words  ending  with  oil  are  abstracts ;  as,  qualli,  good ; 
qualotl,  goodness.  Those  ending  with  va  (hua)  and  e 
indicate  possession  :  ilhuicatl,  heaven :  ilhuicahua,  mas- 
ter of  heaven  (applied  to  God).  Comparatives  and 
superlatives  have  no  particular  terminations,  but  their 
place  is  supplied  by  adverbs;  as,  achi,  ocachi,  etc., 
which  mean  '  more.'  Pedro  is  better  than  Juan,  ocachi- 
qualli  in  Pedro  ihuan  amo  Juan;  here  the  adverb  is 
connected  with  quallo,  good.  Words  derived  from 
active,  neuter,  passive,  reflective,  and  impersonal  verbs, 
having  various  significations,  terminate  in  ni,  oni, 
ya,  ia,  yan,  can,  yau,  ian,  tli,  li,  liztli,  oca,  ca,  o,  tl, 


734  THE  AZTEC  AND  OTOMI  LANGUAGES. 

as :  cochini,  he  who  sleeps ;  tlaxcalchihuani,  he  who  has 
bread ;  motlaloani,  he  who  runs;  chihualoni,  practicable; 
neitoniloni,  something  producing  perspiration ;  notlachi- 
uaya,  my  instrument;  amotlanequia,  our  will;  tlacua- 
loyan,  eater;  micoayan,  place  to  sleep;  itepatiayan, 
hospital;  tlachihualli,  created,  produced;  tetlazotlatiztli, 
love;  nachihualolca,  creation. 

Personal  pronouns  are :  nehuatl,  nehua,  ne,  I ;  tehuatl, 
tehua,  te,  thou ;  yehuatl,  yehua,  ye,  he  or  somebody ;  te- 
hauntin,  tehua,  we;  amehuantin,  amehuan,  you;  yehuan- 
tin,  yehuan,  they.  Possessives:  no,  mine;  mo,  thine; 
i,  his;  to,  ours;  amo,  yours;  in  or  im,  theirs;  ^belong- 
ing to  others. 

The  above-mentioned  possessives  are  used  in  com- 
pounded words,  and  change  the  final  syllable  of  the 
word  to  which  they  are  joined :  teotl,  God;  noteuh,  my 
God;  huehuetl,  old  man ;  amoTiuehuetcauh,  our  old  man. 

The  verb  has  indicative,  imperative,  optative,  and 
subjunctive  moods — present,  imperfect,  perfect,  pluper- 
fect, and  future  tenses. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TEMICTTA,  TO  KTLL. 

PRESENT  INDICATIVE. 


I  kill,  nitemictia 

Thou  killest,        titemictia 
He  kills,  emictia 


We  kill,  titemictif 

You  kill,  antemicti£ 

They  kill,  temictia 


IMPERFECT.  PERFECT. 

I  killed,  nitemictiaya       i  I    I  have  killed,  onitemicti 

I    We  have  killed,       otitemictiqud 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  killed  onitemictica 

FIRST  FUTURE.  SECOND  FUTURE. 

I  shall  kill,  nitemictiz  I    I  shall  have  killed,  yeonitemictli 

We  shall  kill,       titemietizquS 

IMPERATIVE. 

Kill  thou,  maxictemicti  |    Kill  you,  maxftemictican 

OPTATIVE. 

Would  that  I  might  kill,         manitemictiani 

PASSIVE  FORMS. 

I  am  killed,  nimictilo 

I  was  killed,  ouimictiloya 


AZTEC  IRREGULAR  VERBS.  735 

PASSIVE  FORMS. 

I  have  been  killed,  onimictiloc 

I  had  been  killed,  onimitiloca 

I  shall  be  killed,  nimictiloz 

I  shall  have  been  killed,  ye  onimictiloc 

O  that  I  may  be  killed,  manimictilo 

0  that  I  had  been  killed,  manimictiloni 

1  ought  to  be  killed,  nimictilozquia 
He  who  is  killed,  inmictilo 

OTHER  FORMS. 

If  I  had  killed,  intlaonitcmictiani 

If  I  had  not  killed,  intlacamo  onitemictiani 

If  I  should  kill,  intlanitemictiz 

He  who  kills,  intemictia 

I  come  to  kill,  onitemictico 

I  will  come  to  kill,  nitemictiquiuh 

May  I  come  to  kill,  manitemictiqui 

I  went  to  kill,  onitemictito 

I  will  go  to  kill,  nitemictiuh 

May  I  go  to  kill,  manitemiciti 

There  are  but  few  irregular  verbs  in  the  Aztec  lan- 
ige,  and  the  following  are  all  that  Pimentel  could 
ind:  ka  and  mam,  to  be;  icac,  to  be  on  foot;  oiioc,  to 
be  lying  down;  yauh,  to  go;    huallauh  and  huitz,  to 
come;  mazehualti,  icnopilti,  and  ilyuilti,  to  obtain  a 
benefit. 

The  following  words  are  always  used  as  affixes  : 

For  pal,  pampa  Of,  from  tech 

Behind  icampa,  tepotzco,  Toward  huic 

cuitlapan  Between  tzalan 

With  huan,  pa,  copa,  ca  In  the  midst          nepantla 

Belonging  to  tloc  Together  nahuac 

Within  co,  c  Above  icpac 

On  the  other  side    nalko,  nal  Before  ixco,  ixpan,  ixtlan, 
Upon,  in  time           pan  ixtla 

Underneath  tlan  Inside  itic,  itec 

Under  tzintlan 

THE    LORD'S    PRAYER. 

Totatzine      ynilhuicac  timoyeztica,  mayectenehualo 

Our  revered  father     who  heaven  in  art,  be  praised 

mmotocatzin,    mahualauh    inmotlatocayotzin    machi- 

thy  name,  may  come  thy  kingdom  be 

hualo  intlalticpac  inmotlanequilitzin,  inyuhchichihualo 

done        earth  above  thy  will  as  is  done 

inilhuicac,     intotlaxcalmomoztlae      totech      monequi 

heaven  in,  our  bread  every  day  to  us  is  necessary 

maaxcan     xitechmomaquili,    maxitechmetlapopohuili 

to-day  give  us,  forgive  us 


736  THE  AZTEC  AND  OTOMI  LANGUAGES. 

intotlatlacol,     iniuh     tiquintlapopolhuia     intechtlatla 

our  sins,  as  we  forgive  those  who 

calhuia,     macamoxitechmomacahuili     inicamo     ipari 

us  offend,  thou  not  us  lead  that  not  in 

tihuetzizque    inteneyeyecoltiliztli :  £anye  xitechnioma- 

we  fall  in  temptation:  but  deliver 

quixtili  inyhuicpa  inamoqualli.     Maiuhmochihua.10 

us  against  from  not  good. 

Many  comparisons  between  the  Aztec  and  the 
tongues  of  Asia  and  Europe  have  been  made,  and 
relationship  claimed  with  almost  every  prominent 
language,  but  under  analysis  all  these  fancied  affinities 
vanish.  Similarities  in  words,  in  common  with  all 
tongues,  are  found  between  the  Aztec  and  others,  but 
at  best  they  can  be  called  only  accidental.  Still,  a 
few  remarkable  word  analogies  have  been  noticed, 
among  the  chief  of  which  are  the  following:  The 
Aztec,  like  the  Greek  and  Sanskrit,  uses  the  privative 
preposition  a,  which  in  the  Celtic  has  been  changed 
to  an,  in  Latin  to  in,  or  im,  and  in  the  German  to  un: 
Greek,  athanatos;  Aztec,  amiquini,  immortal.  Fur- 
ther, in  the  perfect  tense,  and  sometimes  in  the  im- 
perfect, o  is  used  in  the  Aztec,  like  the  Sanskrit  a, 
and  the  Greek  e.  But  the  most  remarkable  coinci- 
dence is  the  word  teotl,  which  is  as  near  as  possible  to 
the  Greek  Theos.  Kingsborough  and  Mrs  Simon  see 
in  the  Aztec  the  language  of  the  Jews ;  Jones  that  of 
the  ancient  Tyrians ;  Lang,  that  of  the  Polynesians. 
Garcia  makes  comparisons  with  the  Hebrew,  Spanish, 
Phoenician,  Egyptian,  Japanese,  and  German,  and  for 
a  relationship  with  these  and  many  others  he  finds 
claimants.  Until  further  light  is  thrown  upon  Amer- 

10  Pedro  de  Arenas,  Vocabulario  Manual  de  las  Lenguas  Castellana  y  Mexi- 
cana.  Mex.,  1583.  Manuel  Perez,  Arte  del  Idioma  Mexicano.  Mex.,  1713. 
Antonio  Vasquez  Gastelu,  Arte  de  la,  Lengua  Mexicana.  Puebla,  1716,  and  2d 
edition,  1838.  Francisco  de  Avila,  Arte  de  la  Lengua  Mexicana.  Mex.,  1717. 
Carlos  de  Tapia  Zenteno,  Arte  Novissima  de  Lengua  Mexicana.  Mex.,  1753. 
Horacio  Carochi,  Compendio  del  Arte  de  la  Lengua  Mexicana.  Mex.,  1759.  Mo- 
Una,  Vocabulario.  Mex.,  1571.  Rafael  Sandoval,  Arte  de  la  Lengua  Mexicana* 
Mex.,  1810.  Pedro  de  Arenas,  Guide  de  la  Conversation.  Paris,  1862.  Galla- 
tin,  in  Amer.  Ethno.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  214-45;  Pimentel,  Cuadro, 
vol.  i.,  pp.  164-216;  Voter,  Mithridates,  vol.  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  pp.  85-106;  Busch- 
mann,  Ortsnamen,  pp.  20-37. 


HYPOTHETICAL  OTOMI  AND  CHINESE  RELATIONSHIP.    737 

lean  philology,  the  Aztec  must  stand  alone,  as  one  of 
the  independent  languages  of  the  world.11 

The  Otomi,  held  to  be  next  to  the  Aztec  the  most 
widely  extended  language  in  Mexico,  was  spoken  by 
a  rough  and  barbarous  people  who  inhabit  the  moun- 
tains encircling  the  valley  of  Anahuac,  but  more  par- 
ticularly those  towards  the  north-west.  Thence  it 
extended  into  the  present  state  of  San  Luis  Potosi, 
was  spoken  throughout  Queretaro  and  the  larger  part 
of  Guanajuato,  and  in  places  in  Michoacan,  Yera  Cruz, 
and  Puebla.12  From  the  Journal  and  Proceedings  of 
the  fourth  Provincial  Council,  held  in  Mexico  in  the 
year  1771,'  it  appears  that  the  language  was  spoken 
in  four  dialects,  varying  so  much  that  it  was  only  with 
the  greatest  difficulty  that  the  several  tribes  could 
hold  intercourse.13  The  only  dialect  of  which  particu- 
lar notice  has  been  taken  is  the  Mazahua,  spoken  in 
the  ancient  province  of  Mazahuacan.  Of  the  others, 
the  only  specimens  are  a  few  Lord's  Prayers. 

The  Otomi  claims  attention  in  one  particular:  it  is 
the  only  true  monosyllabic  language  found  in  the  Pa- 
cific States,  and  this  alone  has  led  many  to  claim  re- 
lationship between  it  and  the  Chinese. 

This  Chinese  relationship  has  been  mainly  advocated 
by  Sefior  Najera,  a  native  Otomi,  who,  in  furtherance 
of  his  peculiar  views,  wrote  an  excellent  Otomi  gram- 
mar, in  an  appendix  to  which  he  gives  an  extensive 
comparison  between  the  two  idioms.  But  taking  UD 

11 '  Es  1st  nicht  moglich  von  einer  Verwandtschaft  der  mexicanischen 
Sprache  mit  den  Sprachen  anderer  Erdtheile  zu  reden. '  Bmchmann,  Ortsna- 
men,  p.  20;  Garcia,  Oriyen  de  los  Ind.,  pp.  118-21,  187,  232-5,  241,  269; 
Jones'  Hist.  Anc.  Amer.;  Simons  Ten  Tribes,  pp.  163,  173;  Langs  Polynesian 
Nat.,  pp.  96-8  et  seq.;  Quarterly  Review,  1816,  p.  415;  Humboldt,  Vues,  torn, 
ii.,  pp.  229  et  seq. 

^Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  p.  17;  Alegre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  i., 
p.  282;  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  p.  118;  Voter,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii., 
p.  113. 

13  '  Concdrdandose  en  que  no  se  entienden  los  mismos  Otomites  de  diver- 
sos  Pueblos  aun  Vecinos,  de  que  dio  una  prueba  concluyeiite  el  Obispo  de 
Puebla,  con  el  hecho  de  haver  juntado  quatro  Curas  estindantes  de  su  sierra 
Otomi  los  que  mutuamente  se  improbaban  por  hereticas,  a  disparatad6s  sus 
explicaciones  de  los  Mysteries  de  nra  Religion.'  Concilia,  Provincial  Mexicano, 
iv.,  1771,  Julio  31,  MS. 
VOL.  III.  47 


738  THE  AZTEC  AND  OTOMI  LANGUAGES. 

the  words  which  he  declares  to  be  similar,  we  are  at 
once  struck  with  important  omissions  on  his  part.  The 
first  is  that  he  has  not  at  all  taken  into  consideration 
the  difficulty  of  comparing  monosyllabic  languages,  in 
which  a  word  frequently  has  ten  or  more  significations, 
distinguishable  only  by  pronunciation  and  accentua- 
tion, and  at  times  having  scarcely  these  distinguishing 
features.  Secondly,  the  words  which  he  adduces  to 
be  similar,  are  wanting  in  the  very  essentials  that  con- 
stitute a  relationship,  for  in  most  instances  they  are 
not  even  similar  in  sound,  a  requisite  to  which  more 
attention  ought  to  be  paid  in  monosyllabic  languages 
than  in  those  which  are  polysyllabic.  The  few  words 
that  in  reality  are  similar  are  probably  only  accidental 
resemblances,  and  the  question  of  relationship  between 
the  Otomi  and  Chinese  cannot  be  said  to  have  been 
established  as  yet.14 

Mr  Bringier  branches  out  in  another  direction  in 
search  of  a  relationship,  and  fancies  he  finds  it  in  the 
Cherokee,  basing  his  whole  argument  on  a  hypothet- 
ical resemblance  of  perhaps  half  a  dozen  words,  which 
in  fact  do  not  resemble  each  other  at  all.15 

Like  other  monosyllabic  tongues,  the  Otomi  is  rather 
difficult  to  acquire,  its  pronunciation  being  rough,  gut- 
tural, with  frequently  occurring  nasals  and  aspirates.16 

14  Naxera,  Dis.  sobre  la  lengua  Othomi;  Warden,  Recherches,  in  Antiq.  Hex., 
pp.  125-9. 

15 Bringier,  Lettre,  in  Sillimans  Jour.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  35-6. 

16 '  La  Otomf,  lengua  barbara  cuasi  enteramente  gutural,  y  que  a  penas 
cede  al  estudio  y  a  la  mas  seria  aplicacion.'  Alegre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus, 
torn,  i.,  p.  90.  'La  Otomi,  que  se  dilata  casi  tanto  como  la  Mexicana,  y  en 
la  dincultad,  y  obscuridad  le  haze  grandes  ventajas.'  Grijalua,  Cron.^  Au- 
gustin,  fol.  74.  '  Loro  linguaggio  e  assai  difficile,  e  pieno  d'aspirazioni,  che 
fanno  parte  nella  gola,  e  parte  nel  naso  ma  peraltro  e  abbastanza  copioso 
ed  espressivo. '  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  i.,  p.  148.  'Une 
langue  pleine  d'aspirations  nasales  et  gutturales. '  Humboldt,  Essai  Pol. ,  torn, 
i.,  p.  255.  'Die  Sprache  der  Othomi  zeichnet  sich  durch  die  Einsylbigkeit 
oder  wenigstens  Kiirze  ihrer  meisten  Wb'rter,  durch  Harte  und  Aspiration 
aus.'  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  114.  'Leur  langue,  rude  comme 
eux,  est  monosyllabique:  embrassant  &  la  fois  tous  les  sons,  mais  denuee 
d'ornements,  elle  montre,  ne"ammoins,  dans  sa  simplicite  quelque  chose  de 
majestueux  qui  rappelle  les  temps  antiques.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist. 
Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  p.  157.  'Es  dura,  seca,  ingrata  a  la  lengua  y  mal  al  oido: 
todo  lo  de  ella  es  rtistico,  vasto,  sin  pulidez.'  Naxera,  Dis.  sobre  la  lengua 
Othomi,  p.  23.  'Su  lenguage  es  muy  duro  y  corte.'  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec. 
iii.,  lib.  v.,  cap.  xix.;  Duponceau,  Memoire,  pp.  68-71;  Torquemada,  Mo- 
narq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  p.  L33,  torn,  ii.,  p.  82;  Muller,  Reisen,  torn,  iii.,  p.  45; 


OTOMI  GRAMMAR.  739 

As  before  stated,  many  words  having  distinct  mean- 
ings are  distinguished  only  by  various  sounds,  or  into- 
nations of  the  same  vowel;  many  words  even  having 
the  same  sound  and  intonations  have  different  mean- 
ings. The  words  of  this  language  are  of  one  or  two 
syllables;  a  few  of  them  have  three.  In  words  com- 
pounded of  more  than  one  syllable,  each  syllable  pre- 
serves its  original  meaning.  The  words,  whether  noun 
or  verb,  are  inflexible.  Neither  substantive  nor  ad- 
jective nouns  have  any  gender.  The  same  word  may 
be  a  substantive,  adjective,  verb,  and  adverb,  as  in  the 
following  sentence :  na  nho  nho  ye  na  nho  he  nho,  which 
means,  the  goodness  of  man  is  good,  and  becomes  him 
well.  Nouns  have  neither  declension  nor  gender, 
which  are  expressed  either  by  distinct  words,  or  by  ta 
or  tza,  male,  and  nsu  or  nxu,  female;  tayo,  the  dog; 
nxuyo,  slut.  The  particle  na  has  the  property  of  the 
article,  and  prefixed  to  the  noun  distinguishes  the 
singular.  In  the  plural,  ya  affixed,  or  e  prefixed,  is 
substituted.  Adjectives  are  always  placed  before  sub- 
stantives: lea  ye,  holy  man.  Comparatives  are  ex- 
pressed by  the  words  nra,  more,  and  chu,  less — nho, 
good ;  nra  nho,  better.  Superlatives  are  in  like  man- 
ner shown  by  the  word  tza  or  tze,  prefixed,  meaning 
very  much,  excessively,  exceedingly — tza  nho,  best; 
tze  ntzo,  worst,  or  very  bad.  The  particle  ztzi,  or  ztzu, 
prefixed,  marks  a  diminutive — ztzi  hensi,  a  small  paper. 
In  abstract  nouns  of  quality  the  prefix  na  is  changed 
into  sa — na  nho  yeh,  a  good  man ;  sa  nho,  that  which 
is  good.  Personal  pronouns  are:  nuga,  nugaga,  nu- 
gui,  I ;  gui,  ki,  me,  for  me ;  nugue,  nuy,  thou ;  y,  hi,  to 
thee,  for  thee;  nunu,  he;  bi,  ba,  lei,  him,  for  him,  to 
him ;  nugahe,  nugagafie,  nuguihe,  we,  or  us ;  nuguegtii, 
nuguehu,  nuy  gui,  nuyhu,  you,  to  you ;  nuyu,  they ;  ma, 
mine ;  ni,  thine ;  na,  his. 

Verbs  are  conjugated  with  the  assistance  of  parti- 
cles which  designate  tense  and  person.  Every  tense 
has  three  persons,  also  a  singular,  and  a  plural.  The 

Hassel,  Hex.  Guat.,  p.  152;  Muhknpfordt,  Mejico,  torn,  ii.,  pt.  ii.,  p.  364;  bon- 
der's Mex.  Guat,,  vol.  ii.,  p.  119. 


740  THE  AZTEC  AND  OTOMI  LANGUAGES. 

plural  is  always  designated  by  the  syllable  he,  we;  wi, 
gui,  or  hu,  you;  yu,  they.  All  nouns  may  also  be 
verbs,  for  the  Otomis,  unable  to  segregate  the  abstract 
idea  of  existence  from  the  thing  existing,  confound 
both,  and  have  no  substantive  verb:  nho,  good;  di 
nho,  I  good,  or  I  am  good. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  NEE,  I  WILL. 

PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  will,  di  nee 

Thou  wiliest,        gui  nee 
He  wills,  y  nee 


We  will,  di  nee  he 

You  will,  gui  nee  grii 

They  will,  y  nee  yu 


IMPERFECT.  PERFECT. 

I  willed,  di  nee  hma  |    I  have  willed,       xta  nee,  or  da  nee 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  willed,  xta  nee  hma 

FIRST   FUTURE.  SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  will,  ga  nee  |    I  shall  have  willed,  gua  xta  nee 

IMPERATIVE.17 

Will  thou,  nee  |    Will  you,  nee  giti  nee  hu 

THE    LORD'S    PRAYER. 

Ma  ta  he  ni  buy  mahetsi    da    ne    ansu    ni    huhu 

My  father  we  thou  house     heaven          call     holy      thy        name       name 

da    ehe  ga  he  ni  buy  da  kha  ni  hnee  ngu 

thy  will  come  towards      us  thy  house  thy  will  do     thy     will  as 

gua  na  hay   te    ngu    mahetsi  ma  hme    he  ta  na  pa 

here     the     earth     as         also      heaven          the     bread        us      every      day 

ra  he  nar  a  pa  ya  ha  puni  he  ma  dupate  he 

give     us       one  day  new     and     forgive       us         our         debts 

tengu  di  puni  he  u  ma  ndupate  he  ha  yo  gui  he  he 

as         we       forgive  now        debtors     ours  and  avoid  the   permit  us 

•a    he  kha   na  tzb    cadi  ma   na  pehe    he    hin   nho. 

us         in  bad  action    but         save  us  no  good. 

Do  kha. 

Thy  will  do. 

17  Yoaquh:  Lopez  Yepes,  Catecismo  y  Declaration  de  la  Doctrina  Cristiana  en 
lengua  Otomi.  Francisco  Perez,  Catecismo  de  la  Doctrina  Cristiana,  en  lengua 
Otomi.  Naxer?  Disertacion  sobre  la  lengua  Othomi.  Gallatin,  in  Amer.  Ethno. 
Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  286-98;  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  pp. 
115-24;  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  vol.  i.,  pp.  120-50;  Antonio  Guadalupe  Ramirez, 

Breve  Compendio Dispuesto  en  lengua  Othomi.     See  also  Lond.  Geog.  Soc., 

Jour.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  355;  Luis  de  Neve  y  Molina,  Grammatica  Delia  Lingua  Oto- 
mi. 


CTOMI  AND  MAZAHUA  LORD'S  PRAYERS. 


741 


The  same  in  another  dia- 
lect: 

Go  ma  ta  he 
To  gui  buy 
He  tsi 

Da  ma  ka  ni  hu 
Na  di  ni  hne 
Hay  he  heisi 
Ma  hme  he  ta  pa 
Sa  da  ke  ni 
Ha  pu  ni  ma  thay  he 
Ngu  y  pu  ma  thay  te  he 
Ha  yo  he 
He  ga  z^  tzo  di 


Still   another  version    of 

the  same: 
Ma  th,  ki  he 
Gue  gui  buy 
Kha  hetsi 
Kha  ni  hu 
Da  di  hnec 
Bi  kho  na  hay 
Ba  na  kha  mahetsi 
Da  da  s6  he 
Ma  hme  he 
Yo  ga  zo  he  gee  tzb  di. 


The  grammar  of  the  Mazahua  dialect  is  very  nearly 
the  same  as  that  of  the  Otomi,  and  I  therefore  insert 
the  Lord's  Prayer  only  to  illustrate  the  connection 
between  the  two  languages. 

Mi  yho  me  ki  obuihui  ahezi  tanereho  ni  chuu  ta  ehe 

Our  father  is  heaven     sanctified    thy  name        come 

ni  nahmuu  ta  cha  axonihomue  cho  ni  nane  makhe 

thou    kingdom  do  earth  ?        thy     will  as 

anzi  ocha  ahezi.     Ti  yak  me  mi  bech  me  choyazmue, 

also  is  done   heaven.  Give    us  our   bread  every  day 

ti  chotkhe  me  mo  huezok  me  makhe  anzi  tigattotpue 

forgive  us       our  faults  as  also         we  forgive 

me  mache  i  zokhegue  me  pekhecho  gueguetme  tezoxk- 

those  who  offend  us  not  us  must  lead 

hemeyo  huezok  hi  tipe  yeziz  one  macho  yonene  macho 

in  sins  deliver  us  from  all 

tenxi  higaho. 

evil. 


is 


18Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  194-201. 


CHAPTER  X. 

LANGUAGES  OF  CENTRAL  AND  SOUTHERN  MEXICO. 

THE  PAME  AND  ITS  DIALECTS — THE  MECO  OF  GUANAJUATO  AND  THE  SIERRA 
GORDA — THE  TARASCO  or  MICHOACAN  AND  ITS  GRAMMAR — THE  MATLAL- 

TZINCA  AND  ITS  GRAMMAR — THE  OCUILTEC— THE  MlZTEC  AND  ITS  DlA- 
LECTS — MlZTEC  GRAMMAR — THE  AMUSGO,  CHOCHO,  MAZATEC,  CuiCATEC, 

CHATINO,  TLAPANEC,  CHINANTEC,  AND  POPOLUCA — THE  ZAPOTEC  AND  ITS 
GRAMMAR — THE  MIJE — MIJE  GRAMMAR  AND  LORD'S  PRAYER  —  THE 
HUAVE  OF  THE  ISTHMUS  OF  TEHUANTEPEC — HUAVE  NUMERALS. 

NORTH-EASTWARD  of  the  Otomi  is  a  language  called 
the  Fame,  spoken  in  three  distinct  dialects;  the  first 
in  San  Luis  de  la  Paz,  in  the  Sierra  Gorda;  the  second, 
near  the  city  of  Maiz,  in  San  Luis  Potosi;  and  the 
third  in  Purisima  Concepcion  de  Arnedo,  and  also  in 
the  Sierra  Gorda.  I  have  at  hand  only  the  Lord's 
Prayer  in  three  dialects;  nor  can  I  find  mention  of 
any  vocabulary  or  grammar.  It  is  described  as  diffi- 
cult to  acquire,  principally  on  account  of  the  many 
dialectic  variations.1 

FIRST    DIALECT. 

Tata  micagon  indis  bonigemaja :  indis  unaja  grotzta- 
cuz :  Quii  unibo :  Nage  eu  nitazd,,  unib<5  ubonigi :  Ur- 
roze  paricagon  uvingui  ambog6n  bucon  gatigi  bajir 
gom6r,como  icagon  gumorbon  quipicgo  hicnango :  nena- 

1  '  Es  mucha  la  dificultad  del  idioma,  porque  en  treinta  vecinos  suele  haber 
cuatro  y  cinco  lenguas  distintas,  y  taiito,  que  aun  despues  de  mucho  trato  110 
se  entienden  sino  las  cosas  muy  ordinarias.  Akyre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn. 
i.,  p.  282. 

(742) 


FAME  AND  MECO  LORD'S  PRAYERS.  743 

ngui   nandazo    pacunimd,:    imorgo    cabonjd,    pajanor. 
Amen  Jesus. 

SECOND    DIALECT. 

Caucan  xugtienan,  que  humiju  cantau  impains,  ach- 
scalijon  gee  nigiu  yucant  gee  cumpo.  Chaucat  gee 
quimang,  ac-gi  cumpo  acgi  cantau  impain.  Sente 
caucan  senda  gun  6  yucant  chine  iguadcatan  caucan 
humunts,  ac-gipain  caucan  hujuadptan  d  caucan  hu- 
munts.  Y  mi  negenk  do  guaik  guning  cacaa  yeket 
vali  ening,  ac-ge-bo. 

THIRD    DIALECT. 

Ttattahghuhggg  ighegh  ddih  uhvoh  hinh  gghih 
qquihhmissches :  ughgnjuhgh  ttahghgihh  innddisseh 
Qquihihihh  uhgguho  uhgbg  gtiliibb  rrebbino,  Ih  qquib 
ughgghihghh  wohlluhn  ttah  ighschchahh,  Assi  uhg- 
gughh  commo  ub  vohnnihghh.  Ubnghebddi  uhvrd, 
hhvibn  qquihhphpohgguhuhh,  yhchihh  uh  vehvehh 
ihghguhohguhuhh  ih  qqih  ih  chi  wchveb  ibbumburbg- 
guhuhh  ubbobddi  nuch  bebobuag.  Assi  commo  abpe 
hpahbddi  ibec  abggtihubb  kubmbubrubhg  ubonnddi 
abphpigglibubh.  Ih  qquihngnahghnhehrrgguhuhh 
phpahagb,  Abnabssuhqquih  huhnhehb.  Mabhssebh 
Uihbbrahrhr  ibhehgg-uhubh.  Ibghgobttahhehreh 
Ggebssiihs. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  third  dialect  displays  a 
most  singular  combination  of  letters.  It  is  a  manifest 
absurdity.  Pimentel  does  not  mention  where  he  ob- 
tained it,  nor  does  be  intimate  what  sounds  are  pro- 
duced from  this  huddling  of  consonants.  I  give  it 
more  as  a  curiosity  than  with  the  idea  that  philologists 
will  ever  derive  any  benefit  from  it.2 

In  tiie  Sierra  Gorda  and  in  Guanajuato,  another 
language  is  mentioned,  called  the  Meco,  or  Serrano,  of 
which  no  specimen  but  a  Lord's  Prayer  exists : 

Mataige  gui  bu  majetzi,  qui  sundat  too,  da  gu6  rit 
tu  ju  da  ne  pa  quecque  ni  moc  candni,  ne  si  dac-kad,  na 
moccanzu;  tanto  na  sinfai,  tengu,  majetzi.  Mat  tumeje 

2  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  iii.,  p.  267;  Col.  Polididmica,  Mex.,  Oration  Do- 
minical, pp.  31-3. 


744    LANGUAGES  OF  CENTRAL  AND  SOUTHERN  MEXICO. 

td,  dt  inapa,  rac-je  pilla,  ne  si  gi  pungagd,  mat-oigaje, 
tengu  si  didi  pumjee,  too  dit-tuc-je,  nello  gijega  je 
gatac-je  ratentacion;  man-aa  jue^gaje,  gat-tit-jov  lla- 
izoonfenni.3 

Still  less  is  said  concerning  the  languages  spoken  in 
the  state  of  Tamaulipas;  of  them  nothing  is  known 
but  the  names,  and  it  cannot  be  ascertained  whether 
they  are  correctly  classified  or  not,  as  no  specimens 
exist.  The  languages  which  I  find  spoken  of  are  the 
Yu6,  Yeme,  Olive,  Janambre,  Pisone,  and  a  general 
one  named  Tamaulipeco.4 

The  Tarasco,  the  principal  language  of  Michoacan, 
can  be  placed  almost  upon  an  equality  with  the  Aztec, 
as  being  copious  and  well  finished.  It  is  particularly 
sweet-sounding,  and  on  this  account  has  been  likened 
to  the  Italian;  possessing  all  the  letters  of  the  alpha- 
bet. 

Each  syllable  usually  contains  one  consonant  and 
one  vowel;  the  letter  r  is  frequent.5  From  the  differ- 
ent grammars  I  compile  the  following : 

zPimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  p.  267. 

4  Berlandier,  Diario,  p.  144;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  p.  296. 

b  Mendleta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  p.  552.  'Tarascum,  quod  hujus  gentis  proprium 
erat  et  vulgare,  concisum  atque  elegans.'  Laet,  NovusOrbis,  p.  267.  'La 
Tarasca,  que  corre  generalmente  en  las  Prouineias  de  Mechoacan,  esta  es  muy 
facil  por  tener  la  mesma  pronunciacion  que  la  nuestra:  yassi  se  escriue  con  el 
mesmo  abecedario.  Es  muy  copiosa,  y  elegante/  Grijalua,  Cr6n.  Augustin, 
fol.  75;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  ix.;  Alegre,  Hist.  Comp.  de 
Jesus,  torn,  i.,  pp.  90-1;  Acosta,  Hist.  Nat.  Ind.,  p.  506.  'La  loro  lingua  e 
abbondante,  dolce,  e  sonora.  Adoperano  spesso  la  R  soave:  le  loro  sillabe 
constano  per  lo  piu  d'una  sola  consonante  e  d'una  vocale. '  Clavigero,  Storia 

Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  i.,  p.  149.  (Les  Tarasques . . . . eelebres par  1'har- 

monie  de  leur  langue  riche  en  voyelles.'  Humboldt,  Essai  Pol,  torn,  i.,  p.  255; 
Beaumont,  Cr6n.  de  Mechoacan,  p.  43;  Muhlenpfordt,  Mejico,  torn,  ii.,  pt.  ii.,  p. 
364;  Romero,  Noticias  Michoacan,  p.  5;  Heredia  y  Sarmiento,  Sermon,  p.  83; 
Anales  del  Ministerio  de  Fomento,  1854,  pp.  185  et  seq.;  Wappdus,  Geog.  u. 
Stat.,  p.  85;  Hassel,  Mex.  Guat.,  p.  152.  'Die  Sprache  in  dieser  Provinz 
wirk  flir  die  reineste  und  zierlichste  von  ganz  Neu-Spanien  gehalten.'  Dela- 
porte,  Reisen,  pp.  313-14;  Voter,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  125.  '  Tarasca, 
een  nette  en  korte  spraek,  die  eigentlijk  alhier  te  huis  hoort.'  Montanus, 
Nieuwe  Weereld,  p.  256.  Ward,  speaking  of  the  Tarasco,  has  made  the 
serious  mistake  of  confounding  it  with  the  Otomi,  and  seems  to  think  that 
they  are  both  one  and  the  same.  Two  languages  could  hardly  be  farther 
apart  than  these  two.  Mexico,  vol.  ii.,  p.  681.  Raffinesque,  the  indefatigable 
searcher  for  foreign  relationships  with  Mexican  languages,  claims  to  have 
discovered  an  affinity  between  the  Tarasco,  Italian,  Atlantic,  Coptic,  Pelas- 
gic,  Greek,  and  Latin  languages.  He  writes  that  he  was  '  struck  with  its 
evident  analogy'  with  the  above,  and  with  the  'languages  of  Africa  and 
Europe  both  in  words  and  structure,  in  spite  of  a  separation  of  some  thou- 
sand years.'  In  Priest's  Amer.  Antiq.,  p.  314. 


TARASCO  GRAMMAR. 


745 


In  the  alphabet  there  is  neither  /,  v,  nor  I;  no  words 
begin  with  the  letters  b,  d,  g,  and  r ;  Jc  has  a  sound 
distinct  from  that  of  c,  being  pronounced  stronger. 
The  letter  s  is  often  intercalated  for  euphony ;  it  must 
be  inserted  between  h  and  i,  when  a  word  ends  with 
h  and  the  next  begins  with  i.  At  the  end  of  a  word 
it  signifies  same,  or  self;  hi,  I;  his,  I  myself.  When 
a  word  ends  in  s  and  the  next  begins  with  h,  the  letter 
x  is  substituted  for  both.  The  letter  x  at  the  end  of 
a  word  indicates  the  plural.  Ph  is  never  pronounced 
like  /;  the  h  after  p  only  indicates  an  aspiration  of 
the  vowel  which  follows — p-hica.  Hati,  third  person 
singular  of  the  pronoun  used  in  conjugations,  may  be 
converted  into  ndi.  The  p  immediately  following  m 
is  converted  into  b.  The  r  and  t  next  following  n  are 
converted  into  d;  and  e  and  q  next  following  n  are 
converted  into  g.  There  are  three  kinds  of  nouns — 
rational,  irrational,  and  inanimate.  The  last  two  are 
indeclinable  in  the  singular.  The  plural  of  irrational 
animals  is  formed  simply  by  the  addition  of  the  parti- 
cle echa.  Two  other  particles  are  used  to  express  the 
plural  of  inanimate  things — uan  and  harandeti,  many, 
much.  Five  words  of  this  species  use,  however,  the 
particle  echa  in  the  plural ;  uata,  mountain ;  ambocuta, 
street;  ahchiuri,  night;  tzipae,  morning;  hosqua,  star. 


DECLENSION   OF  THE  WORD  FATHER. 

SINGULAR.  PLURAL. 


Nora,  tata 

Gen.  tataeueri,  or  hihcliiuiremba 

Dat.  tata  ni 

Aeus.  tata  ni 

Voc.  tata  e 

Abl.  tata  ni  himbo 


Nom. 

Gen. 

Dat. 

Acus. 

Voc. 

Abl. 


tata  echa 
tata  echa  eueri 
tata  echa  ni 
tata  echa  ni 
tata  eche  e 
tata  echa  ni  himbo 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  POMI,  TO  TOUCH. 

PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


ACTIVE. 


PASSIVE. 


I  touch, 
Thou  touchest, 
He  touches, 
We  touch, 
You  touch, 
They  touch, 

pohaca 
pohacare 
pohati 
pohacachuchi 
pohacarechuchi 
potix 

I  am  touched, 
Thou  art  touched, 
He  is  touched, 
We  are  touched, 
You  are  touched, 
Taey  are  touched, 

pogahaca 
pogahacare 
pogahati 
pogahacachuchi 
pogahacachuchi 
pogatix 

746     LANGUAGES  OF  CENTRAL  AND  SOUTHERN  MEXICO. 

IMPERFECT. 

I  touched,  pohambihca       [    I  was  touched,  pogahambihca 

PERFECT 

I  have  touched,     poca        |  I  was  touched,       pogaca 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  touched,     pophihca     |  I  had  been  touched,   pogaphica 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

I  shall  touch,  pouaca  |    I  shall  be  touched,          pagauaca 

SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  touched,  thuvin  pouaca 

I  shall  have  been  touched,       thuvin  pogauaca 

IMPERATIVE.6 


Let  me  touch,  popa 

Touch  thou,  po 

Let  him  touch,  poue 


Let  us  touch,  popacuche 

Touch  you,  paue 

Let  them  touch,  pauez 


I  might  touch,  popiringa          |    I  might  be  touched,       pogapiringa 

LORD'S  PRATER. 
Tata  huchaeueri  thukirehaca  audndaro  santo  arikeue 

Father  our  thou  who  art         heaven  in        holy         be  said 

thucheueti  hacangurikua  uuehtsini  andarenoni  thuche- 

thy  name  make  us  arrive  thy 

ueti  irechekua  ukeue  thucheueti  uekua  iskire  audndaro 

kingdom        be  done  thy  will  as  in       heaven  in 

umengahaca  istu  umengaue  ixu  echerendo     Huchaeu- 

it  is  made  as         it  be  made         as         earth  in.  Our 

eri  curinda  anganaripakua  instcuhtsini  iya  canhtsini  ue- 

bread  daily  give  us          to-day  and  to  us 

pouachetsnsta  huchaeueri  hatzingakuareta  iski  hucha 

forgive  our  fault  as  also       we 

ueliDouacuhuantstahaca  huchaeueri  hatsingakuaecheni 

forgive  our  debtors 

ca  hastsini  teruhtatzemani  terungutahperakua  himbo. 

and      not  us  lead  us  temptation  but_ 

Euahpentstatsini  caru  casingurita  himbo.7 

deliver  us  also  evil  of. 

West  of  the  valley  of  Andhuac,  in  the  ancient  king- 

*Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  275-309;  Oallatin,  in  Amer.  Ethno.  Soc., 
Transact.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  245-52;  Moxo,  Cartas  Mejicanas,  p.  68;  Vater,  Mithrl- 
dates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  126;  Manuel  de  San  Juan  Crisostomo  Ndjera,  Gram. 
Tarasca,  in  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  Boletin,  2da  epoca,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  664—84. 

7  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  p.  304;  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii., 
pp.  126-7;  Aratyo,  Manval  de  los  Santos  Sacramentos  en  el  Idioma  de  Michua- 


MATLALTZINCA  GRAMMAR.  747 

dom  of  Michoaoan,  and  in  the  district  which  is  now 
called  Toluca  was  an  independent  nation,  the  Matlalt- 
zincas,  whose  language,  of  which  there  are  several  dia- 
lects, notwithstanding  the  assertion  of  some  writers 
that  it  was  connected  with  or  related  to  the  Tarasco, 
must  still  stand  as  an  individual  and  distinct  tongue. 
Comparisons  may  develop  a  few  phonetic  similarities, 
but  otherwise  the  two  do  not  approach  one  another  in 
the  least.8 

There  are  twenty-one  letters  usea  in  the  Matlaltzinca 
language :  a,  6,  ch,  d,  e,  g,  Ji,  i,  fc,  m,  n,  o,  p,  q,  r,  t,  tz, 
th,  u,  x,  y,  z.  Compounded  words  are  frequently  used 
and  are  considered  very  elegant:  kimituhoritakimin- 
dutzitzi,  to  look  for  something  to  eat ;  kituteginchimu- 
thohuinikuhumbi,  I  give  a  good  example.  Gender  is 
expressed  and  there  is  also  a  declension.  There  is  a 
singular,  a  dual,  and  a  plural;  the  dual  is  designated 
by  the  preposition  the:  huema,  the  man;  thema,  the 
two  men.  The  plural  is  designated  by  the  preposition 
ne — nema,  the  men;  but  there  are  some  inanimate 
substantives  with  which  this  latter  preposition  is  not 
used. 

The  personal  pronouns  are :  kaki,  I ;  kakuehui,  lea- 
kuebi,  kakuehebi,  we  two;  kakohuiti,  'kakehebi,  we; 
Icahachi,  thou;  kachehui,  you  two;  Jcachohui,  you;  in- 
thehui,  he;  inthehuehui,  they  two;  inthehue,  they. 
Possessives:  niteyeh,  mine;  kaxniyeh,  thine;  niyeh, 
inthehui,  his. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  LOVE. 

PRESENT    INDICATIVE. 
SINGULAR. 

I  love,  kitututochi 

Thou  lovest,  kitutochi,  or  kikitutochi 

He  loves,  kitutochi 

DUAL. 

We  two  love,  kikuentutochi 

You  two  love,  kichentutochi 

They  two  love,         kikuentutochi 

8  '  Estos  tolucas,  y  por  otro  nombre  Matlatzincas,  no  hablaban  la  lengua 

mexidkna,  sino  otra  dif erente  y  obscura y  su  lengua  propia  de  ellos,  no 

carece  de  la  letra  R.'  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  lib.  x.,  p.  129;  Grijalua, 
Cr<jn.  Augustin,  fol.  75;  Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  Esqumes,  p.  33. 


748     LANGUAGES  OF  CENTRAL  AND  SOUTHERN  MEXICO. 

PLURAL. 

We  love,  kikuchentutochi 

You  love,  kichehentutochi 

They  love,  kirontutochi 

IMPERFECT.  PERFECT. 

I  loved,  kimitututochi  |    I  have  loved,      kitabutochi 

FUTURE. 

I  shall  love  kirutochi,  or  takimitututoch- 

IMPERATIVE. 

Let  me  love,  kutochi 

PASSIVE. 

I  am  loved,  kitochikikaki  I    We  are  loved,    kitochikakehebi 

We  two  are  loved,    kitochihuehuikakuebi  | 

REFLEXIVE. 

I  love  myself,  kitutecochi 

He  who  loves,  inmututochi  j  He  who  will  love,  inkakatutochi 

LORD'S  PRAYER. 
Kabotuntanki  kizhechori  ypiytiy  tharehetemeyuh- 

Father  our  thou  art  above   in  heaven  sanctified  be 

butohui  inituyuh  tapue  nitubeye  tharetehehui  inuniha- 

thy  name         come     thy  kingdom  do  above  the  earth 

mi  inkituhenahui  ipuzka  hetehehui  ypiytiy.   Achii   ri- 

thy  will  as  it  is  done         in  heaven.      To-day 

pahkehbi  inbotumehui  indahmutze  dihemindikebi  inbo 

give  us  our  bread  every  day  forgive  us 

tubuchochi  pukuehentukahmindi  indorihuebikeh  nuxi- 

our  fault  as  we  forgive  our  debtors 

menkarihechi  kehbi  muhe   dishedanita   kehbi   pinita 

let  us  not  fall  us  and  deliver  us  from 

inbuti.9 

evil. 

A  language  spoken  in  Toluca,  the  Ocuiltec,  is  men- 
tioned by  Sahagun  and  Grijalua,  about  which,  except- 
ing the  name  only,  no  information  can  be  obtained. ] 


10 


Principally  in  the  state  of  Oajaca,  but  also  in  parts 

9Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  499-539;  Guevara,  Arte  Doctrinal,  in  Soc. 
Mex.  Geoy.,  Boktin,  torn,  ix.,  pp.  197-260;  Voter,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt. 
hi.,  p.  126. 

19  '  Ocuiltecas,  viven  en  el  distrito  de  Toluca,  en  tierras  y  terminos  suyos, 
son  de  la  misma  vida,  y  costumbre  de  los  de  la  Toluca,  aunque  su  lenguage 
es  diferente.'  Sahayun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  lib.  x.,  p.  130.  'Ocuilteca,  que 
es  lengua  singular  de  aquel  pueblo,  y  de  solo  ocho  visitas,  que  tenia  sujetas 
asi,  y  assi  somos  solos,  los  que  la  sabemos.'  Grijalua,  Cr6n.  Aug-ustin,  fol.  75. 


DIALECTS  OF  THE  MIZTEC  LANGUAGE.  749 

of  the  present  states  of  Puebla  and  Guerrero,  the  Miz- 
tec  language  is  spoken  even  to  this  day.  Of  this  lan- 
guage, there  are  many  dialects,  of  which  the  following 
are  mentioned  as  chief:  the  Tepuzculano,  the  Yan- 
gliistlan,  the  Miztec  bajo,  the  Miztec  alto,  the  Cuix- 
lahuac,  the  Tlaxiaco,  the  Cuilapa,  the  Mictlantongo, 
the  Tamazulapa,  the  Xaltepec,  and  the  Nochiztlan. 
As  related  to  the  Miztec,  the  Chocho,  or  Chuchon, 
also  an  Oajaca  idiom,  is  mentioned.11  As  the  Miztecs 
are  generally  classed  among  the  autochthones  of  Mex- 
ico, their  language  is  considered  as  of  great  antiquity, 
being  spoken  of  in  connection  with  that  of  the  Ulmecs 
and  Xicalancas.12  Almost  all  of  the  old  missionaries 
complained  of  the  difficulty  of  acquiring  this  tongue 
and  its  many  dialects,  which  necessitated  often  a  three- 
fold or  fourfold  study.13 

The  Miztec  may  be  written  by  means  of  the  follow- 
ing letters :  a,  ch,  d,  e,h,  i,  j,  k,  m,  n,  n,  o,  s,  t,  u,  v,  x  or 
ks,  gs,  y,  z,  dz,  nd,  in,  kh.  The  pronunciation  is  very 
clear;  the  h  is  aspirated;  v  is  as  in  English;  Ich,  nd, 
and  tn,  are  nasal.  Long  words  are  of  frequent  occur- 
rence. I  give  two  of  seventeen  syllables  each :  yodoyo- 
kavuandisasikandiyosanninahasahan,  to  walk  stum- 
bling; and  yokuvuihuatinindiyotuvuihuatusindisahata,  to 

11  '  Y  aunque  la  lengua  los  haze  generalmente  a  todos  vnos  en  muchos 
partes  la  hail  diferenciado  en  sylabas,  y  modo  de  pronunciarlas,  pero  todos 
se  comunican,  y  entienden.'  Burgoo,,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  i.,  fol.  127,  130; 
Gnjalua,  Cr6n.  Augustin,  p.  75;  Brasseur  de  Bourhourg,  Exquisses,  pp.  34-6; 
Laet,  Novus  Orbfe,  p.  260;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  xii.-xiii.; 
Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  pp.  189-96;  Villa-Senor  y  Sanchez,  Tneatro,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  137;  Remesal,  Hist.  Chyapa,  p.  712. 

i-i  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  p.  32.  '  Ein  Volk,  das  zu  den  Auto- 
chthoiien  von  Mexico  gehort.'  Bwchmann,  Ortsnamen,  p.  18. 

13 '  Mistica,  cuya  entera  pronunciacion  se  vale  algunas  vezes  de  las  narizes, 
y  tiene  muchos  equiuocos  que  la  hazen  de  mayor  dificultad. '  Ddvila  Padilla, 
Hist.  Fvnd.  Max.,  p.  64.  'La  lengua  clificultosissima  en  la  pronunciacion, 
con  notable  variedad  de  terminos  y  vozes  en  vnos  y  otros  Pueblos.'  Burgoa, 
Palestra,  Hist.,  pt.  i.,  fol.  211.  'Que  como  eran  Demonios  se  valian  de  la 
maliciosa  astucia  de  varias  la  vozes  y  vocablos  en  esta  lengua,  asi  para  los 
Palacios  de  los  Caziques  con  terminos  reuerenciales,  como  para  los  Idolos  con 
parabolos,  y  tropos,  que  solos  los  satrapas  los  aprendian,  y  como  era  aqui  lo 
mas  corrupto.'  Id.,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  i.,  fol.  156.  'La  lengua  de  aquella 
nacion,  que  es  dificultosa  de  saberse,  por  la  gran  equiuocacion  de  los  bocablos, 
para  cuya  distincion  es  necessario  vsar  de  ordinario  del  sonido  de  la  nariz  y 
aspiracion  del  aliento.'  Remesal,  Hist.  Chyapa,  p.  321.  'Serla  Lengua  difi- 
cultosa de  aprender,  por  las  muchas  equiuocaciones  que  tiene.'  JDdvila,  Teatro 
Ecles.,  torn,  i.,  p.  156. 


750     LANGUAGES  OF  CENTRAL  AND  SOUTHERN  MEXICO. 

conciliate  the  good  graces  of  a  person.  Words  are 
compounded  or  agglutinated  in  five  different  ways: 
First,  without  changing  either  of  the  component 
words;  as,  yutnu,  tree;  and  kuihi,  fruit;  yutnukuihi, 
fruit-tree.  Second,  one  of  the  component  words 
changes;  as,  huaha,  good;  and  nanaha,  no;  nahuaha, 
bad.  Third,  words  which  are  first  divided  and  cut  up 
are  afterward,  so  to  say,  patched  together  again. 
Fourth,  one  word  is  intercalated  with  another;  as, 
yosinindi,  I  know;  mam',  an  estimable  thing;  yosini- 
manindi,  I  love  or  esteem. 

There  are  many  words  in  this  language  which  ex- 
press quite  different  things,  according  to  the  con- 
nection in  which  they  are  used;  as,  yondakandi,  I 
accompany  somebody,  means  also  I  ask;  yoyuhuindi, 
I  counsel,  signifies  also,  I  go  to  receive  somebody  on 
the  road;  also,  let  us  go,  etc.  Reverential  terms  are 
of  frequent  occurrence,  necessitating  almost  a  separate 
language  when  addressing  superiors.  For  instance : 
noho,  teeth;  yeknya,  yuchixa,  teeth  of  a  lord;  dzitui, 
nose;  dutuya,  nose  of  a  lord;  dzoho,  ears;  tnahaya, 
ears  of  a  lord.  There  is  no  regular  plural,  but  plu- 
rality is  expressed  by  the  word  'many,'  or  the  num- 
ber. Personal  pronouns  are :  I,  speaking  to  inferiors 
or  equals,  duhu,  ndi;  I,  speaking  with  superiors,  nad- 
zana,  nadza,  ndza;  thou,  doho,  ndo;  thou,  used  by 
females  speaking  to  their  children,  diya,  nda;  you,  or 
your  honor,  disi,  maini,  ni;  he,  ta,  tay,  yukua;  she, 
na  (also  used  by  women  speaking  of  men);  he  or  she, 
speaking  respectfully,  ya,  iya;  we,  ndoo;  you,  doho; 
they,  ta,  tay,  yukua.  The  pronouns  ndi,  ndo,  ta,  are 
affixed  to  the  verb;  and  the  pronouns  duhu,  doho,  and 
tai  are  prefixed;  nadzana  is  usually  prefixed;  nadza 
or  ndza,  affixed;  disi  and  maini  are  generally  prefixed, 
ni  is  affixed;  diya  is  prefixed,  and  na,  ndoo,  and  ya 
are  affixed. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  SIN. 

PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 

I  sin,  yodzatevuindi    I     He  sins,  yodzatevuita 

Thou  sinnest,  yodzatevuindo  |    We  sin,  yodzatevuindoo 


MIZTEC  GRAMMAR  AND  LORD'S  PRAYERSt  751 

IMPERFECT.          '  PLUPERFECT. 

I  sinned,  nidzatevuindi     |    I  had  sinned;  sanidzatevuindi 

IRST   FUTURE.  SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  sin,  dzatevuindl         |    I  shall  have  sinned,  sadzatevuikandi 

IMPERATIVE. 


Let  me  sin,  nadzatevuindi 

Sin  thou,  dzatevui 


Let  us  sin,  nadzatevuindoo 

Sin  you,  chidzatevui 


Let  him,  or  them,  sin,  nadzatevuita 

Verbal  nouns  are  formed  by  prefixing  the  syllable 
sa,  or  sasi,  to  the  present  indicative  of  the  verb.  Re- 
garding the  dialects  of  the  Miztec,  Pimentel  quotes 
the  following  from  Father  Reyes'  grammar:  All  the 
dialects  may  be  grouped  into  two  principal  languages, 
which  are  those  of  Tepuzculula  and  Yangiiitlan.  That 
of  Tepuzculula  is  the  best  understood  throughout  the 
district  of  Mizteca. 

The  Pater  Noster  in  the  Tepuzculula  dialect  is  as 
follows : 

Dzutundoo  yodzikani  andevui  nakakunahihuahan- 

Our  father  thou  art  heaven  let  us  praise 

doo,  sananini  nakisi  santoniisini  nakuvui  nuunayevui 

thy  name         come         thy  kingdom  be  done          (in  the)  world 

inini  dzavuatnaha  yokuvui  andevui.     Dzitandoo  yut- 

thy  will  as  also  be  done     (in)  heaven.  Our  bread         each 

naa  yutnaa  tasinisindo  huitno  dzaandoui  kuachisindoo 

day  give  us  much         to-day         forgive  us  our  sins 

dzavuatnaha  yodzandoondoo  suhani  sindoo  huasa  ki- 

as  well  as  we  forgive  debtor  ours  not 

vuinahani  nukuitandodzondoo  kuachi  tavuinahani  safia- 

lead  us  we  will  fall  in  sin  deliver  you         from 

huahua.  Dzavua  nakuvui. 

evil.  So  be  it  made. 

For  the  purpose  of  illustrating  the  difference  between 
the  dialects,  I  insert  two  other  Pater  Nosters,  the  first 
of  Miztec  bajo,  and  the  second  of  the  alto  dialect : 

Dutundo  hiadicani  andivi  nacuti  hii  na  ndnini :  na- 
quixidica  satonixini:  nacuu  ndudu  inini  nunahivi 
yohb  daguatnaha  yo  ciiu  ini  andivi.  Ditando  itidn 
itian  taxinia  nundi  vichi :  te  dandooni  cuachindi  dagua 
tnaha  dandoondi  naa  ni  dativi  nundi :  te  maza  dd/nani 
ntziuhu  uncaguandi  na  dativindi:  te  cuneguahanindi 
nuu  nditaca  na  unguaha.  Duha  na  cuu  Jesus. 


752     LANGUAGES  OF  CENTRAL  AND  SOUTHERN  MEXICO. 

Dzutuyo  iyoxicani  andivi  nacui  liii  nananini.  Na- 
quixi  xatbriiixini.  Naciihui  ndudzuinini  unaiviydho, 
sahuatna  yociihui  ini  andivi.  Dzitayo  itian  itian  ta- 
xini  nundi  vichi :  sandoo-ni  cudchiyo,  sahuatanha  yo 
sandondi  nanidzativi  nundi  taun-sayahani  nacanaca- 
huandi  zadzativindi.  Sacacunino  nahani  nuu  nditaca 
na  hunhua.  Dzaa  nacuu  lya  lesus.14 

Another  language,  said  to  be  connected  with  the 
Miztec  is  the  Amusgo.  Wedged  in  between  the  Miz- 
tec  and  Zapotec  are  several  tongues,  of  which,  except- 
ing a  few  Lord's  prayers,  I  find  nothing  mentioned 
but  the  names;  it  is  not  improbable  that  some  of 
them  were  only  dialects  of  either  the  Miztec  or  Zapo- 
tec. These  are  the  Mazatec,  Cuicatec,  and  Chinantec, 
which  latter  is  described  as  a  very  guttural  tongue, 
with  a  rather  indistinct  pronunciation,  so  that  it  is 
difficult  to  distinguish  the  vowels;  further  there  are 
mentioned  the  Chatino,  Tlapanec,  and  Popoluca.15 
Orozco  y  Berra  declares  that  the  following  names 
designate  the  Popoluca  in  different  states.  Thus  the 
Chocho,  Chochona,  or  Chuchon  is  said  by  him  to  have 
been  called,  in  Puebla,  the  Popoluca ;  in  Guerrero,  the 
Tlapanec:  in  Michoacan,  the  Teco;  and  in  Guate- 
mala, the  Pupuluca.16  Of  these  languages,  I  have 
the  following  Lord's  prayers: 

CHOCHO    OR    CHUCHON. 

Thanay  theeningarmhi  athiytnuthu  y  nay  dithiiii 
achuua  dinchaxiiii  atatcu  ndithetatcu  caguni,  nchi- 
yatheetatcu  ngarmhi  andaatat§u  sacermhi  y  tcama  caa- 

14  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  41-79;  Vater,  Mitkridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt. 
iii.,  pp.  31-41;  Catecismo  del  P.  tiipaldo,  traducida  al  Misteco;  Catecismo  en 
idioma  Mixteco. 

15 Remesal,  Hist.  Chyapa,  p.  712.  Chinantec  'con  la  dificultad  de  la 
pronunciacion,  y  vozes  tan  equiuocas  que  con  vn  mesmo  terinino  mas  blando 
d  mas  recio  dicho  significa  disonante  sentido.'  'Por  que  la  locucion  ea 
entre  dientes,  violenta,  y  con  los  accentos  de  consonantes  asperas,  confusas 
las  vocales,  sin  distincion  vnas  de  otras  que  parecian  bramidos,  mas  que 
terminos  de  locucion.'  Burgoa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  i.,  fol.  183,  torn,  ii., 
fol.  284,  286;  Villa-Seftor  y  Sanchez,  Theatro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  137,  141,  163,  187, 
189,  197;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  pp.  187-97;  Hakluyt's  Voy.,  vol.  iii.,  p. 
497. 

16Sahagur  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  lib.  x.,  p.  135;  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii., 
p.  262. 


MAZATEC  AND  CUICATEC  LORD'S  PRAYERS.  753 

tuenesacalia  cahau  cahau  atzizhuqhee  caa  tuenesacaha 
di  enihay  a  taanguyheene  caguni,  ditheethaxengaqhine 
tuenesacaha  nchiyaquichuu,  ditheetaanguyheene  cagu- 
quichuu.  .  .  .sacaha,  thiytheecheexengaqhine  quichuu 
sacaha  netcanga  yhathamini  cixit^eyasacaha  yhee 
cheecaamini  cheecaaqhi  nemini  caatuenesacaha  caa- 
nenndinana  andataazu. 

Of  the  Mazatec  there  are  two  specimens,  which  do 
not  appear  to  accord,  thus  showing  how  little  regard 
was  paid  to  names: 

Nadmind,  Naind,  ga  tecni  gahami,  sandumi  ili  ga 
tirrubanajin  nanguili.  Cuaha  catama  janimali,  jacunit 
die  nangui-cunit  gahami.  Nino  rrajinna  tey  quitaha 
najin;  qntedchatahanajin  gadchidtonajin  jacunitgajin 
nedchata  alejin  chidtaga  tedtunajin.  Guquimit  tacun- 
tuajin,  tued  tinajin  cuacha  ca  tama. 

Tata  nahan  xi  nacd  nihaseno;  chacuca,  catoma 
mere;  catichova"  rico  manimajin.  Catoma  cuazuare 
donjara  bato6  cor  nangui,  bateco,  nihasen:  niotisla 
najin  ri  ganeihinixtin,  tinto  najin  dehi;  nicanuhi  ri 
guitenajin  donjara  batoo,  juirin  ni  canojin  ri  quiteisja- 
jin,  quiniquenahi  najin  ri  danjin  quis  anda  nongo 
niqueste.  Mee. 

Of  the  Cuicatec  there  are  also  two  dialects : 
Chidao,  chicane  cheti  jubi  chintuico  na;  cobichi,  jubi 
na ;  chichii,  chicobi  no  ns :  nendi  na ;  cobichi  nenona. 
Duica  nahdn,  iiahdn  tando  cheti  jubi.  Nondo  necno; 
chi  jubi,  jubi;  techi  ni  nons:  md  dinenino,  ni  chi  can- 
ticono,  dinen,  tandonons;  dieninono  chi  canti  co  nehen 
nons,  ata  condicno;  na  tentac  ion,  ante  danhi,  dinenino 
ni  chin  que  he  danhi. 

Chida  deco,  chicanede  vae  chetingue  cuivicu  duchi 
dende  cuichi  nusun  dende  vue  chetingue  cui,  tundube 
vedinun  dende  tica  nanaa,  tandu  vae  chetingue  yn 
dingue  deco  de  huehue  techide  deco  guema  yna  deche- 
code  deco  ducue  ticu  tica,  tandu  nusun  nadecheco  dee- 

VOL.  III.    48 


754     LANGUAGES  OF  CENTRAL  AND  SOUTHERN  MEXICO. 

vioducue  chichati  cusa  yati,  tumandicude  cuitao  vendi- 
cuido  nanguaedene  ducue  chiguetae.17 

The  ancient  kingdom  of  Zapotecapan,  in  which  the 
Zapotec  language  was  spoken,  extended  from  the  val- 
ley of  Oajaca  as  far  as  Tehuantepec.  The  different 
dialects  were :  the  Zaachilla,  Ocotlan,  Etla,  Netzicho, 
Serrano  de  Ixtepec,  Serrano  de  Cajones  or  Beni-Xono, 
and  Serrano  de  Miahuatlan.18  The  Zapotec  is  a  more 
harmonious  language  than  the  Miztec,  and  is  spoken 
with  considerable  elegance,  metaphors  and  parables 
abounding.19  Yet  it  is  in  some  places  pronounced  in- 
distinctly; so  much  so  that  Juan  Cordova,  the  author 
of  a  grammar,  complains  that  the  letters  a  and  o,  e,  y, 
and  i,  o  and  u,  b  and  p,  and  t  and  r,  are  often  con- 
founded. The  h  is  used  only  as  an  aspirate.  The 
following  letters  of  the  alphabet  represent  the  sounds 
of  the  Zapotec :  a,  b,  ch,  e,  g,  h,  i,  fc,  I,  m,  n,  n,  o,  p,  r, 
/,  u,  y,  x,  z,  tli.  There  are  also  five  diphthongs :  SB,  ce, 
ei,  ie,  on.  The  plural  is  expressed  either  by  numerals 
or  by  adjectives:  pichina,  deer;  ziani  pichina,  many 
deer.  Like  the  Aztec,  Miztec,  and  others,  the 
Zapotec  has  reverential  terms.  The  personal  pro- 
nouns are:  naa,  ya,  a,  I;  lohui,  loy,  looy,  lo,  thou; 
yobina,  your  honor  (when  speaking  to  superiors) ; 
nikani,  nike,  nikee,  ni,  ke,  he  or  they ;  yobini  or  yobina, 
he  (speaking  respectfully) ;  taono,  tono,  tonoo,  tona,  no, 
noo,  we;  lato,  to,  you. 

Possessives:  xitenia,  mine;  xitenilo,  thine;  xitenini, 
his;  xitenitono  or  xitenino,  ours;  xitenito,  yours.  Inter- 
rogatives  used  with  animate  beings  are :  tuxa  or  tuia, 
tu  or  chu-,  and  with  inanimate  things:  xiikaxa,  xiixa, 
xii;  koota  is  used  for  either  animate  or  inanimate 
objects. 

17  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  259-62. 

18  Villa-Senor  y  Sanchez,  Theatro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  190-9;  Museo  Mex.,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  554;  Muhlenpfordt,  Mejico,  torn.  ii.,.  p.  186;    Wappaus,  Geog.  u.  Stat., 
p.  b6;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geoyrafia,  p.  177;  Buryoa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  ii., 
ful.  312. 

19  '  Su  lenguage  era  tan  metaforico,  como  el  de   los  Palestinos,  lo  que 
querian  persuadir,   hablaban  siempre  con  parabolas.'  JBuryoa,  Geoy.  Descrip., 
torn,  i.,  fol.  196.      'La  langue  Zapoteque  est  d'une  douceur  et  d'une  sonorite 
qui  rappelle  1'Italien.'  Brasseur  de  Bout^oury,  Esquisses,  p.  35. 


ZAPOTEC  GRAMMAR  AND  LORD'S  PRAYER.  755 

There  are  four  conjugations,  which  are  distinguished 
by  the  particles  with  which  they  commence.  The 
first  uses,  in  the  present,  ta,  in  the  past,  lea,  and  in  the 
future  ka;  the  second  has  te,  pe,  and  ke;  the  third,  ti, 
ko,  ki;  and  if  they  are  passives,  ti,  pi,  ki,  or  ti,  ko,  and 
ka;  the  fourth  uses  to,  pe,  and  ko. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  DIG. 

PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  dig,  tanaya 

Thou  diggest,  tanalo 


We  dig,  tieenano 

You  dig,  tanato 


He  digs,  or  they  dig,         tanani 

IMPERFECT.  PERFECT. 

I  dug,  tanatia,         konatia,  or  konaya  |    I  have  dug,  zianaya 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  dug,  huayanaya,  konakalaya,  zianakalaya 

or,  huayanakalaya 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

I  shall  dig,  kanaya 

IMPERATIVE. 

Dig  thou,  kona 

Let  us  dig,  lakeyanano,  or  kolakieenano 

Dig  you,  kolakana 

OTHER   FORMS. 

If  I  would  dig,        nianalayaniaka 
If  I  have  dug,          zianatilaya 
If  I  shall  dig,  nikanaya 

The  following  is  an  example  of  the  differences  be- 
tween the  dialects:  Child  in  the  Zaachilla  is  batoo; 
in  the  Ocotlari,  metho;  in  the  Etla,  binnito;  in  the 
sierra,  bitao;  in  the  tierra  caliente,  bato. 

The  Pater  Noster  with  literal  translation  taken 
from  the  Catecismo  of  Leonardo  Levanto,  reads  as 
follows : 

Bixoozetonoohe  kiiebaa  nachiibalo  nazitoo    ziikani 

tFather  our  heaven  thou  who  art  above  great   has  been  done 

laalo    kellakookii  xtennilo  kita  ziika  ruarii  nitiziguee- 

thy  name        kingdom  thine      will  come  here  thy  will 

lalo    ziika    raka    kiaa,  kiiebaa    laaniziika    gaka  ruarii 

as         is  done     above,       heaven  as  be  done       here 

layoo.     Xikonina  kixee  kixee  peneche  ziika  anna  chela 

earth.     The  bread  of  all  us     to-morrow  give  also     to-day         and 

a  kozaananaaziikalo  tonoo  niiani  ya  kezihuina:  peziilla 

not  lead  us  us  that      we  sin:  deliver 


756     LANGUAGES  OF  CENTRAL  AND  SOUTHERN  MEXICO. 

zika  tonoo  niiaxtenni  kiraa  kellahuechiie.     Gaga   ziiga 

also  us  of  all  evil.  Will  be  done      so 

ziika.20 

so. 

Between  the  head  waters  of  the  Rio  Nexapa  and 
Goatzacoalco,  the  Mije  language  is  spoken.  It  is  de- 
scribed as  guttural  and  rough,  and  by  some  as  poor  in 
words,  necessitating  auxiliary  gestures.  The  bishop 
of  Oajaca,  to  whose  diocese  they  belonged,  in  a  letter  to 
Archbishop  Lorenzana  stated  that  he  had  a  people 
under  him,  who  could  only  converse  during  daylight, 
for  at  night  they  could  not  see  their  gestures  and 
without  these  were  unable  to  understand  each  other.21 
The  following  alphabet  is  used  by  Pimentel  in  writing 
this  language :  a,  ?>,  ch,  e,  h,  i,  k,  m,  n,  n,  o,  p,  t,  u,  v,  x, 
y,  tz.  Two  and  more  consonants  frequently  follow 
one  another  in  the  same  syllable;  as,  akx,  epx,  itzp, 
otzk,  mma,  mne,  mpi,  mto,  mxu,  etc.  Vowels  are  also 
frequently  double;  as,  k66,  arms;  teikkaa,  and  tinaak, 
stomach.  In  declensions,  the  genitive  is  formed  by 
prefixing  the  letter  i:  xduh,  name;  dios  ixeuh,  name 
of  God.  The  plural  is  formed  by  the  terminal  toch: 
toix,  woman;  toixtoch,  women. 

PRONOUNS. 

I  otz,  n,  notz 

Thou  ix,  mitz,  mi,  mim,  n 

Thou,  speaking  with  reverence      mih 

He  t,  i 

He,  or  they  who  hudiiphee,  hudii 

He,  or  they  who  (affixed)  phee,  hee 

This,  these  phee,  hee,  yaat 

Who  pon 

We  ootz,  n 

They  yad 

Mine  notz 

Thine  m,  mitzm 

His  i 

Our,  ours  ootzn,  nootz,  n 

20 Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  321-60;  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1841, 
torn,  xcii.,  pp.  260  et  seq. 

21 '  Expressa  el  Illrn0  Senor  Obispo  de  Oaxaca  en  su  Pastoral,  que  en  su 
Diocesis  hay  una  Lengua,  que  solo  de  dia  se  entienden  bien,  y  que  de  noche 
en  apagandoles  la  luz,  ya  no  se  pueden  explicar,  porque  con  los  gestos  signi- 
fican.'  Lorenzana  y  Buitron,  Cartas  Pastorales,  p.  96,  note  1.  'Tambien 
su  idioma  tiene  fuerca  y  energia. '  Burgoa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  ii.,  fol.  271. 
'  Lingua  illorum,  rudis  et  crassum  quid  sonans  instar  Allemanorum. '  Laet, 
Novas  Orbis,  p.  262;  Barnard's  Tehuantepec,  pp.  224-5;  Villa-Senor  y  San- 


MIJE  ADVERBS,  PREPOSITIONS,  AND  CONJUNCTIONS.     757 

ADVERBS,    PREPOSITIONS,    AND   CONJUNCTIONS. 

Here  ya 

No  katii 

Thence  heem 

Always  xuma 

Never  kahundiin 

More  niik 

Then  hueniit 

When  ko 
For,  in,  to,  above,  with        kuxm 

Of  kuxmit,  it 

In,  between  hoitp 

In  huifi 

With  modt 

Inside,  within  akuuk 

Before  huindui 

Why,  what  for  heekuxm 

That  huen 

As  much,  so  that  ixtanom 

Not  yet  katiinam 

How,  since  ixta 


THE    LORDS    PRAYER. 

Nteitootz  tzaphoitp  mtzonaiphee  konuikx  itot  mitzm 

Father  our        in  heaven          who  lives  blessed       be          thy 

x6uh  momoikdotz  mitzm  konkion  itunot  mitzm  tzokn 

name  gives  us  thy  kingdom      be  done        thy          will 

ya  naxhuin  ixta  ituinu  tzaphoitp.     Ootzn  kaik  opo- 

as        in  earth          as        is  done        in  heaven.  Our        bread 

mopomit  momoikootz  yoniit  etz  moyaknitokoikootzn 

daily  gives  us  to-day       and  forgive  us 

pokpa  ixta  ootz  niaknitokoi  ootzn  yachotmaatpa  etz 

sin  as          we  forgive  our  offender  and 

katii  66tz  ixmomatztuit  heekuxm  katii  66tz  nkedai 

not          as  lead  that  not          as    let  us  carry 

huinonn  kuxn.     Etz  mokohuankootz  nanihum  kaoiap- 

temptation        in.  And  deliver  all  evil 

hee  kuxmit.22 

from. 

The  language  of  the  Huaves  spoken  on  the  isthmus 
of  Tehuantepec  is,  according  to  tradition,  not  indige- 
nous to  the  country.  It  is  related  that  these  people 
came  by  water  from  a  place  down  the  coast,  although 

chez,  Theatro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.   155,   199-201;  Miihlenpfordt,  Mejico,  torn,  ii.,  p. 
143;  Museo  Mex.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  555;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  p.  176. 
'2'2  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  173-88. 


758    LANGUAGES  OF  CENTRAL  AND  SOUTHERN  MEXICO. 

the  locality  whence  they  came  is  not  given.23     I  have 
only  the  following  numerals  as  a  specimen  of  the  lan- 


guage:24 

One  anoeth 

Two  izquied* 

Three  areux 

Four  apequitf 

Five  acoquiati 

Six  anaiu 

Seven  ayeiti 

Eight  axpecau" 

Nine  axqueyeti 


Ten  agax-poax 

Eleven  agax-paiiocthr 

Twelve  agax-pieuhx 

Thirteen  agax-par 

Fourteen  agax-papeux 

Fifteen  agax-pacoigx 

Twenty  nicumaio 

Thirty  nieumiaomcaxpo 
One  hundred        anoecacocmiau 


23 '  Y  se  dixo  antes,  que  la  nacion  destos  Indies  huabes  avian  venido  de 
tierras  muy  lexanas,  de  allk  de  la  Costa  del  Sur,  mas  cerca  de  la  Eclyptica 
vezindad  del  Peru,  y  segun  las  circunstancias  de  su  lengua,  y  trato  de  la 
Provincia  6  Reyno  de  Nicarahua.'  Burgoa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  ii.,  fol.  396. 
'  El  huave,  huavi,  guave,  llamado  tambien  en  un  antiguo  MS.  guazonteca  6 
huazonteca,  se  habla  en  el  Estado  de  Oaxaca.  Los  huaves  son  originarios  de 
Guatemala;  unos  les  hacen  de  la  filiacion  de  los  peruanos,  fuiidandose  en  la 
semejanza  de  algunas  costumbres,  mientras  otros  les  suponen  hermanos  de  los 
pueblos  de  Nicaragua.  La  segunda  opinion  nos  parece  la  mas  aeertada,  y  aun 
nos  atreveriamos  a  creer  que  el  huave  pertenece  a  la  familia  maya-quiche. ' 
Orozco  y  JBerra,  Geografia,  pp.  44,  74.  '  II  parait  deinontre,  cependant,  que 
la  langue  des  Wabi  a  de  grandes  analogies  avec  quelqu'une  de  celles  qu'on 
parlait  ^,  Nicaragua.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourgy  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  toni.  iii.,  p.  36. 

24  Sivers,  Mittelamerika,  p.  290. 


CHAPTEK  XI. 

THE  MAYA-QUICH^  LANGUAGES. 

THE  MAYA-QUICHE,  THE  LANGUAGES  OF  THE  CIVILIZED  NATIONS  or  CENTRAL 
AMERICA — ENUMERATION  or  THE  MEMBERS  or  THIS  FAMILY — HYPOTHET- 
ICAL ANALOGIES  WITH  LANGUAGES  OF  THE  OLD  WORLD — LORD'S  PRAYERS 
IN  THE  CHANABAL,  CHIAPANEC,  CHOL,  TZENDAL,  ZOQUE,  AND  ZOTZIL — 
POKONCHI  GRAMMAR — THE  MAME  OR  ZAKLOPAHKAP — QUICHE  GRAMMAR 
— CAKCHIQUEL  LORD'S  PRAYER — MAYA  GRAMMAR — TOTONAC  GRAMMAR 
— TOTONAC  DIALECTS — HUASTEC  GRAMMAR. 

THE  languages  of  the  civilized  nations  of  Central 
America,  being  all  more  or  less  affiliated,  may  be  not 
improperly  classified  as  the  Maya-Quiche  family,  the 
Maya  constituting  the  mother  tongue.  Commencing 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  river  Goazacoalco,  thence 
extending  over  Tabasco,  Chiapas,  Yucatan,  Guatemala, 
and  portions  of  Salvador,  Honduras,  and  Nicaragua, 
it  occupies  the  same  relatively  important  position  in 
the  south  as  the  Aztec  farther  north.  Besides  spread- 
ing out  over  this  immense  area,  there  are  two  branches 
still  farther  north,  isolated  from  the  mother  tongue, 
yet  coterminous  to  each  other,  the  Huastec  and  the 
Totonac  of  Tarnaulipas  and  Vera  Cruz.  Without  in- 
cluding the  last  mentioned,  probably  the  fullest  enu- 
meration of  all  these  languages  is  given  by  the 
Licenciado  Diego  Garcia  de  Palacio,  in  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  the  king  of  Spain,  in  the  year  1576. 
Omitting  the  Aztec,  which  he  includes  in  his  cata- 
logue, his  summary  is  substantially  as  follows:  In 

(759) 


760  THE  MAYA-QUICHE  LANGUAGES. 

Chiapas,  the  Chiapanec,  Tloque,  Zotzil,  and  Zeldal- 
Quelen;  in  Soconusco,  a  tongue  which  he  designates 
as  the  mother  language,  and  another  called  the  Vebet- 
lateca;  in  Suchitepec  and  Guatemala,  the  Mame, 
Achi,  Guatemaltec,  Chinantec,  Hutatec,  and  Chiri- 
chota ;  in  Vera  Paz,  the  Pokonchi  and  Caechicolchi ; 
in  the  valleys  of  Acacebastla  and  Chiquimula,  the 
Tlacacebastla  and  Apay;  and  in  the  valley  of  San 
Miguel,  the  Poton,  Taulepa,  and  Ulua.  Other  authors 
mention,  in  Guatemala,  the  Quiche,  the  Cakchiquel, 
the  Zutugil,  the  Chorti,  the  Alaguilac,  the  Caichi,  the 
Ixil,  the  Zoque,  the  Coxoh,  the  Chanabal,  the  Choi, 
the  Uzpanteca,  the  Aguacateca,  the  Quecchi;  and  in 
Yucatan,  the  stock  language,  the  Maya.  Among  all 
these  languages  thus  enumerated  by  different  authors, 
it  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  some  have,  been  mentioned 
twice  under  different  names.1  Most,  if  not  all  of 
them,  are  related  to,  if  indeed  they  did  not  spring 
from  one  mother  tongue,  the  Maya,  of  which  a  dialect 
called  the  Tzendal  is  said  to  be  the  oldest  language 
spoken  in  any  of  these  countries.  In  fact,  they  all 
appear  to  be  dialects  and  variations  of  some  few 
tongues  of  yet  greater  antiquity,  which  again  have 
sprung  from  the  oldest  of  all,  the  Maya.  This  latter, 
I  may  say,  forms  the  linguistic  centre,  from  which 
all  the  others  radiate,  decreasing  in  consanguinity  ac- 
cording to  the  distance  from  this  centre,  losing,  by 
intermixture,  and  the  adoption  of  foreign  words,  their 
aboriginal  forms,  until  on  reaching  the  outer  edge  of 
the  circle,  it  becomes  difficult  to  trace  their  connection 
with  the  source  from  which  they  sprang.2 

1  Palacio,  Carta,  p.  20;  Juarros,  Hist.  Guat.,  p.  198;  Registro  Yucateco, 
torn,  i.,  p.  166;  Galindo,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  95,  63;  Galla- 
tin,  in  Amer.  Ethno.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  4-7;  Miihlenpfordt,  Mejico, 
torn,  ii.,  pp.  8,  17;  Wappaus,  Geog.  u.  Stat.,  p.  245;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen., 
dec.  iv.,  lib.  x.,  cap.  ii.-xiv.;  Laet,  Novus  Orbis,  pp.  277,  317,  325;  Humboldt, 
Essai  Pol.,  torn,  i.,  p.  267;  Heller,  Reisen,  p.  380;  Galindo,  in  Antiq.  Mex., 
p.  67;  Normans  Rambles,  p.  238;  Haefkens,  Cent.  Amer.,  p.  412;  Prichard's 
Nat.  Hist.  Man,  vol.  ii.,  p.  513;  Behrendfs  Report,  in  Smithsonian  Rept.t 
1867,  p.  425;  Squier's  Monograph,  p.  ix.;  Villagutierre,  Hist.  Conq.  Itza,  p.  84. 

a  The  languages  of  the  Maya  family  are  spoken  in  the  old  provinces  of 
Soconusco,  Chiapas,  Suchitepec,  Vera  Paz,  Honduras,  Izalcos,  Salvador,  San 
Miguel,  Nicaragua,  Xerez  de  Choluteca,  Tegucigalpa,  and  Costa  Rica,  says 
the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  MS.  Troano,  torn,  ii.,  p.  vi.  'La  plu- 


THE  MAYA  LANGUAGE  IN  YUCATAN.  761 

s~ 

The  Maya,  with  its  many  affiliations,  may  be  well 
compared  in  its  grammatical  construction  and  capacity 
to  the  Aztec.  It  has  in  this  respect  been  likened  to 
the  ancient  Greek,  which  it  is  said  to  resemble  in  many 
points.  Although  monosyllabic  words  are  of  frequent 
occurrence,  it  has  not,  as  is  common  to  monosyllabic 
languages,  many  very  harsh  and  guttural  sounds,  but 
is  generally  called  soft  and  well-sounding.  The  dia- 
lects spoken  on  the  coast  of  Yucatan  and  near  Belize 
are  the  purest  and  most  elegant  of  the  Maya  family, 
and  the  greater  the  distance  from  this  region,  the 
greater  are  the  variations  from  the  pure  Maya.3  Some 

part  des  langues  de  cette  contree,  si  multiples  au  premier  aspect,  se  reduisent 
en  re"alite  a  uii  petit  nombre.  Ce  sont  des  dialectes  qui  ne  different  les  uns 
des  autres  que  par  le  melange  de  quelques  mots  etrangers,  une  certaine 
variete  dans  les  finales  ou  dans  la  prononciation. '  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  in 
Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1855,  torn,  cxlvii.,  p.  155.  * II  me  parait  indubi- 
table que  la  langue  universelle  des  royaumes  guatemaliens  devait  etre,  avant 
1'iavasion  des  tribus  que  les  Espagnols  troverent  en  possession  de  ces  con- 
trees,  le  maya  d' Yucatan  ou  le  tzendal  qui  lui  ressemble  beaucoup.'  Ib., 

*  Lacandons , . . . les  Mames,  Pocomames,  etc.,  qui  parlent  encore  aujourd'hui 
une  langue  presqu'en  tout   serablable  a  celle   des  Yucateques.'   Id.,  p.  156. 

*  Le  Tzendal  ou  Tzeldal  et  un  dialecte  de  la  langue  zotzile  dont  il  differe  fort 
peu.'   M,  Palenqut  p.  34.      'Toutes  sont  issues  d'une  seule  souche,  dont  le 
maya  parait   avoir  garde"   le   plus  grand  nombre  d'ele'ments.     Le  quiche,  le 
cdkchiquel,  le   mame,  le   tzendal,    sont   marques   eux-memes   au   sceau   d'une 
tres  -haute  anti quite,  amplement  partagee  par  le  mexicain  ou  nahuatl  malgre" 
les  differences  que  comporte  sa  grammaire;  car  si  ses  formes  et  sa  syntaxe  sont 
tres-distinctes  de  celles  du  maya,  on  peut  dire,  neamnoins,  que  tous  ces  voca- 
bles sont  composes  de  racines  communes  a  tout  le  groupe.  Id.,  MS.  Troano, 
torn,   ii.,  pp.   vii.,  viii.      'La  langue   primitive   forme   le   centre;   plus  elle 
s'avance  vers  la  circonference,  plus  elle  perde  de  son  originalite  la  tangente, 
c'est-a-dire  le  point  ou  elle  rencontre  un  autre  idiome,  est  1'endroit  ou  elle 
s'altere   pour   former  une   langue  mixte.'    Waldeck,    Voy.    Pitt,  pp.    24,  42. 
'  Les  Taitzaes,  les  Cehatches,  les  Campims,  les  Chinamitas,  les  Locenes,  les 
Ytzaes  et  les  Lacandons.     Toutes  ces  nations  parlent  la  langue  maya,  ex- 
cepte  les  Locenes,  qui  parlent  la  langue  Choi.5    Ternaux-Compans,  in  Nou- 
velles  Annales  des  Voy.,   1843,  torn,  xcvii.,  p.  50;  Id.,   1840,  torn.  Ixxxviii., 
p.  6.     'La  de  Yucatan,  y  Tabasco,  que   es   toda  vna.'   Bernal  Diaz,  Hist. 
Conq.,  fol.  25;   Solis,  Hist.  Hex.,  torn,  i.,  p.  89.      'Zoques,  Celtales  y  Quele- 
nes,  todos  de  lenguas  diferentes.'   Remesal,  Hist.  Chyapa,  pp.  264,  299;   also 
in  Montanus,  Nieuwe  Weereld,  p.  269;  Helps'  Span.  Conq.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  252; 
Squier,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des   Voy.,  1855,  torn,  cxlviii.,  p.  275;  Id.,  1857, 
torn,  cliii.,  pp.  175,  177-8.     The  natives  of  the  island  of  Cozumel  'son  de  la 
leiigua  y  costumbres  de   los  cle  Yucatan.'  Landa,  Relacion,  p.   12;  Orozco  y 
Berra,  Geografia,  pp.  18-25,  55-6. 

3  '  La  simplicite  originale  de  cette  langue  et  la  re*gularite  merveilleuse  de 
ses  formes  grammaticales,  c'est  la  facilite  avec  laquelle  elle  se  prete  a  1'ana- 
lyse  de  chacun  de  ces  vocables  et  a  la  dissection  des  racines  dont  ils  sont 
derives.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  MS.  Troano,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  iii.,  vi.,  v.  'The 
Maya  tongue  spoken  in  the  northern  parts  of  Yucatan  is  remarkable  for  its 
extremely  guttural  pronunciation.5  Gordons  Hist,  and  Geog.  Mem.,  p.  73. 
'  The  whole  of  the  native  languages  are  exceedingly  guttural  in  their  pro- 
nunciation.' Dunn's  Guatimala,  p.  265.  'Diese  Sprache  war  wohlklingend 
und  weich.'  Mutter,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  p.  453;  Ternaux-Compans,  in 


762  THE  MAYA-QUICHE  LANGUAGES. 

remarkable  hypotheses,  which,  if  proven,  would  revo- 
lutionize many  existing  theories,  ethnologic  and  phi- 
lologic,  have  latterly  been  brought  forward  by  the 
Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg.  This  gentleman,  who 
has  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  ancient  Central 
America  and  Mexico  for  many  years,  and  who  is  fully 
conversant  with  the  languages  of  Yucatan  and  Guate- 
mala, the  Maya  and  Quiche,  claims  to  have  discovered 
a  close  connection  between  the  Maya,  Quiche,  Cak- 
chiquel,  Zutugil,  and  others,  with  most  of  the  chief 
languages  of  Europe;  prominent  among  which  he 
places  the  Greek,  but  mentions  also  Latin,  French, 
English,  German,  Flemish,  Danish,  and  others.  Al- 
though on  examination  many  of  the  abbe's  so-called 
roots  display  similarities,  both  phonetic  and  in  mean- 
ing, with  some  European  words,  still  a  large  majority 
are  evidently  twisted  to  conform  to  the  writer's  ideas, 
and  it  will  require  not  alone  further  investigations, 
but  unprejudiced  studies,  such  as  are  not  made  for  the 
purpose  of  proving  any  particular  hypothesis,  to  sub- 
stantiate his  theories.  Until  such  impartial  compari- 
sons are  made,  and  a  clearer  light  thrown  upon  the 
subject,  these  Central  American  languages  must  re- 
main content  to  be  treated  as  strangers  to  those  of 
the  Old  World.4  Of  the  languages  previously  enu- 
merated I  have  the  following  specimens. 

The  Lord's  Prayer  in  Chafiabal,  spoken  in  Comitan, 
in  the  state  of  Chiapas  : 

Tattic  hayd,  culchahan  tanlinubal  d,  vihil  jacue  eg 

Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn,  xcvii.,  p.  32;  Squier,  in  Id.,  torn,  cliii., 
p.  178. 

4 '  Dans  ces  langues  kakchiquele,  kichee  et  zutugile,  les  mots  qui  n'ap- 
partiennent  pas  au  Maya,  m'ont  tout  1'air  d'etre  d'origine  germaiiique,  sax- 
ons,  danois,  flamands,  anglais  me  me.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  in  Nouvelles 
Annales  des  Voy.,  1855,  torn,  cxlvii.,  pp.  156-7.  '  Je  fus  frappe,  des  mon  ar- 

rivee de  la  similitude  qu'une  quantite  de  mots  de  leur  langue  offrait  avec 

celles  du  nord  de  1'Europe.'  Id.,  Lettre  a  M.  Eafn,  in  Id.,  torn,  clx.,  1858,  pp. 
2G3,  281-90.  '  The  fundamental  forms  and  words  of  the  languages  of  these 
regions  (except  the  Mexican)  are  intimately  connected  with  the  Maya  or 
Tzendal;  and  that  all  the  words  that  are  neither  Mexican  nor  Maya  belong 
to  our  languages  of  Northern  Europe,  viz.,  English,  Saxon,  Danish,  Nor- 
wegian, Swedish,  Flemish,  and  German;  some  even  appear  to  belong  to  the 
French  and  Persian,  and  altogether  they  are  really  very  numerous  and  as- 
tounding.' Id.,  Letter  in  the  New  York  Tribune,  November  21,  1855. 


CHIAPANEC,  CHOL,  AND  TZENDAL.  763 

bagtic  a"  guajan  acotuc  a"  guabal  hichuc  ill  luhum  jas- 
tal  culchahan.  Yipil  caltzil  eg  gtiiniquil  tic  aquitic 
sva  yabanhi  soc  culanperdon  eg  multic  hichuc  qucj 
ganticon  guazt  culanticon  perdon  machd,  hay  smul  sig- 
ilticon  soc  mi  ztagua  concoctic  mulil  mas  lee  coltayotic 
scab  pucuj  jachuc. 

Lord's  Prayer  in  Chiapanec : 

Pua  mangueme  nilumii  cane  nacapaj6  totomomo  co- 
pamime  chambriomo  chalaya  guipumutamu  gadiloja 
istanacupu  cajiluca  nacopajo:  cajilo  bana  yacameomo 
nuori  may  tarilu  mindamu  oguajime  lla  copomimemo 
taguajime  nambucamuneme  cuqueme  gadiluca  si  rnemu 
casimemu  tagnagime  nambucamuneme  copa  tipusitumu 
bica  tipucapuimu  mujarimimuname  mangueme.  Diusi 
mutarilu  nitangame  chacuillame  caji  Jesus. 

Lord's  Prayer  in  Choi: 

Tiat  te  lojon,  aue  tipuchan  utzat  alvilacaval  trictic 
tolejon  han  gracia  chulee  vilic  d  pucical  vafchec  ti 
paniumil  chee  tipanchan.  Laa  cual  ti  juun  pel  quin, 
de  vennomelojon  gualee  sutven  las  vet  baschee  mue 
sutvenlaa  y  vetob  laspibulob.  Llastel  ti  lolontecl  cot- 
anon  melojon  y  chachan  jaipel  y  tiue  nialoloion.  Amen 
Jesus. 

Lord's  Prayer  in  Tzendal,  as  spoken  near  the  cele- 
brated ruins  of  Palenque : 

Tatic,  ta.  nacalat  tachulchan:  chulaviluc  te  ajalal- 
vile  :  acataliic  te  aguajuale  :  acapastayuc:  te  tuxacane 
tajich  ta  chulchan  jichucnix  ta  valumilal.  Ecuctae 
jujhan  acabeyaotic  te  guag  vixtum  cuntic  tajujun  caal 
chaybeyaotic  te  multic  achiotic  chaybetic  ate  hay  smul 
cagtojoltique  soyoc  mameaguac  yalucotic  ta  mulil  colta 
yaoticnax  tastojol  piscil  te  colae.  Amen  Jesus. 

Lord's  Prayer  in  Zoque,  as  spoken  in  Tabasco,  Chia- 
pas, and  parts  of  Oajaca: 

Theshata  tzapguesmue  itupue  yavecotzamue  mis 
nei,  yamine  rnis  yumihacui,  ya  tuque  mis  sunoycui, 
yecnasquesi  tzapquesmuese.  Tesane  hoimuepe  homepe 


764  THE  MAYA-QUICHfi  LANGUAGES. 

tzihete  yshoy,  yatocoyates  mis  hescova  hes  jaziquet 
mis  atocoipase  thesquesipue  jatzi  huitemistetzaeu  ho- 
cysete  cuijomue  ticomaye  ya  cotzocamisthe  muniuyat- 
zipue  quesi,  tese  yatuque.  Amen  Jesus. 

Lord's  Prayer  in  Zotzil: 

Totit  ot-te  nacal  oi  ta  vinagel-utzilaluc  d  vi-acotal 
aguajualel-acopas  hue  d,  chul  cano-echuc  nox  ta  vina- 
gelecluse  ta  valumil-acbeotic  e  cham-llocom  llocomutic- 
ech  xachaibeutic-cuie  tag  tojolic-ma  d  guae  llalucun- 
tic-ta  altajoltic-ech  xacolta  utic  nox  ta  stojol  ti  coloc. 
Amen  Jesus.5 

Of  the  Pokonchi  language  I  have  a  short  gram- 
mar, by  Thomas  Gage,  which  has  also  been  used  by 
Vater  and  Gallatin.  Following  are  a  few  of  its  promi- 
nent features: 

Nouns  are  declined  by  the  aid  of  particles,  of  which 
there  are  two  kinds,  varying  accordingly  as  the  word 
to  be  declined  commences  with  a  consonant  or  with  a 
vowel.  For  words  commencing  with  a  consonant  the 
particles  nu,  a,  ni,  ca,  ata,  and  quilacque  are  used ;  and 
for  those  commencing  with  a  vowel,  v,  av,  r,  c  or  q, 
ta,  qu,  and  tacque.  These  particles  are  partly  prefixed 
and  partly  affixed,  as  will  appear  in  the  following  ex- 
amples. So  the  word  pat,  house,  and  tat,  father,  are 
by  Gage  declined  in  the  following  manner: 


My  house  nupat 

Thy  house  apat 

His  house  rupat 

My  father  nutat 

Thy  father  atat 

His  father  rutat 


Our  house  capat 

Your  house  apatta 

Their  house  quipattacque 

Our  father  catat 

Your  father  atatta 

Their  father  quitattacque 


The  declension  of  the  words  acun,  son,  and  mm, 
corn,  is  given  by  Gage,       follows : 

My  son  vacun 

Thy  son  avacun 


His  son  racun 

My  corn  vixim 

Thy  corn  avixim 

His  corn  rixim 


Our  son  cacun 

Your  son  avacunta 

Their  son  cacuntaque 

Our  corn  quixim 

Your  corn  avicimta 

Their  corn  quiximtacque 


bPimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  231-45. 


POKONCHI  GRAMMAR. 


Verbs  in  like  manner  change  the  particles,  by  means 
of  which  they  are  conjugated,  accordingly  as  the  word 
commences  with  a  consonant  or  a  vowel.  For  those 
commencing  with  a  consonant  the  particles  are :  nu,  na, 
inru,  inca,  nata,  inquitacque.  Thus  the  word  locoh,  to 
love,  is  conjugated  as  follows: 


CUNJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  LOCOH,  TO  LOVE. 


I  love, 
Thou  lovest, 
He  loves, 


I  am  loved, 
Thou  art  loved, 
He  is  loved, 


PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 

nulocoh  We  love, 

nalocoh  You  love, 

inrulucoh  They  love, 

PRESENT   PASSIVE. 

quiloconhi  We  are  loved, 

tiloconhi  You  are  loved, 

inroconhi  They  are  loved, 


incalocoh 
nalocohto 
.  inquilocohtacque 

coloconhi 

tiloconhita 

quiloconhitacque 


PERFECT   PASSIVE. 


I  have  been  loved, 
Thou  hast  been  loved, 
He  has  been  loved, 
We  have  been  loved, 
You  have  been  loved, 
They  have  been  loved, 

IMPERATIVE. 

Be  thou  loved, 
Let  him  be  loved, 
Let  us  be  loved, 
Be  ye  loved, 
Let  them  be  loved, 

I  can  love, 

I  will  love, 

I  have  been  willing  to  love, 

I  have  been  able  to  love, 

I  can  love  thee, 

I  will  love  thee, 


xinloconhi 

ixtiloconhi 

ixloconhi 

xoloconhi 

ixtiloconhita 

xiloconhi  tacque 

tiloconhi 
chiloconho 
chicaloconho 
tilocoiihota 
chiquiloconho  taque 

inchoinulocoh 
inranulocoh 
ixnulocoh 
ixcholixnulocoh 
tichol  nulocoh 
tira  nulocoh 


Sometimes  the  verb  I  will  is  added  to  express  the 
future:  inva,  I  will;  nava,  thou  wilt;  inra,  he  will. 

Verbs  beginning  with  a  vowel  have  the  following 
particles :  ino,  nav,  inr,  inqu,  or  inc,  nauta,  inqu,  tac- 
que, or  inc  tacque.  Thus  the  verb  ega,  to  deliver,  is 
conjugated: 


I  deliver,  inve9a 

Thou  deliverest,       nave9a 
He  delivers,  inre9a 


We  deliver, 
You  deliver, 
They  deliver, 


inqueca 
navecata 
inqu^a  tacque 


Adjectives  are  indeclinable,  and  the  plural  of  nouns 
cannot  be  distinguished  from  the  singular;  as,  kiro 
uinac,  good  man;  kiro  uinac,  good  men. 


766  THE  MAYA-QUICHE  LANGUAGES. 

The  following  Lord's  Prayer  comes  from  the  same 
source : 

Catat  taxah  vilcat;  nimta  incaha^ihi  avi;  inchalita 
avihauripau  cana.  Invanivita  nava  yahvir  vacacal, 
he  invataxab.  Chaye  runa  cahuhunta  quih  viic;  na- 
cachtamac,  he  incachve  quimac  ximacquivi  chiquih; 
macoacana  chipain  catacchyhi,  coavecata  china  unche 
tsiri,  mani  quiro,  he  inqui.  Amen.6 

Of  the  Mame,  or  Zaklohpakap,  the  following  ex- 
tract is  from  a  grammar  written  by  Diego  de  Reynoso. 
The  letters  used  are :  a,  b,  ch,  e,  h,  i,  k,  I,  m,  n,  o,  p,  t, 
u,  v,  x,  y,  z,  tz.  There  are  no  special  syllables  or  signs 
to  express  gender,  but  distinct  words  are  used ;  as, 
mama,  old  man;  ahkimikeia,  old  woman;  mamail,  old 
age  of  a  man;  keiail,  or  ahkimikil,  old  age  of  a  woman. 
The  plural  of  animate  beings  is  expressed  by  the  parti- 
cle e  prefixed  to  the  word:  vuinak,  person;  evuinak, 
persons;  but  it  is  considered  as  elegant  also  to  affix  the 
same  e:  kiahol,  son;  ekiahole,  sons.  For  inanimate 
things,  either  numerals  or  adjectives  expressing  the 
plural  are  used:  abah,  stone;  ikoh  abah,  many  stones. 
Personal  pronouns  are :  ain,  I ;  aia,  thou ;  ahu  or  ahi, 
he;  ao  or  aoio,  we;  ae  or  aeie,  you;  aehu  or  aehi,  they. 

Me,  to  me,  in  me  vuih 

Thee,  to  thee,  in  thee  tiha 

Him,  to  him,  in  him  tihu 

Us,  to  us,  in  us  kiho 

You,  to  you,  in  you  kihae 

Them,  to  them,  in  them  kihaehu 

Of  me,  by  me  vuxm 

By  thee  tuma 

By  him  tumhi 

By  us  kumo 

By  you  kume 

By  them  kumhu 

By  myself  tipa 

By  himself  tiphi 

By  ourselves  kibo 

By  yourselves  kibe 

By  themselves  kibaehu,  or  kibhu 

6  Gage's  New  Survey,  pp.  465-477  et  seq. 


MAME  CONJUGATION. 


767 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  BE. 

PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 

We  are, 
You  are, 
'They  are, 


I  am, 
Thou  art, 
He  is, 

I  was, 

ain  in,  or  ain  inen 
aia 
ahu 

IMPERFECT. 

ain  took 

ao,  or  aoia 
ae,  or  aeie 
aehu 

PERFECT. 
I  have  been,  ain  hi 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  been,  ain  tokem 

FIRST  FUTURE.  SECOND  FUTURE. 

I  shall  be,       in  abenelem,  or  ain  loiem  |    I  shall  have  been,  ain  lohi 

IMPERATIVE. 

Be,  a  u  ia 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  XTALEM,  TO  LOVE.7 


PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  love, 
Thou  lovest, 
He  loves, 


ain  tzum  chim  xtalem 
tzum  xtalem  a 
tzum  xtalemhu 


I  loved, 


I  have  loved, 


I  had  loved, 


I  shall  love, 


We  love, 
You  love, 
They  love, 

IMPERFECT. 

tzum  tok  chim  xtalem 


tzum  ko  xtalem  o 
tzum  che  xtalem  e 
tzum  che  xtalem  hu 


PERFECT. 

ini  xtalim,  uni  xtale,  ma  chim  xtalim, 
ma  ni  xtale,  or  ma  uni  xtale 

PLUPERFECT. 

ixtok  chim  xtalim 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

uni  xtalibetz,  or  ain  chim  xtalem 


SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  loved,     ain  lo  in  xtalem 


Love  thou, 
Let  him  love, 
Let  us  love, 
Love  you, 
Let  them  love, 


IMPERATIVE. 

ixtalin  o  ia 
ixtalin  o  hu 
ko  ixtalin  o 
ixtalin  ke  ie 
ixtalin  ke  hu 


Of  the  Quiche,  there  is  an  abundance  of  material. 
The  letters  used  are :  a,  6,  c,  e,  g,  h,  i,  k,  I,  m,  n,  o,  j9, 
q,  r,  t,  u,  v,  x,  y,  z,  tz,  tch.  Gender  is  expressed  by 
prefixing-  the  noun  ixok,  woman,  to  the  word ;  as,  coh, 
lion;  ixok  coh,  lioness;  mun,  slave;  ixok  mun,  female 
slave.  The  sound  ish  expressed  by  the  letter  x,  denotes 
inferiority,  and  is  therefore  frequently  used  to  express 
the  feminine  of  inferior  beings.  [7  in  the  Quiche  and 


Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  84-110. 


768  THE  MAYA-QUICHE  LANGUAGES. 

ru  in  the  Cakchiquel  are  either  possessive  pronouns 
or  denote  the  possession  of  the  word  which  follows. 
The  particles  re  and  ri  are  at  times  used  for  the  same 
purpose :  u  chuch  ahpop,  the  mother  of  the  prince ;  qui 
quoxtum  tinanit,  the  ramparts  of  the  town.  Before 
the  vowels  a,  o,  and  u,  they  are  changed  to  c;  and 
before  e  and  i,  to  qu.  Derivatives  are  formed  with 
the  preposition  ah,  either  prefixed  or  affixed  to  the 
primitive  noun:  car,  fish;  ahcar,  the  fisherman;  tzih, 
word;  ahtzih,  the  speaker,  etc.  No  positive  rule  can 
be  given  for  the  formation  of  the  plural,  as  there  are 
several  different  methods  in  use.  The  most  common 
appears  to  be  by  the  affixes  ab,  eb,  ib,  ob,  ub:  beom, 
merchant;  plural,  beomab;  ixok,  woman;  plural,  ixolcib; 
ahau,  lord ;  plural,  ahauab.  In  the  Cakchiquel  language, 
the  last  letter  b  is  ojxdtted ;  as,  ixokib,  women,  in 
Quiche,  is  ixoki  in  Cakchiquel.  With  adjectives,  the 
syllables  ok,  talc,  ic,  tic,  etc.,  are  used  instead;  nim, 
great;  nimak  ha,  great  houses;  rihi,  old;  rihitaJc  vinak, 
old  people;  utz,  good;  utzic  va,  good  eatables.  Adjec- 
tives are  always  placed  before  the  substantives:  zaJc, 
white ;  zaki  ha,  white  house.  Substantives  are  formed 
from  adjectives  by  adding  one  of  the  particles  al,  el, 
il,  ol,  ul:  nim,  great;  nimal,  the  greatness;  zak,  white; 
zakil,  the  whiteness;  utz,  good;  utzil,  the  goodness. 
These  same  substantives  can  be  turned  into  adjectives 
again  by  adding  the  particle  ah:  nimalah  mak,  great 
sin;  utzilah  add,  good  man.  In  the  same  manner,  all 
substantives  may  be  turned  into  adjectives  by  adding 
one  of  the  particles  alali,  elah,  ilah,  olah,  ulah,  etc.; 
ahau,  king  or  lord;  ahaualah,  royal. 

To  express  the  comparative,  the  present  participle 
of  the  verb  iqou,  to  surpass,  which  is  iqouinalc,  is  used, 
and  sometimes  also  the  word  yalacuhinak,  from  yalacuh, 
to  exceed.  For  example:  nim,  great;  comparative, 
iqouinalc  chi  nim,  he  who  surpasses  in  greatness ;  iqou- 
inak  chi  nimu  hebeliquiil  ka  xolcahau  Gapoh  maria  chiqui 
vi  conohel  ixokib,  (literally)  surpasses  in  great  beauty 
our  Lady  the  Virgin  Mary  all  other  women.  The 
superlative  is  expressed  by  the  syllable  maih,  very 


QUICKC  PRONOUNS.  7G9 

great  or  mncli;  mm,  great  or  greatly;  tih,  xoo,  qui, 
much ;  all  of  which  are  placed  before  the  word  and 
are  followed  by  the  syllable  eld;  maih  chi  ram,  very 
great;  maih  chi  hebel,  very  fine;  maih  chi  tinamit,  very 
great  city;  xoo  qatan,  very  great  heat;  tih  nima  ha, 
very  great  house.  The  adverb  lavolo  or  lolo  is  also 
used  for  the  same  purpose :  lavolo  or  lolo  cou  ch'  a  bana, 
hold  it  strong. 

The  names  of  colors  are  duplicated  to  express  the 
superlative;  as,  rax  rax,  very  green;  zaJc  zaJc,  very 
white. 

The  reverential  syllables  in  use  are  lot  and  la:  lal 
nu  cahau,  your  excellency  is  my  father;  in  alcual  la,  I 
am  the  son  of  your  excellency. 

PRONOUNS. 

I,  or  me  in,  nu,  nuv 

Thou  at,  a 

He  are,  ri,  r* 

Myself  xavi  in 

Thyself  xavi  at 

Himself  xavi  are 

We  oh 

You  yx 

They  e,  he 

Ourselves  xavi  oh 

Yourselves  xavi  yx 

Themselves  xavi  e}  he 

When  a  noun  commences  with  a  consonant,  nu,  a, 
u,  in  the  singular,  and  lea,  y,  qui,  in  the  plural,  are 
used  as  possessive  pronouns,  but  if  it  commences  with 
a  vowel,  v,  av\  r  are  employed  in  the  singular,  and  k9, 
yv\  c\  or  qu\  in  the  plural. 

My  slave  nu  mun 

Thy  slave  a  mun 

His  slave  u  mun 

Our  slaves  ka  munib 

Your  slaves  y  munib 

Their  slaves  oui  munib 

My  wrath  v'  oyoual 

Thy  wrath  av'  oyoual 

His  wrath  r'  oyoual 

Our  wrath  k'  oyoual 

Your  wrath  yv'  oyoual 

Their  wrath  c'  oyoual 

INTERROGATIVES. 

Who  naki,  achinak,  apachintik 

Who  am  I  apa-in-chinak 

Who  art  thou  apa-at-chinak 

VOL.  III.    49 


770 


THE  MAYA-QUICH^  LANGUAGES. 


INTERROGATIVES. 


Who  is  this 
Who  is  it 
Who  would  it  be 
Who  are  we 
Who  are  you 
Who  are  they 


apachinak-ri 

naki-la 

naki-lalo 

apa-oh-chinak 

apa-yx-chinak 

apa-e-chinak 


The  verb  to  be  is  expressed  by  either  ux  or  qo,  or 
qohe.  As  an  example  of  its  conjugation,  I  insert  the 
indicative  present. 


I  am, 
Thou  art, 
He  is, 
We  are, 
You  are, 
They  are, 

in  ux                c 
at  ux 
are  ux 
oh  ux 
yxux 
e,  or  he  ux 

r  in  qolic 
'  at  qolic 
'  are  qolic 
'  oh  qolic 
*  yx  qolic 
'  e,  or  he  qolic 

Four  different  kinds  of  verbs  are  given  in  the  gram- 
mar compiled  by  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
which  he  calls  active,  absolute,  passive,  and  neuter. 
The  following  sentences  are  given  as  specimens  of  each 
kind.  Active:  can  nu  logoh  v9  ahlih,  I  love  my  mas- 
ter. Absolute:  qu'  i  logon,  or  logonic,  I  love;  qu' i 
tzibanic,  I  write.  Passive :  ta  x-e  tzonox  rumal  alitzak, 
then  they  were  interrogated  by  the  creator.  Neuter : 
qu'  i  cam,  or  qui  cam,  I  die ;  qu9  in  ul,  I  come ;  qu9  i  be, 
I  go ;  qu'  i  var,  I  sleep. 

Following  I  insert  the  conjugation  of  the  active  verb 
to  love,  in  which  the  word  logoh,  love,  commences 
with  a  consonant,  and  also  the  conjugation  of  the 
active  verb  oyohbeh,  to  wait,  which  commences  with  a 
vowel,  thus  showing  the  different  particles  used. 


I  love. 
Thou  lovest, 
He  loves, 


ca  nu  logoh 
c'  a  logoh 
c'  u  logoh 


I  have  loved, 
I  had  loved, 
I  shall  love, 


ca  ka  logoh 
qu'  y  logoh 
ca  que  logoh 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  LOVE. 

PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 

We  love, 
You  love, 
They  love, 

PERFECT. 

x-in,  xi-nu,  or  x-nu  logoh,  or  nu  logom 

PLUPERFECT. 

nu,  or  x-nu  logom-chic 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

ch'  in,  x-ch'in  chi  nu,  or  x-chi  nu  logoh 


QUICKC  CONJUGATIONS. 


771 


PRESENT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 

If  I  love,  ca  nu  logoh-tah 

If  I  had  loved,  nu  logom-chi-tah 

PARTICIPLE. 

Loving,  logonel 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  OYOBEH,  TO  WAIT. 

PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  wait,  ca  v'  oy  obeli 

Thou  waitest,     c'  av'  oyobeh 
He  waits,  ca  r'  oyobeh 

I  have  waited, 


oyobeh 


We  wait,  ca  k'  oyobeh 

You  wait,  qu'  yv'  oyobeh 

They  wait,  ca 

PERFECT. 

xi-v,  oyobeh,  or  av'  oyobem 

SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  waited,     chi  v',  or  xchi  v  oyobeh 

PRESENT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 


If  I  wait, 


ca  v'  oyobeh-tah 


In  the  following  three  columns  I  give  a  specimen  of 
the  conjugation  of  the  absolute,  passive,  and  neuter  verb : 


ABSOLUTE. 


PASSIVE. 


I  love, 
Thou  lovest, 
He  loves, 
We  love, 
You  love, 
They  love, 


qu'i  logon 
c'at  logon 
ca  logon 
koh  logon 
qu'y  logon 
que  logon 


I  am  loved, 
Thou  art  loved, 
He  is  loved, 
We  are  loved, 
You  are  loved, 


qu'i  logox 
c'at  logox 
ca  legox 
koh  logox 
qu'ix  logox 


They  are  loved,     que  logox 


NEUTER. 


I  roll,  qu'i  bol 

Thou  rollest,       c'at  bol 
He  rolls,  ca  bol 

ABSOLUTE. 

I  have  loved,      x-i  logon 

or  in  logoninak 

I  have  arrived, 


We  roll, 
You  roll, 
They  roll, 


koh  bol 
qu'  yx  bol 
que  bol 


ABSOLUTE. 

I  shall  love,        x-qui  logon 


PASSIVE. 

I  was  loved,  x-i  logox 

or  in  logoxiiiak 

NEUTER. 

x-in  ul,  or  in  ulinak 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

PASSIVE. 

[    I  shall  be  loved,    x-qui  logox 

NEUTER. 


I  shall  arrive,  x-qu'in  ul 

There  are  further  mentioned  a  reciprocal  and  a  dis- 
tributive verb. 

Of  the  former  the  following  is  an  example : 


I  love  myself, 
Thou  lovest  thyself, 
He  loves  himself, 
We  love  ourselves, 
You  love  yourselves, 
They  love  themselves, 


ca  nu  logoh  uib 
c'a  logoh  rib 
c'u  logoh  rib 
ca  ka  logoh  kib 
qu'y  logoh  yvib 
ca  qui  logoh  quib 


772  THE  MAYA-QUICHE  LANGUAGES. 

Of  the  second  form  this  is  an  exanple : 

Thee  I  love,  cat  nu  logoh 

He  loves  his  father,  cu  ri,  or  are  logoh  a  cahau 

You  love  us,  koh  y  logoh 

Thee  they  love,  cat  que  logoh 

The  prepositions  ma,  man  or  mana,  and  mave  are 
negatives.  When  man,  or  mana,  is  used  with  a  verb, 
the  particle  tah  must  be  added — man  ca  v'  il-tah,  I  do 
not  see.  Father  Ximenez  calls  the  following  irregular 
verbs :  qo,  qoh  or  qolic,  pa,  ux  or  uxic;  qaz,  to  live,  and 
oh  or  ho,  to  go. 

The  conjugation  of  the  last  mentioned  is  as  follows: 


INDICATIVE  PRESENT. 


I  go,  h'in 

Thou  goest,  h'at 

He  goes,  oh,  or  ho 


We  go,  o'ho 

You  go  h'yx 

They  go,  h'e 


The  Zutugil  and  Cakchiquel  appear  to  bear  a  closer 
relationship  to  each  other  than  the  Cakchiquel  and 
Quiche.  Some  of  the  principal  differences  between  the 
three  are  the  following :  The  plural  of  nouns  which  in 
the  Quiche  is  formed  by  the  affixes  ab,  eb,  ob,  ib,  ub,  is 
in  the  Cakchiquel  designated  by  simply  affixing  the 
vowels  of  the  above  syllables,  and  in  the  Zutugil  by 
the  affixes  ay  or  i.  The  pronouns  which  in  the  Quiche 
and  Cakchiquel  are  in,  I,  etc.,  are  in  the  Zutugil 
doubled;  as,  in-in,  I,  etc.  The  possessive  pronouns 
differ  in  all  three  of  the  languages.  The  Quiche  has 
vech,  mine;  avecha,  thine;  reck,  his;  leech,  ours;  yvech, 
yours;  quech,  theirs.  In  the  Cakchiquel  these  are: 
vichin,  avichin,  richin,  Jcichin,  yvichin,  quichin,  and  the 
Zutugil  changes  the  ch  of  the  Cakchiquel  into  n — 
vixin,  avixin,  rixin,  Jcixin,  yvixin,  quixin.  The  dative 
in  the  Quiche  is  chuvech,  to  me,  in  the  Cakchiquel, 
chuvichin,  and  in  the  Zutugil,  chuvixin.  Reciprocal 
pronouns  in  the  Quiche*  are  vib,  avib,  rib,  Icib,  yvib, 
and  quib,  and  in  the  Zutugil  they  are  vi,  avi,  ri,  ki, 
yvi,  qui.  The  verb  ganeh,  which  also  means  to  love, 
is  in  the  Cakchiquel  and  Zutugil  conjugated  as  follows: 

I  love,  tin  ganeh  We  love,  ti  ka  ganeh 

Thou  lovest,  tah  ganeh  You  love,  ty  ganeh 

He  loves,  J  tu  ganeh  They  love,  ti  qui  ganeh 


QUICKC  AND  CAKCHIQUEL  LORD'S  PRAYERS.  773 

There  are  also  many  other  words  which  differ  in 
one  or  more  letters  in  the  three  languages,  but  it  ap- 
pears that  they  are  nevertheless  so  much  alike  that 
the  different  people  speaking  them  can  understand  one 
anotl  • 

Lord's  Prayer  in  the  Quiche: 

Ka  cachau  chi  cab  lal  qo-vi,  r'auazirizaxic-tah  bi  la. 
Chi  pe-tah  ahauarem  la.  Chi  ban-ta  ahauam  la,  va- 
ral  chuvi  uleu  queheri  ca  ban  chi  cah.  Yah  la  chikech 
ka  hutagihil  va.  Zacha  la  ka  mak,  queheri  ca  ka  za- 
cho  qui  mak  rii  x-e  makun  chike  ruq  m'oh  ocotah  la 
pa  takchiibal  mak,  xata  noh  col-ta  la  pa  itzel.  Quehe 
ch'uxoc. 

Lord's  Prayer  in  Cakchiquel: 

Ka  tata  r'at  qoh  chi  cah,  r'auazirizaxic-tah  a  bi.  Ti 
pe-ta-ok  av;  ahauarem.  Ti  ban-tah  av'ahoom  vave 
chuvi  uleu,  quereri  tan-ti  ban  chi  cah.  Ta  yata-ok 
chike  vacamic  ka  hutagihil  vay.  Ta  zach-ta-qa-ok  ka 
mak,  quereri  tan-ti  ka  zach  qui  mak  riy  x-e  makun 
chike.  Ruquin  qa  maqui-tah  koh  av'ocotah  pa  tak- 
chiibal mak,  xatah  koh  a  colo  pan  itzel.  Quere  ok  t'ux.8 

Of  the  Maya  Grammar,  the  following  is  a  brief  com- 
pendium : 

The  following  alphabet  is  used  to  write  the  Maya 
language :  a,  b,  c,  $,  z,  tz,  o,  cti,  ch,  e,  h,  i,  y,  Jc,  I,  m,  n, 
o,  jp,  pp,  t,  th,  u,  x. 

The  letter  £  is  prononunced  like  the  English  z,  or  as 
if,  for  example,  the  word  cambeg,  were  spelled  c&mbez. 
The  o  is  pronounced  as  if  spelled  dj,  oib  is  pronounced 
as  if  written  djib,  to  write ;  h  not*  aspirated,  and  very 
frequently  omitted;  k,  rather  guttural;  pp  and  p, 
sharp  and  with  force;  th,  hard,  at  the  same  time  ap- 
proximating slightly  the  English  tt.  The  gender  of 
rational  beings  is  denoted  by  the  prefixes  ah  for  mas- 
culine, and  ix  for  feminine;  ah  cambezah,  master;  ix 
cambezah,  mistress.  With  animals,  the  particles  xibil, 
for  males,  and  chupul,  for  females,  is  prefixed.  An  ex- 

8  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Grammaire  de  la  Langue  Quiche  •  Pimentel,  Cua- 
dro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  126-47. 


774 


THE  MAYA-QUICHfi  LANGUAGES. 


ception  to  this  rule  is  the  word  pal;  xibil  pal,  the  boy ; 
and  chupul  pal,  the  girl.  Nouns  form  the  plural  by. 
adding  the  particle  ob — ich,  eye;  ichob,  eyes.  Adjec- 
tives ending  in  nac,  in  the  plural  lose  their  two  last 
syllables  and  substitute  for  them  the  syllable  lac — ka- 
katndc,  an  idle  thing;  Icakldc,  idle  things.  When  an 
adjective  and  substantive  are  joined  together,  the  ad- 
jective is  always  placed  before  the  substantive,  but  the 
plural  is  expressed  only  in  the  substantive :  man,  uinic; 
good,  utzul;  utzdl  uinicob,  good  men.  To  form  the  com- 
parative, the  last  vowel  of  the  adjective  with  the 
letter  I  added  to  it  is  affixed ;  frequently  the  particle 
il  is  simply  affixed ;  further,  the  pronoun  of  the  third 
person  u  or  y  is  always  prefixed  in  the  comparative : 
tibil,  a  good  thing;  u  tibilil,  a  better  thing;  utz,  good; 
yutzil  or  yutzul,  better;  lob,  bad;  ulobol  or  ulobil, 
worse;  Jcaz,  ugly;  uJcazal  or  uJcazil,  uglier.  The 
superlative  is  expressed  by  the  particle  hack,  which  is 
prefixed:  lob,  bad;  hachlob;  very  bad.  H  added  to 
nouns  and  adjectives  serves  to  make  them  abstracts : 
uinic  man;  uinicil,  humanity. 

There  are  four  kinds  of  pronouns  used  in  the  Maya, 
all  of  which  are  used  in  conjugating  verbs.  But  the 
two  last  are  also  used,  united  with  nouns,  or  as  posses- 
sive pronouns,  and  never  alone,  or  as  absolute  pronouns: 


PRONOUNS. 


I 

Thou 
He 

I 

Thou 

He 

I,  mine 
Thou,  thine 
He,  his 

Mine 
Thine 
His 


ten 

tech 

lay 

en 

ech 

laylo 

in 
a 

P 

u 
au 

y 


We 
You 
They 

We 
You 

They 

We,  ours 

You,  yours 
They,  theirs 

Ours 

Yours 

Theirs 


tdom 
teex 
loob 

on 
ex 
-ob 

ca 

a-ex 

u-ob 

ca 
au-ex 

y-ob 


Myself 
Thyself 
Himself 


RECIPROCAL  PRONOUNS, 
in-ba  I     Ourselves 


a-ba 
u-ba 


Yourselves 
Themselves 


ca-ba 

a-ba-ex 

u-ba-ob 


MAYA  CONJUGATIONS. 


775 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  AUXILLARY  VERB  TENI,  TO  BE. 


I  am, 
Thou  art, 
He  is, 


ten 

tech 

lay 

I  was, 

I  have  been, 
I  had  been, 
I  shall  be, 


INDICATIVE   PRESENT. 

We  are, 
You  are, 
They  are, 

IMPERFFCT. 

ten  cuchi 

PERFECT. 

ten  hi 


toon 
teex 
lo'ob 


PLUPERFECT. 

ten  hi-ili  cuchi 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

bin  ten-ac 

SECOND  FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  been,       ten  hi-ili  cosho 

IMPERATIVE. 

Be,  ten-ac 

PRESENT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 

If  I  be,  ten-ac  en 

IMPERFECT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 

If  I  were,  hi  ten-ac 

FIRST  CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  NACAL,  TO  ASCEND 

PRESENT    INDICATIVE. 


I  ascend, 
Thou  ascendest, 
He  ascends, 


nacal  in  cah 
nacal a  cah 
nacal u  cah 


nacal  ca  cah 
nacal  a-cah-ex 
nacal  ti-cah-ob 


We  ascend, 
You  ascend, 
They  ascend, 

IMPERFECT.  PERFECT. 

I  ascended,  nacal  in  cah-cuchi  |    I  have  ascended,  nac-en 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  ascended,  nac-en  ili-cuchi 

FIRST  FUTURE.  SECOND  FUTURE. 

I  shall  ascend,  bin  nacac-en  |  I  shall  have  ascended,  nac-en  ili-cuchom 

IMPERATIVE. 

Ascend,  nacac-en 

SECOND  CONJUGATION  CAMBEZAH,  TO  INSTRUCT. 

PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 

I  instruct,  cambezah  in  cah, 

Thou  iiistructest,         cambezah  a  cah, 

cambezah  tf  cah, 

cambezah  ca  cah, 

cambezah  a  cah-ez, 


He  instructs, 
We  instruct, 
You  instruct, 
They  instruct, 


I  instructed, 

I  have  instructed, 

I  had  instructed, 


cambezah  tf.  cah-ob 

IMPERFECT. 

cambezah  in  cah  cuchi 

PERFECT. 

in  cambezah 

PLUPERFECT. 

in  cambezah  ili-cuchi 


ten  cambezic 
tech  Cctmbezic 
lay  cambezic 
toon  cambezic 
teex  cambezic 
loob  cambezic 


776  THE  MAYA-QUICHE  LANGUAGES 

FIRST  FUTURE. 

I  shall  instruct,  bin  in  cambez 

SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  instructed,     in  cambezah  ili-cochom 

IMPERATIVE. 

Let  me  instruct,  in  cambez 

Instruct  thou,  cambez 

Let  him  instruct,  u"  cambez 

Let  us  instruct,  ca  cambez 

Instruct  you,  a  cambez  ex 

Let  them  instruct,  ii  cambez  ob 

PRESENT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 

If  I  instruct,  ten  in  cambez 

The  third  and  fourth  conjugations  not  differing  from 
the  above,  I  do  not  insert  them. 


THE    LORD'S    PRAYER. 

ianeeh   ti    caannob    cilichthantabac  akaba: 

Our  father    who  art      in         heaven  blessed  be  thy  name; 

tac       a       ahaulil   c'    okol.     Mencahac  a   uolah   uai 

it  may  come  thy  kingdom    us        over.  Be  done       thine     will  as 

ti    luun    bai    ti    caane.     Zanzamal  uah  ca     azotoon 

on      earth         as         in       heaven.  Daily  bread    us  give 

heleae     caazaatez   c     ziipil   he  bik  c    zaatzic    uziipil 

to-day  us  forgive       our       sins  as         we        forgive     thoir  sins 

ahziipiloobtoone  ma   ix    appatic   c'   lubul   ti   tuntah, 

to  sinners  not  also  let  us        fall         in  temptation 

caatocoon   ti  lob.9 

us  deliver      from  eviL 

JLO  the  two  languages,  the  Huaztec  and  Totonac, 
spoken  respectively  in  the  states  of  Tamaulipas  and 
Vera  Cruz,  great  antiquity  is  ascribed.  I  include 
them  both  in  this  chapter,  and  classify  them  with  the 
Maya  family;  the  Huaztec,  because  its  relationship, 
has  already  been  satisfactorily  established  by  Vater 
and  his  successors,  and  the  Totonac  on  the  statements 

9 Beltran  de  Santa  Rosa  Maria,  Arte;  JRuz,  Catecismo  Historico;  Id.,  Car- 
tilla;  Id.,  Gram.  Yucateca;  Gallatin,  in  Arner.  Ethno.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i., 
pp.  252  et  seq. ;  Heller,  Reisen,  pp.  381  et  seq.;  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii., 
pt.  iii.,  pp.  4-24;  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  5,  223;  torn,  ii.,  pp.  119,  229; 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Grammaire,  in  Landa,  Relation,  pp.  459-79j  Id.,  in 
MS.  Troano,  torn.  ii. 


TOTONAC  GRAMMAR.  777 

of  Sahagun  and  other  good  authorities.10  Of  both  of 
these  languages  I  insert  some  grammatical  notes.  The 
Totonac  is  divided  into  four  principal  dialects,  named 
respectively  that  of  the  Sierra  Alta  or  Tetikilhati, 
that  of  Xalpan  y  Pontepec  or  Chakahuaxti,  the  Ipa- 
pana  and  the  Naolingo  or  Tatimolo.  The  following 
grammar  refers  specially  to  the  last  dialect : 

The  letters  used  are:  a,  ch,  e,  g,  h,  i,  k,  I,  m,  n,  o,p, 
t,  u,  v,  x,  y,  z,  tz,  Hi.  Compounded  or  agglutinated 
words  are  of  frequent  occurrence;  they  seem  to  be 
joined  without  any  particular  system,  although  it  ap- 
pears that  the  last  letter  is  oftentimes  omitted.  The 
following  shows  the  composition  of  a  word :  lioxilhmor 
gatlakacJia-likihuin,  to  go  prophesying;  composed  of 
the  particle  U,  the  verb  oxilha,  the  adverb  mag  at,  the 
substantive  lakatin,  and  the  verbs  chaan  and  likihuin. 
There  are  no  particular  signs  or  letters  to  express  the 
gender,  but  in  most  cases  the  words  huixkana,  male, 
and  pozkat,  female,  are  prefixed  to  words. 

The  plural  for  animated  beings  is  formed  by  one  of 
the  following  terminations:  n,  in,  nin,  itni,  nitni,  an, 
na,  ne,  ni,  no,  nu — oxga,  youth;  oxgan,  youths;  aga- 
pon,  heaven;  agaponin,  heavens;  pulana,  captain; 
pulananin,  captains ;  makan,  hand ;  makanitni,  hands ; 
ztako,  star;  ztakonitni,  stars;  xanat,  flower;  xanatna, 
flowers,  etc. ;  in  and  itni  are  used  when  the  word  ends 
with  a  consonant,  and  nin  and  nitni  when  it  ends  with 
a  vowel. 

PERSONAL  PRONOUNS. 


I  akit 

Me  kin 

Thou  huix 

He  amah,  or  huata 


We  akin 

Us  kila,  or  kinka 

You  huixin 

They  huatonin 


10  *  Estos  Totonaques ....  decian  ser  ellas  de  Guastelas. '  '  Otros  hay, 
que  enticiiden  la  lengua  Guasteca.'  Sdliagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  lib.  x., 
pp.  131-2.  'Im  alten  Centralamerika  also  waren  die  Sprachen  der  Toto- 
nciken,  Otimier,  Huasteken,  Macahuer  unter  sich  sowohl  als  auch  mit  der 
Sprache  in  Yucatan  verwandt.5  M&ller,  Amerikanische  Urrelicjionen,  p.  453; 
Mexilcanische  Zustiinde,  torn,  i.,  p.  143;  Montanus,  Nieuwe  Weereld,  p.  251; 
Hassel,  Mex.  Gnat.,  p.  245;  Almaraz,  Memoria,  pp.  18,  20;  Villa-Senor  y  San- 
chez, Theatro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  287-91;  Gallatin,  in  Amer.  Ethno.  Soc.,  Transact.,. 
vol.  i.,  p.  4;  Ternaux-Compans,  in  Nouvclles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1840,  torn. 
Ixxxviii.,  p.  7;  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  106;  Orozco  y  Berrat 
Geografia,  pp.  18-20,  204. 


778  THE  MAYA-QUICH6  LANGUAGE- 

CONJUGATION   OF  THE  VERB  IK-PAXKI-Y,  I  LOVE. 

PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 

I  love,  ik-paxki-y 

Thou  lovest,    paxki-a 
He  loves,          paxki-y 


We  love,  ik-paxki-yauh 

You  love,  paxki-yatit 

They  love,  paxki-goy 


IMPERFECT. 

I  loved,  xak-paxki-y 

PERFECT. 

I  have  loved,  ik-paxki-lh,  or  ik-paxki-nit 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  loved,  xah-paxki-nit 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

I  shall  love,  nak-paxki-y 

SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  loved,     ik-paxki-lh  nahuan,  or  ik-paxki-nit  nahuan 

IMPERATIVE. 

Love,  ka-paxki 

PRESENT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 

If  I  love,  kak-paxki-lb 

IMPERFECT. 

If  I  loved  xax-paxki-lh 

The  difference  between  the  three  dialects  may  be 
seen : 


Heart 
World 
Moon 
Maize 
Good 
Truth 
To  believe 

naka 
kiltamako 
malkoyo 
koxi 
tzey 
ztonkua 
akaeniy 

alkonoko 
katoxahuat 
papa 
tapaxni 
tlaan 
loloko 
kanalay 

lakatzin 
tankilatzon 
laxkipap 
kizpa 
kolhana 
tikxllana 
katayahuay 

The  Lord's  Prayer  in  the  dialect  of  Naolingo : 
Kintlatkane  nak  tiayan  huil  takollalihuakahuanli  6 

Our  father          in         heaven       art  sanctified  be 

mimaokxot  nikiminanin  6  mintakakchi  tacholakahuanla 

thy  name  come  thy  kingdom  be  done 

6  minpahuat  cholei  kaknitiet  chalchix  nak  tiayan.     O 

thy  name  as  world  as  in      heaven. 

kinchouhkan  lakalliya  nikilaixkiuh  yanohue  kakilamat- 

Our  bread  daily  give  us  to-day  forgive 

zankaniuh  kintakallitkan  chonlei  6  kitnan  lamatzanka- 

us  our  faults  as  we  ourselves  we  forgive 

niyauh  6  kintalakallaniyan  ka  ala  kilamaktaxtoyauh 

our  debtors  and  not  us  lead 

nali  yoyauh  naka  liyogni.     Chon  tacholakahuanla. 

that        we  be  in     temptation.          So  be  it  done. 


HUAZTEC  GRAMMAR.  779 

The  descriptions  or  grammatical  remarks  of  Vater 
and  Pimentel  vary  in  many  points.  For  instance, 
Vater  says  that  the  letters  k  and  v  are  not  used  in  this 
language,  while  Pimentel  mentions  them  both  as  be- 
ing used.  The  expression  of  the  plural  is  also  given 
differently  by  both,  as  are  also  several  other  points.11 

From  the  grammar  of  Carlos  do  Tapia  Zenteno, 
which  was  also  used  by  Gallatin  and  Pimentel,  I  offer 
the  following  remarks  on  the  Huaztec: 

The  letters  used  in  writing  this  language  are :  a,  6, 
ch,  d,  e,  g,  h,  i,  j,  ft,  I,  m,  n,  o,  p,  t,  u,  v,  x,  y,  z,  tz.  The 
pronunciation  is  soft.  Gender  is  denoted  by  the 
addition  of  the  words  imik,  man,  and  uxum,  woman: 
tzalle,  king;  uxumtzalle,  queen;  tzejelinik,  young  man; 
tzejeluxum,  young  girl.  The  affix  chick  is  used  to  ex- 
press the  plural:  atik,  son;  atikchick,  sons;  but  there 
are  a  few  exceptions  to  this  rule.  Diminutives  are  ex- 
pressed by  the  preposition  chichick;  as,  fe,  tree;  chi- 
chikte,  small  tree.  In  some  cases,  the  preposition 
tzakam,  or  the  affix  il,  is  used  for  this  purpose.  In 
the  superlative,  the  syllable  le  is  used  before  the  word ; 
as,  putlilc,  great;  lepullik,  very  great.  Personal  pro- 
nouns: nana,  I;  tata,  thou;  jaja,  he;  huahua,  we; 
xaxa,  you;  baba,  they. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TAHJAL,  TO  HAVE. 


INDICATIVE   PRESENT. 


I  have,  nana  utahjal  or  intahjal 

Thou  hast,         tata  atahjal  or  ittahjal 
He  has,  taja,  intahjal 


We  have,         huahua  y  atahjal 
You  have,        xaxa  y  atahjal 
They  have,      baba  tahjal 


IMPERFECT. 

I  had,  nana  utahjalitz  or  intahjalitz 

PERFECT. 

i  have  had,  nana  utahjaitz  or  utahjamal,  or  utahjamalitz 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  had,  nana  utahjalak  or  utahjamalak,  or  utahjamalakitz 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

I  shall  have,         nana  ku  or  kin,  or  kiatajah 

IMPERATIVE. 

Have,  tata  katahja 

11  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  223-68;   Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt. 
iii.,  pp.  44-60. 


780  THE  MAYA-QUICHE  LANGUAGES. 


PRESENT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 

If  I  have,  nana  kutahja  or  kiatahja 

IMPERFECT. 

If  I  had,  nana  kin  or  intahjalak 

INFINITIVE, 

To  have,  tahjal 

Verbal  nouns  and  participles  are  formed  by  adding 
x  or  chix,  to  the'  infinitive ;  as,  tzobnal,  to  know ;  and 
tzobnax,  he  who  knows.  There  are  said  to  be  several 
different  dialects  of  this  language  in  use.  Following 
is  the  Pater  Noster  as  given  by  Zenteno  in  his  Doc- 
trina,  and  as  spoken  in  the  mountains  of  the  district 
of  Tampico : 

Pailome  anitquahat  tiaeb,  quaquauhlu  anabi,  cachich 

Father  art  heaven        holy  said         thy  name     come 

anatzalletal.     Katahan  analenal   tetitzabal,  nuantiani 

thy  kingdom.  Be  done  thy  will          on  the  earth  as 

huatahab  tiaeb.     Ani  tacupiza  xahue  cailel  yabacanil 

to  have        heaven.          And       thou  give      to-day    each  day    'our  bread 

ani  tacupaculamchi  antuhualabchic,  antiani  huahua  tu- 

and  thou  forgive  sins  as  we 

paculamchial   tutomnanchixlomchik,  ani    ib    takuhila 

forgive  debtors  and    not          lead 

tincal  ib  cucuallam   tin   exextalab.     Timat   taculouh 

that  we    not          fall  us  in        temptation.  But  save  us 

timba  ana  ib  cuacua.     Anitz  catahan. 

from        no    holy  (evil)  so         be  it  done.12 

Lord's  Prayer  in  the  dialect  spoken  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  San  Luis  Potosi : 

Tatu  puilom  huahud,,  itcuajat,  ti  eb  chie  pelit  santo 
jajatz  abi  cachic  atzale  tal  ti  eb  al  huahua:  catajatz  ta- 
culbetal  hantzana"  titzabal  hantini  tiaeb  ani  cap  ud 
pata  laguicha  tacubinanchi,  xoque  ani  tacupaculanchi ; 
cal  igualab,  ani  ela  tegui  tacupalanchi  cal  y  at  guitzab 
ani  il  tacujila  cugualan  cal  junhi  fataxtalb,  maxibtacu- 
lohu  cal  han  atax  mal  tajana  guatalel. 

12 Zenteno,  Lengua  Huasteca;  Gallatin,  in  Amer.  Ethno.  Soc.t  Transact.,  vol. 
i.,  pp.  276-85;  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  5-34. 


HUAZTEC  LORD'S  PRAYER.  781 

Lord's  Prayer  in  the  dialect  spoken  in  another  part 
of  the  district  of  Tampico : 

Pailon  qua  que  cuajat  tid  el:  tu  cab  tajal  hanchana" 
enta  bi  ca  chix  hanti  ca  ilal  cataja  na  aquiztal  hanchana 
antich  aval  quinitine  tid  el.  An  pan  abalgiia  ti  patds 
huicha  ha,  tu  piza  segue,  tu  placuanchi  ni  gualal  an- 
chand  jontinegud,  y  placuanchal  in  at  qualablom,  il  tu 
en  gila  cu  cualan  anti  atds  cha  labial,  tu  en  librari  ti  pa- 
tas  an  ataz  tabal,  anchana  juntam.  Anchanan  catajan.13 

13  Col.  Polioddmica,  Mey   Oracion  Dominical,  pp.  8-10. 


CHAPTEE  XII. 

LANGUAGES    OF    HONDURAS,   NICARAGUA,   COSTA  RICA,   AND 
THE  ISTHMUS  OF  DARIEN. 

THE  CARIB  AN  IMPORTED  LANGUAGE — THE  MOSQUITO  LANGUAGE — THE  POYA, 
TOWKA,  SECO,  VALIENTE,  RAMA,  COOKRA,  WOOLWA,  AND  OTHER  LAN- 
GUAGES IN  HONDURAS — THE  CHONTAL — MOSQUITO  GRAMMAR— LOVE 
SONG  IN  THE  MOSQUITO  LANGUAGE — COMPARATIVE  VOCABULARY  OF 
HONDURAS  TONGUES — THE  CORIBICI,  CHOROTEGA,  CHONTAL,  AND  ORO- 
TINA IN  NICARAGUA — GRAMMAR  or  THE  OROTINA  OR  NAGRANDAN— COM- 
PARISON BETWEEN  THE  OROTINA  AND  CHOROTEGA — THE  CHIRIQUI,  GUA- 
TUSO,  TlRIBI,  AND  OTHERS  IN  COSTA  RlCA — TALAMANCA  VOCABULARY- 
DIVERSITY  or  SPEECH  ON  THE  ISTHMUS  OF  DARIEN — ENUMERATION  OF 
LANGUAGES— COMPARATIVE  VOCABULARY. 

IN  Honduras  there  is  a  long  list  of  tribal  names, 
to  each  of  which  is  attributed  a  distinct  tongue.  Vo- 
cabularies have  been  taken  of  three  or  four  only, 
and  one,  spoken  on  the  Mosquito  Coast,  has  had  its 
grammatical  structure  reduced  to  writing.  It  is  there- 
fore impossible  to  make  comparisons  and  therefrom  to 
determine  how  far  their  number  might  be  reduced  by 
classification.  The  first  which  I  introduce  is  gener- 
ally conceded  to  have  been  imported.  It  is  the  Carib, 
spoken  on  the  shores  of  the  bay  of  Honduras  and  on  the 
adjacent  islands,  and  has  been  proven  to  be  almost  iden- 
tically the  same  as  the  one  spoken  on  the  West  India 
Islands.  From  Cape  Honduras  to  the  Rio  San  Juan 
and  extending  inland  as  far  as  Black  River,  the  Mos- 
quito language  is  in  general  use.  Of  it  I  shall  insert 

(782) 


LANGUAGES  OF  HONDURAS.  783' 

a  few  grammatical  remarks.  In  the  Poya  Mountains, 
a  like-named  tongue  is  spoken ;  on  the  headwaters  of  the 
Patook  River  is  the  Towka,  and  on  the  Rio  Secos,  the 
Seco.  Farther  in  the  mountains,  near  the  boundary 
of  Nicaragua,  and  extending  into  that  state,  are  the 
VaKente  and  Rama,  said  to  be  both  separate  tongues; 
and  in  the  interior  of  the  state  there  are  the  Cookra 
and  Woolwa,  the  latter  spoken  in  the  province  of  Chon- 
tales.  Others  mentioned  are  the  Tonglas,  the  Lenca, 
the  Smoo,  the  Teguaca,  the  Albatuina,  the  Jara,  the 
Taa,  the  Gaul  a,  the  Motuca,  the  Fantasma,  and  the 
Sambo.  Of  these  nothing  but  the  names  can  be  given. 
The  oldest  authorities  mention,  as  a  principal  language, 
the  Chontal,  the  name  of  a  people  and  language  met 
in  many  variations  in  almost  every  state  from  Mexico 
to  Nicaragua.  Vs  there  are  no  specimens  of  this  lan- 
guage existing,  it  is  impossible  to  say  whether  one 
people  and  language  extended  through  all  this  terri- 
tory, or  whether  certain  wild  tribes  were  designated 
by  this  general  name,  as,  according  to  Molina's  Mexi- 
can dictionary,  chontalli  means  stranger  or  foreigner ; 
and  popoluca,  which  seems  to  be  also  used  like  chon- 
talli, is  defined  as  barbarian,  or  man  of  another  nation 
and  language.  I  am  therefore  of  the  opinion  that  no 
such  nations  as  Chontals  or  Popolucas  exist,  but  that 
these  names  were  employed  by  the  more  civilized  na- 
tions to  designate  people  speaking  other  and  barbarous 
tongues.1 

1 A  classification  has  been  made  by  Mr  Squier,  but  in  the  absence  of 
reliable  data  on  which  to  base  it,  it  cannot  be  accepted  without  reserve.  He 
says:  'It  appears  that  Honduras  was  anciently  occupied  by  at  least  four 
distinct  families  or  groups.'  These  he  names:  the  Chorti  or  Sesenti,  belong- 
ing to  the  Maya  family;  the  Lenca,  under  the  various  names  of  Chontals  and 
perhaps  Xicaques  and  Poyas;  in  the  third  he  includes  the  various  tribes 
intervening  between  the  Lencas  proper  and  the  inhabitants  of  Cariay,  or 
what  is  now  called  the  Mosquito  shore,  such  as  the  Toacas,  Tonglas.  Ramas, 
etc. ;  and  lastly,  in  the  fourth,  the  savages  who  dwelt  on  the  Mosquito  shore 
from  near  Carataska  Lagoon  southward  to  the  Rio  San  Juan.  Cent.  Amer., 
pp.  252-3.  See  also  Squier,  in  Palacio,  Carta,  note  iii.,  pp.  100-5;  Froebel, 
Aus  Amerika,  torn,  i.,  pp.  399-403;  Id.,  Cent.  Amer.,  pp.  133-36;  Bm/le's 
Ride,  vol.  i.,  p.  287;  Squier,  in  NouveUes  Annales  des  Voy.,  1858,  torn,  clx., 
pp.  134-5;  Palacio,  Carta,  p.  20.  'Variis  et  diversis  linguis  utebantur, 
Chontalium  tamen  maxime  erat  inter  eos  communis.'  Laet,  Novtis  Orbis,  p. 
337.  '  Tenian  diferencias  de  lenguas,  y  la  mas  general  es  la  de  los  Chonta- 


784  LANGUAGES  OF  HONDURAS, 

Of  the  Mosquito  language,  which  is  understood 
throughout  the  whole  Mosquito  Coast,  and  of  which 
I  here  give  a  few  grammatical  remarks,  Mr  Squier 
remarks  that  "it  is  not  deficient  in  euphony,  although 
defective  in  grammatical  power/'5  There  is  but  one 
article,  the  numeral  adjective  Jcumi,  one,  used  also  for 
a  and  an.  The  adjectives  are  few  in  number,  having 
no  uniform  termination,  and  are  discovered  only  by 
their  signification,  except  when  participles,  when  they 
always  terminate  in  ra  or  n.  Adjectives  form  the 
comparative  by  adding  Jcara  to  the  positive  and  the 
superlative  by  adding  poll  except  in  two  words,  uia 
and  silpe,  which  have  distinct  words  for  each  degree 
of  comparison,  thus:  silpe,  small;  uria,  smaller;  Jcatara, 
smallest ;  uia,  much ;  Jcara,  more ;  poll,  most.  Compari- 
son is  usually  formed  in  the  manner  following :  yamne, 
good;  yamne  Jcara,  better;  yamne  poli,  best;  Jconra, 
strong;  Jconra  Jcara,  stronger;  Iconra  poll,  strongest. 

In  composition,  to  express  excess  or  diminution, 
comparison  is  sometimes  formed  in  this  manner:  Jan 
almuJc,  Samuel  almuJc  apia,  John  is  old,  Samuel  is 
not  old. 

ADJECTIVES. 

Old  almuk  Bad  saura 

Every  bane  Green  sane 

Tight,  close  bitne  Black  sixa 

Spotted  bulne  Small  silpe 

Greedy  slabla  Transparent  slilong 

Dull  dimdim  Slippery  swokswaka 

Circular  iwit  Sour  swane 

Less  kausa  Damp  tauske 

More  kara  Great  tara 

Hot  lapta  Thin,  flat  tanta 

Rich  lola-kera  Thick  twotne 

Round  marbra  Poor  umpira 

les.'  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  viii.,  cap.  iii.;  Juarros,  Hist.  Guat.,  p. 
62;  Galindo,  Notice  of  the  Caribs,  in  Land.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  290- 
1 ;  Orozco  y  Bcrra,  Geoyrqfia,  p.  20.  '  Die  Karaiben  bedienen  sich  noch 
gegenwartig  ihrer  ganz  eigenthiimlichen  Sprache,  welchc  bedeutend  von  alien 
iibrigen  abweicht,  und  von  den  anderen  Indian erstammen  nicht,  verstanden 
wird.'  Mosquitoland,  Hericht,  pp.  19-20,  140;  Hell's  Remarks  on  Mosquito  Ter., 
in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xxxii.,  pp.  258-9;  Well's  Explor.  Hond.,  pp. 
552-3. 

2  Sard's  WaiTcna,  p.  363.  '  Die  Sprache ....  der  Sambos  oder  eigentlichen 
Mosquitos,  am  meisten  ausgebildet,  allgemein  verbreitet  und  wird  im  ganzen 
Lande  von  alien  Stammen  verstanden  und  gesprochen.  Sie  ist  wohlklingend, 
ohne  besondere  Kehlaute  aber  ziemlich  arm  und  unbeholfen.'  Mosquitoland, 
BericM,  p.  140. 


MOSQUITO  ADJECTIVES  AND  DECLENSIONS. 


785 


Sharp  mata 

White  pine 

Red  •    paune 

Most,  very  poli 

Grey,  light  blue,  etc.  popotne 
New  raiaka 


ADJECTIVES. 

Much 

Smaller 

Weary 

Heavy 

Chief 

Good 


uia 

uria 

wet 

wira 

wita 

yamne 


THE  PERFECT  TENSE  USED  AS  AN  ADJECTIVE. 


Dry 

Lazy 

Slack,  loose 
Wet 
Dirty 
Generous 


lawan 

shringwan 

langwan 

buswan 

klaklan 

kupia-pine 


Angry 

Fearful 

Sore 

Sick,  troubled 

Dead 


palan,  or  lunan 

sibrin 

latwan 

warban 

pruan 


The  gender  is  commonly  marked  by  adding  waiknco 
for  the  male,  and  mairen  for  the  female ;  or,  for  beasts, 
wainatJca  for  the  male,  and  mairen,  as  before,  for  the 
female.  Thus:  lupia  waikna,  a  son;  lupia  mairen,  a 
daughter;  bip  wainatka,  a  bull;  bip  mairen,  a  cow.  In 
nouns  relating  to  the  human  species,  the  plural  is  formed 
by  adding  nani  to  the  singular;  as,  waikna,  a  man; 
waikna  nani,  men ;  yapte,  mother ;  yapte  nani,  mothers. 
Other  nouns  have  the  plural  the  same  as  the  singular, 
although  sometimes  a  plural  is  formed  by  adding  ra 
to  the  singular:  inska,  a  fish;  inskara,  fishes. 

There  are  four  cases,  distinguished  by  their  termina- 
tions, the  nominative,  dative,  accusative,  and  ablative. 


DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  AIZE,  FATHER. 


SINGULAR. 

Nom.     Father  aize 

Dat.       To  father  aizera 

Ace.       Father  aize 

Abl.       With  father  aiz-ne 


Nom. 
Dat. 
Ace. 
Abl. 


Nom. 
Dat. 
Ace. 
AbL 


Fathers 
To  fathers 
Fathers 
With  fathers 


WITH   AFFIX   KE. 
SINGULAR. 

My  father  aize-ke  My  fathers 

To  my  father  aizekra  To  my  fathers 

My  father  aizeke  My  fathers 

With  my  father  aize-ke-ne 


PLURAL. 

aize-nani 
aize-nanira 
aize-nani 
aize-ne-nani 


PLURAL. 
aizeke-nani 
aizeke-nanira 
aizeke-nani 


With  my  fathers   aizeke  ne  nani 


WITH   AFFIX   KAM. 


SINGULAR. 


PLURAL. 


Thy  father  aizekam 

To  thy  father        aizekamra 
Thy  father  aizekam 

With  thy  father  aizekam-ne 
VOL.  III.    50 


Thy  fathers  aizekam-nani 

To  thy  fathers        aizekam-nanira 
Thy  fathers  aizekam-nani 

With  thy  fathers    aizekam  ne  nani 


786 


LANGUAGES  OF  HONDURAS. 


SINGULAR. 


PLURAL. 


Nom.  His  people  ai  upla 

Dat.  To  his  people        ai  uplara 

Ace.  His  people  ai  upla 

Abl.  With  his  people   ai  uplane 


Their  people  ai  upla-nani 

To  their  people       ai  upla-iiauira 
Their  people  ai  upla-nani 

With  their  people  ai  uplane-nani 


T.o  form  the  possessive  case  of  nouns,  the  word  dukia, 
signifying  'belonging/  is  added.  The  word,  being  sub- 
ject to  a  declension  peculiar  to  itself,  is  on  that  account 
not  put  as  an  affix  in  the  usual  declension  of  nouns. 


DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  DUKIA,  BELONGING,  POSSESSION. 

Belonging,  possession  dukia 

Belonging  to  him,  to  them  ai  dukiara 

Belonging  to  thee,  to  you  ai  dukiamra 

In  my  possession,  belonging  to  me  dukia-ne 

PLURAL. 

Of  us,  ours  yung-nani  dukia 

Of  you,  yours     man-nani  dukia 
Of  them,  theirs  wetin  nani  dukia 


SINGULAR. 

Of  me,  mine  yung  dukia 

Of  thee,  thine  man  dukia 

Of  him,  his,  hers,  its      wetin  dukia 

There  are  twelve  pronouns,  mostly  declinable, 
of  them  are  personal. 

Self 
Our 
He,  his,  her,  hers,  I,  me,  etc. 


Six 


I 

Thou 
He 


yung 

man 

wetin 


bui 
wan 

ai    , 


Three  are  relative,  and  three  adjective. 


ADJECTIVE. 


This 
That 
Other 


baha 
naha 
wala 


What 

Which 

Who 


RELATIVE. 

naki 
ansa 
dia 


Nom. 
Dat. 
Ace. 
Abl. 


Nom. 
Dat. 
Ace. 
Abl. 


Nom. 
Dat. 
Aec. 
Abl. 


The  first  three  are  declined  alike,  thus: 

DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  YUNG,  I. 

SINGULAR. 

yung 


PLURAL. 

I  yung  We  yung-nani 

Tome  yungra  To  us  yung-nanira 

Me  yung  Us  yung-nani 

In  me  yung-ne  With  us  yung-nani  kera 

DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  MAN,  THOU. 

SINGULAR.  PLURAL. 

Thou  man 

To  thee  manra 

Thee  man 

In  thee  man-ne 


man-nani 
man-nanira 
man-nani 
man-nani-kera 


You 
To  you 
You 
With  you 

DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  WETIN,  HE. 

SINGULAR. 

He  wetin 

wetin  ra 
wetin 


To  him 
Him 
In  him 


wetin-ne 


They 
To  them 
Them 
With  them 


PLURAL. 

wetin-nani 
wetin-nanira 
wetinnani 
wetin-nani  kera 


MOSQUITO  ADVERBS  AND  PREPOSITIONS. 


787 


Affixes  are  also  joined  to  pronouns  to  increase,  vary, 
or  change  their  signification,  such  as  sa,  ne,  ra,  am,  and 
others,  as  well  as  prepositions  and  adverbs. 

There  are  but  three  interjections:  alai!  alas!  Jcais! 
lo!  and  alakai!  0  dear! 

Adverbs  are  numerous,  and  admit  of  certain  varia- 
tions in  their  signification  by  the  use  of  affixes,  thus : 
nara,  here;  narasa,  here  it  is;  lama,  near;  lamara, 
nearer. 


Quickly 

ane 

When 

ankia 

Every 

bane 

Yesterday,  the 
other  day 

eua-wala 

Presently 

kanara 

When     ' 

kaiika 

Again 

kli 

Soon 

mit 

To-day 

naiua 

Next,  by  and  by 

naika 

Already 

put 

Immediatly 

tiske 

To-morrow 

yunka 

After  to-morrow 

yawanka 

No,  not 

apia 

Only 

baman 

For  nothing 

barke 

Not,  never 

para 

Not 

sip 

It  is  not 

sipsa 

Never 

Where 

Together 

There 

There  it  is 

Yonder 

Near 

Nearer,  close 

Farther 

Here 

Here  it  is 

No  more 

Yes 

Anything 

Sweetly 

Exactly 

Strangely 

Very,  truly 

Enough 

Truly 


tara 

ansera 

aika-aika 

bara 

barasa 

bukra 

lama 

lamara 

liwara 

nara 

narasa 

yulakane 

au 

deradera 

dumdum 

kut 

pale 

poli 

sipse 

kosak 


There  are  twenty-eight  prepositions.  Some  of  them 
are  also  used  as  conjunctions;  and  some,  like  the  ad- 
verb, admit  of  a  variation. 


At,  near,  about 

To,  there 

In 

Into,  within 

Against 

Beyond 

With 

Through 

With,  togethei 

In  front 

Opposite,  before 

Unto,  close 

Without,  outside 

Between,  centre 


Then 
Since 
Like 
Because,  for 


baila 

For 

bara 

Beneath 

bela 

Below 

belara 

Under 

dara 

Behind 

kau 

After 

kera 

Without,  destitute 

krauan 

Over,  upon 

kuki 

Upon,  above 

lalma 

Before,  anterior 

lalmara 

Without,  exterior 

lama 
latara 

Among 
With 

lilapos 

From,  out  of 

CONJUNCTIONS. 

baha 

Until 

baha-wina 

Now 

bako 

How 

bamna 

Next 

mata 

maira 

monunta 

monuntara 

ninara 

ninka 

para 

pura 

purara 

pus 

skera 

tilara 

wal 

wina 


kut 
mek 
naki 
naika 


783 


LANGUAGES  OF  HONDURAS. 


So  thus 
So  it  is 

If 

Yet 
Still 


I  am, 
Thou  art, 
He  is, 


bun 

bunsa 

kaka 

kau 

kause 


But 

Lest 

And,  also 
And 


sekuna 
sia 
sin 
wal 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  KAIA,  TO  BE. 


PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


yung  ne 
man  kam 
wetin 


The   same,  only  placing  nani  after 
the  pronouns. 


PERFECT. 

I  have  been,          kare 
Thou  hast  been,   karum 
He  has  been, 


Be  thou, 
Let  him  be, 


kama 
kabia 


I  shall  be, 
Thou  wilt  be, 
He  will  be, 

IMPERATIVE. 

Let  us  be, 

Be  ye, 

Let  them  be, 


kamne 

kama 

kabia 

kape 

man-nani-kama 
wetin  nani  kabia 


OTHER 

I  have  not  been, 
Thou  hast  not  been, 
He  has  not  been, 
I  shall  not  be, 
Thou  wilt  not  be, 
He  shall  not  be, 
We  shall  not  be, 
Ye  shall  not  be, 
They  shall  not  be, 
Shall  I  not  be  ? 
Wilt  thou  not  be  ? 
Shall  he  not  be  ? 


FORMS. 
kerus 
kerum 
keruiskan 
kamue-apia 
kama-apia 
kabia-apia 

yung-nani  kamne-apia 
man-nani  kama-apia 
wetin -nani  kabia-apia 
kamne -apiake 
kama-apiake 
kabia-apiake 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  DAUKAIA,  TO  MAKE. 


PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


SINGULAR. 


I  make,  daukisne 

Thou  makest,       daukisma 

He  makes,  daukisa,  or  dauki 


We  make, 
You  make, 
They  make, 


yung-nani  daukisne 
man-naiii  daukisma 
wetin -nani  dauki, 
or  daukisa 


IMPERFECT. 

I  did  make,  daukatne 

Thou  didst  make,  daukatma 

He  did  make,  daukata 


In  the  same  way  every  tense  forms  the  plural,  hav- 
ing no  difference  in  the  terminations. 


PERFECT. 

I  have  made,         daukre 
Thou  hast  made,  daukrum 
He  has  made,       daukam 


Make, 

Let  him  make, 


daux 

daukbia,  or 
daukbiasika 


FUTURE. 

I  shall  make,       daukamne 
Thou  wilt  make,  daukama 
He  will  make,     daukbia 

IMPERATIVE. 

Let  us  make,        daukpe 
Make  ye,  man  nani  daux 

Let  them  make,  wetin  nani  dauk- 
bia, or  daukbia- 
sika 


MOSQUITO  LOVE  SONG.  789 

OTHER  FORMS.3 

l  make  not,  daukrusne 

I  did  not  make,  daukruskatne 

I  have  not  made,  yung  daukrus 

I  shall  not  make,  daukamme-apia 

Make  not,  daukparama,  or  man  daukpara 

Let  him  not  make,  daukiera,  or  wetin  daukbiera 

Let  us  not  make,  yung  nani  daukbiera 

Make  ye  not,  man  nani  daukpara,  or  daukparama 

Let  them  not  make,  wetin  nani  daukbiera 

!  '.  may  or  can  make,  yung  shep  daukisne 

'.  '.  should  make,  daukaiakatne 

'.  '.  may  have  made,  yung  shep  daukre 

!   might  have  made,  yung  daukatnekrane 

'.  '.  shall  have  made,  daukaiakamne 

Do  I  make  ?  daukisneke 

Do  I  not  make  ?  daukrusneke 


Does  he  not  make  ?  daukruske 

Shall  I  not  make  ?  daukamne-apiake 

»          If  I  make,  yung  daukikaka 

If  I  had  not  made,  yung  daukruskaka 

As  a  specimen  of  this  language,  I  have  the  follow- 
ing love  song: 

Keker  miren  ndne,  warwar  pdser  yamne  krouekan. 
Coope  ndrer  mi  koolkun  I  doukser.  Dear  mdiie  kuker 
cle  wol  proue.  I  sabbeane  wal  moonter  moppara. 
Keker  misere  yapte  winegan.  Koker  sombolo  barnar 
lippun,  lippun,  lippunke.  Koolunker  punater  bin  bi- 
wegan.  Coope  ndrer  tanes  I  doukser.  Coope  narer 
mi  koolkun  I  doukser. 

Of  this  the  translation  is  given  as  follows  : 

o 

Dear  girl,  I  am  going  far  from  thee.  When  shall 
we  meet  again  to  wander  together  on  the  seaside  ?  I 
feel  the  sweet  sea-breeze  blow  its  welcome  on  my  cheek. 
I  hear  the  distant  rolling  of  the  mournful  thunder.  I 
see  the  lightning  flashing  on  the  mountain's  top,  and 
illuminating  all  things  below,  but  thou  art  not  near 
me.  My  heart  is  sad  and  sorrowful  ;  farewell  !  dear 
girl,  without  thee  I  am  desolate.4 

Following  is  a  comparative  vocaoulary  of  some  of 
the  other  languages: 

3  MosquUoIand,  Bericht,  pp.  241-68;  Alex.  Henderson's  Grammar,  Moskito 
Lang.,  N.  York,  1846. 

4  Young's  Narrative,  pp.  77-8. 


790 


LANGUAGES  OF  HONDURAS. 


-.il        tl  1 


B.sll 

I!!!!  I 


^ssasa 


11 


p.SP 


1  l 

^g^.cs 


3^ 

wr§ 

.2      ?L   Old  r£ 

^2  3  «  3 


^ 

h 

» 

Q 

J 

(- 

0 

. 

_2 

^i 

! 

i 

r— 

3 

t 

OROTINA  CONJUGATIONS. 


791 


Besides  the  Aztec,  which  I  have  already  spoken  of 
in  a  previous  chapter,  there  were  four  distinct  languages 
spoken  in  Nicaragua:  the  Coribici,  Chorotega,  Chon- 
tal,  and  Orotina.6  Of  the  Orotina,  which  Mr  Squier 
calls  the  Nag-randan,  I  have  the  following  grammatical 
tnotes : 

Neither  articles  nor  prepositions  are  expressed.  The 
plural  is  formed  by  the  affix  nu:  ruscu,  bird;  rus- 
cunu,  birds.  Comparatives  and  superlatives  are  ex- 
pressed by  maA,  better  or  more,  and  pooru  or  puru,  best 
or  most:  mehena,  good;  ma-mehena,  better;  puru- 
mehena,  best.  Diminutives,  or  deficiency,  are  expressed 
by  ai  or  mai:  ai-mehena  or  mai-mehena,  bad,  or  lack- 
ing good. 

PRONOUNS. 


We,  masc. 
We,  fern. 
Thou 
You,  m. 
You,  f. 
He 
She 

They,  m. 
They,  f. 
That 


icu 

hechelu 

hecheri 

ica 

hechela 

hechelai 

icau 

icagui 

icanu 

icagunu 

cagui 


Those 
This,  m. 
This,  f. 
These,  m. 
These,  f. 
Mine,  m. 
Mine,  f. 
Yours,  m. 
Yours,  f. 
His 


cagumu 

cala 

hala 

cadchinulu 

cadchici 

cugaiii 

icagani 

cutani 

icatani 

cagani 


6 ''Ay  en  Nicaragua  cinco  lenguajes  muy  dif  erentes :  Coribici,  que   loan 
mucho,  Chorotega,  que  es  la  natural,  y  antigua:  y  assi  estan  enlos  que  lo  hablan. 

los  heredamientos,  y  el  Cacao,  que  es  la  moneda,  y  riqueza  dela  tierra 

Chondal  es  grossero,  y  serrano.  Orotina,  que  clize  mama,  por  lo  que  no 
otros  (nosotros).  Mexicano,  que  es  la  principal.'  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  264. 
'  A.  [quatro  d  cinco  lenguas  distintas  e  diverssas  las  unas  de  las  otras.  La 
principal  es  la  que  llaman  de  Nicaragua,  y  es  la  mesma  que  hablan  en  Me- 
xico d  en  Nueva  Espana.  La  otra  es  la  lengua  que  llaman  de  Chorotega,  e 
la  ter9era  es  Chondal ....  Otra  hay  ques  del  golpho  de  Orotinaruba  ha^ia  la 
parte  del  Nordeste,  6  otras  lenguas  hay  adelante  la  tierra  adentro.'  Oviedo, 
Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  35,  37.  Herrera,  who  has  copied  from  Gomara  al- 
most literally,  has  made  a  very  important  mistake;  he  speaks  of  five  lan- 
guages and  only  mentions  four.  As  Herrera  mentions  a  place  Chuloteca, 
some  writers,  and  among  them  Mr  Squier,  have  applied  this  name  to  a  lan- 
guage, but  seemingly  without  authority.  Herrera's  copy  reads:  'Hablauan 
en  Nicaragua,  9inco  lenguas  dif  erentes,  Coribizi,  que  lo  hablan  mucho  en 
Chuloteca,  que  es  la  natural,  y  antigua,  y  ansi  estauan  en  los  que  la  hablau- 

an Los  de  Chondal  son  grosseros,  y  serranos,  la  quarta  es  Orotina,  Mex- 

icana  es  la  quinta.'  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  vii.  Purchas  has  copied 
Gomara  more  closely,  and  cites  the  five  like  him.  Pilgrimes,  vol.  v.,  p.  887. 
Mr  Squier  makes  the  following  division:  Dirian,  Nagrandan,  Choluteca,  Oro- 
tina, and  Chondal.  Those  speaking  the  Aztec  dialect  he  names  Niquirans 
and  also  counts  the  Choluteca  as  a  dialect  of  the  same.  Nicaragua,  vol.  ii., 
pp.  310-12;  Buschmann,  Ortsnamen,  p.  132;  Froebel,  Cent.  Amer.,  pp.  59etseq.; 
Boyle's  Ride,  vol.  i.,  p.  267,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  286-7;  Hassel,  Hex.  Guat.,  p.  397; 
Palacio,  Carta,  p.  20. 


792  LANGUAGES  OF  NICARAGUA. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  SA,  TO  BE.7 

PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


SINGULAR.                                                                              PLURAL. 

I  am, 

sa 

We  are, 

so 

Thou  art, 

sa 

You  are, 

soa 

He  is, 

sa 

They  are, 

sula 

IMPERFECT. 

I  was, 

cana 

We  were, 

canana 

Thou  wast, 

cana 

You  were, 

cananoa 

He  was, 

cana 

They  were, 

lacanana 

PERFECT. 

I  have  been, 

saca 

We  have  been, 

sa  cua 

Thou  hast  been, 

sachu 

You  have  been, 

sa  cuahi 

He  has  been, 

saca 

They  have  been, 

sa  gahu 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  been, 

mucasini 

Plural  the  same 

Thou  hadst  been, 

mucanasini 

He  had  been, 

mucanasadini 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

I  shall  be, 

lamanambi           We  shall  be, 

lamananna 

SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  been, 

malamana             We  shall  have  been, 

lam  ana 

CONJUGATION 

OF  THE  VERB  AIHA,  TIHA,   AHIHA,  TO  COME. 

PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 

SINGULAR.                                                                          PLURAL. 

I  come, 

icunaha 

We  come, 

hechelunagu- 
bi 

IMPERFECT. 

I  came, 

incunahalu 

We  came, 

hechelunagu- 

balti 

PERFECT. 

I  have  come, 

icusanaha 

We  have  come, 

hechelusagu- 

alalu 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  come, 

icuschisalu 

We  had  come, 

hechelunigu- 

alalu 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

I  shall  come, 

icugaha                 We  shall  come, 

hecheluguha 

SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  come, 

icuvihiluniha 

We  shall  have  come, 

hechehivihi- 

luingualalu 

IMPERATIVE. 

Come, 

ahiyaica                Let  us  come, 

ahiyohecheu 

I  should  come, 

icugahalu 

We  should  come, 

hechelugu- 

alalu 

If  I  had  come, 

icumahaluvi- 

If  we  had  come, 

hechelumain- 

hilu 

ueamaguiha 

7  Squier's  Nicaragua,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  315-19. 


NICARAGUA  AND  COSTA  RICA  VOCABULARIES. 


793 


Of  the  Orotifia  and  Chorotega  I  also  insert  a  short 
vocabulary. 

OROTINA. 


CHOROTEGA. 


Man 

rahpa 

nuho 

Woman 

rapaku 

nahseyomo 

Head 

a'cu,  or  edi 

goochemo 

Face 

enu 

grote 

Ear 

nau 

nuhme 

Eye 
Nose 

setu 
ta'co 

nahte 
mungoo 

Arm 

pa'pu 

deno 

House 

gua 

nahngu 

Sun 

ahca 

numbu 

Fire 

ahku 

nahu 

Water 

Stone 
Wood 
T,o  drink 
Togo 
Dead 
White 
I 
Thou,  he 
We 

OROTINA 

eeia 
esee,  or  esenu 
bara 
mahuia 
aiyu,  or  icu 
ganganu 
mesha 
icu 
ica 
hechelu 

CHOROTEGA. 

nimbu 
nugo 
nanguima 
boprima 
paya 
gagame 
andirume 
saho 
sumusheta 
semehmu 

More  scanty  still  is  the  information  regarding  the 
tongues  of  Costa  Rica.  Only  one  vocabulary  is  at 
hand  of  the  languages  spoken  by  the  Blancos,  Valien- 
tes,  and  Talamancas,  who  inhabit  the  east  coast  be- 
tween the  Rio  Zent  and  the  Boca  del  Toro.  Besides 
these,  there  are  mentioned,  as  speaking  separate 
tongues,  the  Chiripos,  Guatusos,  and  Tiribis.  Of  the 
language  of  the  Talamancas,  I  give  a  few  words.9 


Man 

Woman 

Head 

Face 

Ear 

Eye 

Nose 

Hand 

House 

Sun 

Moon 

Fire- 


signa-kirinema 

sigiia-aragre 

sa-za-ku 

sa-kar-kti 

su-kri-ke 

su-wu-aketei 

su-tshu-ko-td 

sa-fra-tzin-sek 

suhti 

kan-hue 

tu-lu 

tschu-ko 


Water 

Stone 

Wood 

Dog 

Good 

Bad 

I 

Thou 

He 

We 

You 

They 


di-tzita 

ak 

u-ruk 

tschi-tschi 

buisi 

be-so-i 

be-he    ;; 

tschi-si 

se-de 

sa-ta-war-ke 

se-hetsch-te 

bezo 


On  the  isthmus  of  Darien,  there  is  nothing  to  be 
mentioned  but  the  names  of  tongues  said  to  have  been 
spoken  there,  and  of  specimens  nothing  but  a  few 
scanty  vocabularies  exist.  Oviedo,  speaking  of  Nica- 
ragua, Costa  Rica,  and  the  ancient  province  of  Tierra 
Firme,  thinks  there  were  as  many  as  seventy-two  dis- 
tinct tongues  spoken  in  that  region.  He  specially 


mentions  the    Coiba,    the  <Burica,    and   the   Paris.10 

*IcL,  pp.  320-3. 

9  Wagner  and  Scherzer,  Costa  Rica,  p.  562;  Scherzer,  Vocdb.,  in  Sitzungs- 
lericJiteder  Alcad.  der  Wissensch.,  Wien,  vol.  xv.,  no.  i.,  1855,  pp.  28-35. 

10<Piensoyo  que  son  apartados  del  numero  de  las  septenta  y  dos.'  Om- 


794  ISTHMIAN  LANGUAGES. 

Andagoya  speaks  of  a  distinct  language  in  the  province 
of  Acla;  another  called  the  Cueva  as  spoken  in  the 
provinces  of  Comogre  and  Biruqueta,  on  Pearl  Island, 
about  the  gulf  of  San  Miguel,  and  in  the  province  of 
Coiba;  at  Nombre  de  Dios  the  Chuchura;  to  each  of 
the  provinces  of  Tobreytrota,  Nata,  Chiru,  Chain e, 
Paris,  Escoria,  Chicacotra,  Sangana,  and  Guarara,  a 
distinct  language  is  assigned.11  Another  tongue  spoken 
of  by  an  old  writer  is  that  of  the  Simerones.12  To  the 
different  surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  later 
years  we  are  indebted  for  a  few  notes  on  the  lan- 
guages spoken  in  Darien  at  this  day.  The  Tules, 
Dariens,  Cholos,  Dorachos,  Savanerics,  Cunas,  and 
Bayamos,  are  new  names  not  mentioned  by  any  of  the 
older  writers ;  of  some  of  them  vocabularies  have  been 
taken,  but  otherwise  we  are  left  in  darkness.13 

CHOLO.  TULE.  WAFER'S   DARIEN   VOC^B. 

Water  payto  tee  doola 

Fire  tuboor  cho 

Sun  pesea  ipe 

Moon  hedecho  nee  nee 

Tree  pachru  chowala  (pi.) 

House  dh.6  neka 

Man  mochina  mastola 

Woman  wu6na  pundola  poonah 

Thunder  pa  marra 

Dog  achu 

Ear  uwa 

Eye  ibia 

Nose  an  uchuu 

Mouth  kigya 

Father  tautah 

Mother  naunah 

Brother  roopah 

Go  chaunah 

Sleep  cotchah 

Fine  mamaubah 

edo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  xliii.  'Entierra  firme. . .  .ai  mui  diver- 
sas,  i  apartadas  Lenguas.'  Oviedo,  Proemio,  in  Barcia,  Historkidores,  torn,  i., 
p.  12.  '  Ai  entre  ellos  lenguas  diferentes. '  Fernando  Colon,  in  Bartia,  Histo- 
riadores,  torn,  i.,  fol.  106.  'Son  tr&  lor  diuerse  lingue.'  Colombo,  Hist.  Am- 
meraglio,  p.  435. 

11  Andagoya,  Relation,  in  Navarrete  Col,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  393  et  seq.;  Her- 
rera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  i.,  cap.  xi. 

l*  Baptista  Antonio,  If  elation,  in  Halduyts  Voy.,  torn,  iii.,  fol.  554. 

13  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  ii.,  p.  707;  Cu liens  Darien,  p.  65;  Fitz- 
roy,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xx.,  p.  164;  Latham,  in  Id.,  pp.  189- 
90;  Seemans  Voy.  Herald,  vol.  i.,  p.  312;  BidwelVs  Isthmus,  pp.  33-8;  De 
Puydt,  Explor.,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xxxviii.,  p.  91. 


CHOLO,  RULE,  AND  DAKEEN  LANGUAGES.  795 

CHOLO.  TITLE.  WAFER'S   DARIEN   VOCAB.U 

One  quenchaqua  hean 

Two  pocoa  div 

Three  pagwa  tree 

Four  pakegua  caher 

Five  aptali  cooig 

Ten  ambe  deh 

Although  from  a  perusal  of  what  has  here  been 
gathered  we  might  wish  to  know  more  of  the  weird 
imaginings  that  floated  through  the  minds  of  these 
peoples,  and  to  follow  further  the  interminable  inter-- 
mixture of  tongues  and  dialects,  spoken,  grunted,  and 
gestured  between  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  the  Atrato 
River,  we  must  content  ourselves  with  what  we  have. 
I  have  gathered  and  given  in  this  volume  all  that  I 
have  been  able  to  find;  and  from  the  readiness  with 
which  the  Americans  were  wont  to  adopt  the  dogmas 
and  creeds  of  Europeans,  supernatural  conceptions 
supposedly  superior  to  their  own,  and  insist  upon  their 
being  aboriginal,  and  from  the  rapid  and  bewildering 
changes  that  so  quickly  mar  and  destroy  the  original 
purity  of  tongues,  there  is  little  hope  of  our  learning 
further  from  living  lips,  or  of  our  ever  being  able  to 
study  these  things  from  the  scattered  and  degraded 
remnants  of  the  people  themselves. 

He  who  carefully  examines  the  Myths  and  Lan- 
guages of  the  aboriginal  nations  inhabiting  the  Pacific 
States,  cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the  similarity 
between  them  and  the  beliefs  and  tongues  of  mankind 
elsewhere.  Here  is  the  same  insatiate  thirst  to  know 
the  unknowable,  here  are  the  same  audacious  attempts 
to  tear  asunder  the  veil,  the  same  fashioning  and  peo- 
pling of  worlds,  laying  out  and  circumscribing  of 
celestial  regions,  and  manufacturing  and  setting  up, 
spiritually  and  materially,  of  creators,  man  and  animal 
makers  and  rulers,  everywhere  manifest.  Here  is 
apparent  what  would  seem  to  be  the  same  inherent 
necessity  for  worship,  for  propitiation,  for  purification, 
or  a  cleansing  from  sin,  for  atonement  and  sacrifice, 

uCulten's  Darien,  pp.  99-102;  Latham,  in  Lond.  Oeog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  voL 
xx.,  p.  190;  Wafer  sXeiv  Voy.,  pp.  185-8. 


796  CONCLUSION. 

with  all  the  symbols  and  paraphernalia  of  natural  and 
artificial  religion.  In  their  speech  the  same  gramma- 
tical constructions  are  seen  with  the  usual  variations 
in  form  and  scope,  in  poverty  and  richness,  which  are 
found  in  nations,  rude  or  cultivated,  everywhere. 
Little  as  we  know  of  the  beginning  and  end  of  things, 
we  can  but  feel,  as  fresh  facts  are  brought  to  light 
and  new  comparisons  made  between  the  races  and 
ages  of  the  earth,  that  humanity,  of  whatsoever  origin 
it  may  be,  or  howsoever  circumstanced,  is  formed  on 
one  model,  and  unfolds  under  the  influence  of  one  in- 
spiration. 


END  OF  THE  THIRD  VOLUME. 


£73 


• 


:>  ,3§> 


§3^ 


>ISr3 


>    __H>_ 
,     >^>      Z> 


.>>  :>- 
> 

^>     s 


^  >> '^ 

V^VJ)        >• 


s 

2gr3 

•y 

r>  • 

•:'i>^"-s 


'"*  ^|jW+^* 

AmiM 
"^5^  ^ 

T>  %^^  ^    O      ^<^ 
i 

m  ^*»3  5  5^' 
^KO»J>  -< 


\>    )3Tr>  is 


, 


f^^Ss^ 

^>.5m<  -^  ^ 


^L>'>^>-^, 
;>>P"; 

i^ssF^i 


>"3^r>"  :=>>    ':>  >:^>':15^ 


n>> 
'."^±>--: 

5  -_O  2  sr>  -irx; 

>  J>i 
.i>  7>  :»^>   5| 


/\r\r\ 


JSi 


^'I' 


mmMm& 


